Enrolment information

Thank you for choosing Aorangi Primary School as the school for your child.

Transition to School - for 5 year olds

Transition to school is every THURSDAY from 1.30pm to 2.50pm.

You are invited to visit our kura every Thursday afternoon with your child during the school term prior to them starting with us.

The ‘Transition to School’ programme includes:

• A junior buddy that will support your child’s transition

• Opportunity for your child to share their own learning experiences

• Meet the classroom teacher and learn classroom routines

​If you’re interested in learning more about this programme or sending your child along for this free program, please contact the office on (07) 3478448.

Conhort Entry

Starting from Term 2, Aorangi School will have cohort entry for 5 year olds. Children do not have to start school until they are six, but the earliest they can start at a cohort entry school will be the first day of term, or the mid point of term, after their fifth birthday.

The Education Act 1989 has been amended to allow schools to adopt and enforce a cohort entry policy after consulting with their community. Cohort entry refers to children starting school as a group, at the beginning or mid point of a term, AFTER THEIR FIFTH BIRTHDAY as opposed to starting school on their fifth birthday.

Parents choosing not to start their child until the age of six must ensure they start school on their sixth birthday, regardless of a school’s cohort entry arrangements. A child already enrolled at one school who moves to another does not have to wait for the next cohort intake.

We have two intake periods each term - at the start of term and at mid term. For 2026, the following dates are our cohort entry dates:

Term 2: 20th April or 2nd June

Term 3: 20th July or 24th August

Term 4: 12th October or 16th November

The start dates are set by the Minister of Education. Schools using cohort entry must use these dates and cannot change them. 

The reasons for having chorot entry include:

• Having children start as a group at the beginning, or mid point of the term allows a consistent and progressive induction, rather than the induction process being repeated every week throughout the term as new individuals start. This way our children are all receiving the same message at the same time about being school children and working together.  

• ​It supports their teacher to best meet the social and emotional needs that children have when they’re transitioning to a new environment. We can assimilate them into our school as a whole group so the transition process is much better, their peers and friends are going through the same experiences and can support them.

• It helps us as school leaders to better plan to meet our staffing needs. Previously we have asked parents to hold off so we could start a class with a reasonable group of children, rather than just one or  two who were eligible to start at the start of the term. 

Enrolment Process

As part of the enrolment process, parents/caregivers are asked to provide enrolment information using the enrolment form provided by the school (see below). This information allows Aorangi Primary School to meet the requirements of the Education and Training Act and is kept securely. 

Before enrolling a new student, we ensure the student is eligible to enrol at our school. This includes:

• meeting with the Principal

• checking all documentation (e.g. enrolment form, birth certificate, passport)

• checking school records for exclusion/expulsion from previous school(s)

• checking school records for any specific learning or behavioural requirements

Approval of enrolment is only made once the above have taken place. 

If a student has been excluded or expelled from another school, the school board meets to consider the individual case and accept or decline the enrolment.

Reclassification between year levels may occur occasionally. Parents/Caregivers can make an appointment with the school to discuss the potential effects of their child repeating or moving forward a year. If a shared consensus can’t be reached, the school reserves the right to make the final decision. The principal has final approval of all class placements.

Please phone the office for further details about enrolment or to make an appointment with the principal.