Overview

The purpose of an enrolment scheme is to assist the school 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.

Purpose and principles of an enrolment scheme – New Zealand Legislation

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

In order to reduce the risk of overcrowding at a school, it is desirable that the home zone does not contain more students than the school can accommodate. The current enrolment scheme of Ashburton Netherby School includes a home zone that overlaps with those of neighbouring schools and contains many more students than can be accommodated at the school. This creates uncertainty regarding future enrolments at each school and creates an increased risk of overcrowding at Ashburton Netherby School.

Three areas of the current zone are identified on the attached map. Area A is the proposed amended home zone for Ashburton Netherby School. Areas B and C are areas of the current home zone that are proposed to be removed from the zone. Areas B and C are each within the home zone of a neighbouring school.

An amended home zone to include only Area A would mean a better match of local demand (number of local students) to capacity than the current home zone, which contains significantly larger more students than the school can accommodate. The majority of students in Areas B and C currently attend a school other than Ashburton Netherby School.

Retention of parts of Areas B and C could be considered, but there is a high likelihood that such areas will need to be re-considered for exclusion at a later date.

The amended enrolment scheme is proposed to commence from 28 April 2025.

The written description will also be updated, and the enrolment scheme wording will be updated to reflect the Education and Training Act 2020.

All ākonga | learners who live within the home zone of Ashburton Netherby 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 legislative 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.

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

Any siblings of current students currently residing in the withdrawal area may be able to enrol at the school under the specific “additional entitlement to enrol” provision (this is also known as 'Grandparenting'). Please see the attachment below for more information.

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

Information

Please read this before completing the survey.

Note that Area A is the proposed amended home zone for Ashburton Netherby School. Areas B and C are areas proposed for removal from the home zone. When completing the survey, please indicate which area(s) you are discussing.

Have your say

Take part in the consultation by clicking on the link below.