Enrolment

Preference and Non Preference Enrolment

The St Patrick’s Catholic School Taupō, School Board will ensure that enrolments comply with the requirements specified in the Integration Agreement and the Private Schools’ Conditional Integration Act 1975. 

Definition of Preference and Non Preference

There are two types of enrolments at state integrated schools like St Patrick’s – preference and non-preference. Preference enrolments are those that meet set criteria about the child and their family’s connection to our Catholic special character. Non-preference enrolments are for families that do not meet those criteria.

The Ministry of Education allows our school to accept a maximum 15 non-preference enrolments in total across our school roll at any one time. Only after all preference enrolments are accepted, and if the total roll is still less than the maximum specified in our integration agreement, can the Board consider non-preference enrolments.  

The school has good capacity to accept all preference enrolments at this time, however, there are often many more applicants for non-preference enrolments than there are enrolments available, and as such there are priority criteria used and a waitlist procedure in place for these.

Preference Enrolment Criteria:

Applying for preference enrolment is not a guarantee of acceptance. The decision whether to grant a preference enrolment is made by either the Parish Priest, or their delegated representative, using the mandated criteria below.

The following criteria are used to decide if the parents of a child have established such a particular or general religious connection with the Catholic Special Character, and would be a “preference” enrolment:  

5.1     The child has been baptised, or is being prepared for Baptism, in the Catholic Church, or 
5.2    The child’s parents/guardians have already allowed one or more of its siblings to be baptised in the Catholic faith, or 
5.3    At least one parent/guardian is a Catholic, and although their child has not yet been baptised, the child’s participation in the life of the school could lead to the parents having the child baptised, or 
5.4    With the agreement of the child’s parent/guardian, a significant familial adult undertakes to support the child’s formation in the faith and practices of the Catholic Church. The significant familial adult is expected to be practising their faith in their own local parish. They may be a grandparent, aunt or uncle who is actively involved in the child’s upbringing, or 
5.5    One or both of a child’s non-Catholic parents/guardians is preparing to become a Catholic.

At our school, the decision about whether the preference criteria for enrolment are met is made by our parish Priest, Father Danny Fraser-Jones. He makes this decision after meeting with the caregiver(s) of the child, and then will issue a “Preference of Enrolment Certificate” for the children who meet the criteria. This is in accordance with the Education and Training Act 2020, Schedule 6, Clause 236.  

If the child is not eligible for preference enrolment, Father Danny is able to discuss why not, and any possible pathways for the caregiver(s) to explore in order to meet the criteria. If no pathways are available then the only possibility of enrolment is for the caregiver(s) to apply for non-preference enrolment.  

Non-Preference Enrolment Criteria:

1. The applicants accept that they will be attending a school of Catholic character and that their place in the school is conditional on their participation in the programme and ethos of the school.

2. The applicants accept that they will be required to pay attendance dues as set by the Proprietor and these are not voluntary.  

3. Assuming the conditions of criteria 1 and 2 above have been met, the following priority order will be used when offering enrolments to non-preference applicants: 

   a. The siblings of non-preference students currently attending the school. 
   b. Non-preference children of staff or Board members who seek to enrol their children.
   c. Non-preference students coming from another integrated school with the same Catholic character.
   d. All other non-preference students, in the order of the children who will have completed the fewest of their primary/intermediate school years when they start at           St Patrick’s Catholic School Taupō.

4. Parents/Caregivers must apply for a non-preference position for their child at St Patrick’s Taupō by submitting the required online form that will be sent to them by our office staff.

5. Applications for non-preference enrolments will be kept on a waitlist for a period of 12 months from date received. If parents/caregivers wish for their child to remain on the waitlist longer than one year, they must contact the school by phone or email and confirm that they wish for their child to remain on the waitlist. If the school does not receive this confirmation every 12 months, the child will be removed from the waitlist.  

6. If there are more applicants than places available within the same priority category, placements within that category will be offered in order of the date applications were submitted to school.  

7. Parents and caregivers of successful applicants will have seven days to confirm their enrolment following a position being offered. If no confirmation is received, the offer will be cancelled and the position will be offered to the next applicant, as per the priorities stated in 3(a-d).