Halswell School Enrolment Scheme Amendment

Overview

The Ministry of Education has been working with Halswell School to establish an enrolment scheme amendment.

This is to assist the Board to manage the risk of overcrowding, provide a fair and transparent process for enrolment and to ensure we are making the best use of schooling facilities across the network of local schools. Click here for the purpose and principles of an enrolment scheme. (Right click to open in a new window)

A key part of an enrolment scheme is the home zone.

This change is needed due to the rate of residential growth underway across the local area and the resultant risk of overcrowding at Halswell School. There are several areas of overlap between the home zones of Halswell School and other neighbouring schools. The proposed enrolment scheme changes will mean Halswell School will withdraw from some of these areas. 

Note that all students who are already enrolled at Halswell School before the enrolment scheme amendment commences are entitled to stay at Halswell School. Siblings of current students will have priority access to any out-of-zone places offered by the school.

In this case, any siblings of current students currently residing in the withdrawal areas may be able to enrol at the school under the new “additional entitlement to enrol” provisions as recorded in the attached information below.

All learners/ākonga who live within the home zone of Halswell School will have an entitlement to attend the school and those that live outside the home zone may be accepted if there are out-of-zone places available and an application meets requirements. To be able to do this, boards at state schools keep an eye on the number of applications received from in-zone students to help them determine the places they might have available for out-of-zone students once all in zone enrolments are accepted.

It’s important that we hear and understand community perspectives before we establish this amendment to the enrolment scheme at Halswell School – especially the design and practical implications of the home zone.  Please have a look at the map and overview information available before you participate in the consultation process.

This consultation process is about enrolment schemes, which determines the entitlement to enrol.

Information (please read this before completing the survey)

Halswell School

Map and written description of proposed zone (right click to open in a new window) 

Note that Area A is the main area which will remain as the home zone for Halswell School. Areas B-G are areas proposed for removal from the home zone. 

Frequently Asked Questions for Enrolment Schemes (right click to open in a new window) 

Additional entitlement to enrol information (right click to open in new window) 

Submissions are official information

Submissions you make become official information. The content of submissions can be asked for under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). Under the OIA, we must make information available unless there is good reason for withholding it.

Tell us if you have any objections to the release of any information used in your submission, particularly which part(s) you believe should be withheld, along with the reason. Reasons might include that it is commercially sensitive or it is personal information. We will take into consideration any objections when responding to OIA requests. However, any decision the Ministry of Education makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may tell us to release it.

What happens next

After consultation is finished, the Ministry of Education will collate all feedback and process this information to ensure it meets the requirements of the Education and Training Act 2020 (Schedule 20, Clause 5). If the Ministry is satisfied that the enrolment schemes meets these requirements, the enrolment scheme will be finalised and provided to the Board. The school’s board must implement the finalised enrolment scheme as soon as practicable.