Choosing a high school is already hard enough, but now with the change in how the Public school system dictates their school intake each year, it has made it harder for out-of-area students who have changed addresses while in Primary school to be accepted into the local high school with their friends. This has made it a whole lot harder for parents who are stressing over filling out out-of-area enrolment forms to try keep their children in the same school. Many forms in which are quickly rejected, with many siblings being forced to be separated and even to attend different primary schools.
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Understanding School Catchments in Simple Terms
Previously, if you wanted your child to go to a specific high school, you would put in an application to show your interest in sending your child there. This has become increasingly harder as a lot of areas are now either over populated or growing so fast that school systems are finding it difficult to keep up (even harder if an area is growing so fast and there is a lack of Public Schools in the area).
Schools that were preferred by parents had an oversupply of students and other schools had lower intakes. This was also seeing students who lived closer to a school denied a place and students who lived out of area gain a place – based on luck of the drawer.
Because of this, the Australian Government introduced the ideas of ‘Catchments’ (in boring political terms – ‘School Catchment Zone Policy’) to regulate school intakes and allow students who live closest to a particular Public School to be guaranteed a place.
You can check out the school catchment zones by clicking this sentence.
What if you don’t live in a School Catchment Area Anymore?
This change in zoning has seen many families rush to sell up their houses and move to areas where schools were promised to be built or live in a catchment area where their desired school for their children (or future children) was.
This is all and well, but what happens to those students who move out-of-area (or out of a catchment zone) while attending the school? They definitely can’t be kicked out while in the middle of their schooling journey, but if a student is in a Public Primary school in year 6 and ready to transition to the high school next door and have moved out of the catchment area, there is a high chance that they would be denied a place in the high school.
This means that these students won’t be with their friends in high school. As adults we can just say that they will be fine and will ‘make new friends’, but to a tween (age between a child and a teenager), this can be a very big deal emotionally and socially.
Changes impacting Children’s Mental Health
Imagine a 12 year old who has been playing and learning in a cohort of friends for 7 years to suddenly have to start all over again. This could be a tough situation. When I mention this, I do totally understand that there are situations that cannot be avoided as to why a child needs to be pulled out of a school or why people move houses (new job, house affordability, closer to family, caring for family, Army duties, natural disasters etc).
The child’s mental state could change and they could experience elements of depression or sadness (this is reminding me of the Pixar film ‘Inside Out’, if you haven’t seen it, make it a priority! It is a fantastic rendition of young teenagers and how life changes can impact their mental health).
I was speaking to a parent last week who mentioned to me that their daughter had a mental breakdown at the back of their car after school pick up. She had filled out an out-of-area enrolment form yet their child was denied a place because they had moved from the catchment zone and it had suddenly came to them that they won’t be going and won’t be with their friends.
This saddens me that they feel this way. They had applied as an ‘out-of -area’ student, but with the area around the school growing (or should I say booming), there was basically zero percent chance they would be offered a place.
How Students are Considered for a Place for an Out-of-Area School
When Public schools make a decision on what out-of-area enrolments to offer a place to or, these are some of the criteria a student needs to meet in order to be considered;
- Siblings already enrolled at the school ٚ
- Proximity and access to the school ٚ
- Access to a single-sex school ٚ
- Medical reasons ٚ
- Safety and supervision of your child
- Before and after school
- Availability of subjects at the school ٚ
- Compassionate circumstances ٚ
- The structure and organisation of the school. ٚ
- Recent changes in the local intake area boundaries
Yet it is important to remember, that these points are not the be all and end all. Even if you fill out an out-of-area enrolment form, if the school physically cannot hold any more children due to staffing, size of school or sizes of classes, then wether you fill the out-of-area enrolment form or not, you will not be offered a place. Even if you already have one child attending the school or not.
If you are in a similar situation and have a child who is going to be transitioning, one option is to consider (if there are no underlying reason) to put off moving catchment areas if you intend your child to go to the neighbouring high school.
Like I mentioned, there are many reasons why people need to move beyond their control or a good opportunity has come up (house affordability for example) So if this is something you could do and ‘wait it out’ until they eventually start, then that could be one option.
Ways to Support your Child who didn’t get into the School they Wanted
For those students who are out of catchments and accepted into a new local high school, here are some things you could do to help support your child into the transition into a high school,
- Talk to your child, ask them how they are feeling and what they think about the situation
- Explain to your child why they were denied a place
- Get a journal and ask your child to write down their feelings and emotions (this may not work for all children, you know your child best so maybe a different way to express feelings can be done)
- Book in for your child to see a counsellor.
- Call the high school your child has been accepted into and explain the situation. Ask if they would be able to connect your child with the school counsellor
- Ask the high school if they have transition programs or support programs for students from other schools or students who don’t have friends from their school with them
- If the school has not offered to do tours, ask if you could bring your child in to see the school before they start in the new year, so that they feel accustomed to the surroundings.
- Organise play dates with your child and their friends on the weekends
- Ask your child if they would be interested to join a local sporting team, arts club or dancing club that may have students from their old school there that they could interact with.
- Help a child who may be shy, ways they can interact and meet new people.
- See if there is a Facebook group started by parents who have students starting at the high school. See if they would be interested in organising a meetup. If there is no group, create one.
- Research the new school with your child
There are probably a lot more ways that you could support your child, these are just a few examples. Always ensure you listen to your child and communicate to help them through this difficult time. After a few weeks, your child is more than likely to settle in, but if this is not the case, you can always seek medical advice or use some of the pointers above to help them on their way.
What do you think about the rules of School Catchments? Do you think they are fair? Do you have a child who has gone through a similar situation? What other ways can we support children who didn’t get into the school they wanted?
Feel free to share your ideas and comments below!
Want to read more of our blogs? Check this one out – 16 New and Untraditional Jobs of the Future – What you Can do to Guide your Teenager’s Career Choices
