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Hi Rachel
Happy to chat anytime my number is 02 8438 7209 or email sonions@barker.nsw.edu.auWe also arrange with each Head of School to give us time blocked out in their diaries in advance each month. We are then at liberty to fill that with appointments for them to interview children. If they do not get used they get the time back (which they love!). It does help to then be able to say to families who are making applications that we have some set times for interviewing available on XX dates & times and you can book them in – for instance you could say to families we interview students for Year 7 on every 2nd Wednesday, and Junior School on Tuesdays/Thursdays and so on.
That may help you with still being reactive to processing a new application quickly, but not having to try and arrange interviews in already very busy diaries.
Regards
SarahHi Rachel
We do our interviews in two ways.
For last minute or imminent enrolments we arrange with a Senior member of staff to interview as soon as practicable. If there is a group of students we would try and block a time for the member of staff to do a few in a row. We find it is best not to have too many on the same day as they can become a blur for the interviewer to remember each individual child and their attributes & conversation. Most of them we either schedule first thing – so from 7.30am to 8.30-9am or from around 2-5pm in the afternoon, so the staff can fit around their academic program.The rest of our interviews we do on a rotating schedule each year at the time we are formally enrolling our entry years for future year groups.
So for instance Year 7 is always done at the beginning of when the students are in Year 5. Year 5 is done around 18 months in advance. Kindy to Year 3 are done 8-12months in advance and Year 10 are done 8 months in advance. These dates can be flexible based on circumstances at the time but in general it is a set pattern each year. For some year groups, such as Year 10, we also do interviews in multiple rooms on a Saturday and have a team of interviewers going at once.We have a team of Senior Academic staff for each part of the school who conduct the interviews, with myself as Director of Enrolments & the Head of Boarding, School Counsellor and Learning Support brought in as appropriate. I will interview students as required for last minute, staff illness/meetings, Scholarships etc.
We find it best for the child & family to meet with those who will be involved in their day to day academic & pastoral care rather than just myself as I will not be part of their daily school life.The interviews are done in blocks of 3-6 students with a member of the Senior Staff given a series of dates & times and they each do a group of potential students. So the Head of Junior/Middle/Senior School, their Deans and or/Deputies take the interviews. We send families a link to choose from a calendar a time that suits them and they self manage their booking – saves endless emails & phone calls, and then we give the agenda to the interviewer. This year we have been doing all our interviews via Microsoft Teams instead.
Does that help for a basic outline? Please let me know if you want to chat further.
regards
Sarahhi Alison
Yes all our emails have this at the bottom. hope that helps. Our IT department have it pre-set to show on all staff emails.
SarahThe content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you are not the intended recipient and have received this message by mistake, please notify the sender by reply email and then delete the email and any attachments.
Hi Kelly
We are currently using one of our parents who has his own drone business and licence. This has meant we have not had to go down the path of having to buy & maintain our own drone and have someone on the school team trained, and get involved in all of the regulations and insurances etc.
You may find it is easier to contract someone to do this for you. Student safety when using them is paramount.
Hope this helps
SarahHi Brenda
Deferring places could have different aspects of how and when this is applied.If parents have not paid a “fee” to hold a place, we would just treat this as a transfer of waiting list place to a later point of entry. We would have a discussion with the family as to what that may mean in terms of competition for entry at a later point or possibly no places potentially available. We would not encourage them moving it multiple times, and make them aware the later they wish to start with us the harder it may be.
I think you would need to consider if you make a formal policy on deferring what the demands on places are for your various entry points and if by allowing deferring this jeopardises certain areas of the school’s enrolments – eg can you defer your Primary School entry to a High School entry, therefore leaving gaps in your predicted primary numbers.
We currently offered guaranteed places at our school for entry where families pay a 50% deposit of the Admission Fee and this secures the spot in their year group of choice, they cannot transfer or refund this place. This means we do not usually need to offer deferred places as parents choose a place and they have to either come or cancel. Tough I know! but necessary if you have sufficient demand for entry to your school.
So we only need to defer places if it is for an accepted student who is due to start and then is unable to do so.
If a family accepts a place at our school and pays the Admission fee but then is unable to start, for various reasons, let’s say due to their overseas transfer not coming through, then they are able to hold their place for up to two years. This is also the same for any current students who wish to take short term leave from our school.
For any deferral up to one year they pay full fees to hold the place e.g. for one or two terms
Up to two years deferral they pay half fees.
This then means we hold the place open for them until they can start or return to us and we do not enrol anyone in their place.
If they are able to start sooner then we adjust the fee statement accordingly.Families can only do this once, unless there are extenuating circumstances, eg we have one family where the family live overseas and they were returning to start but sadly one of the parents had a stroke, we are now keeping in touch regularly to make suitable plans. This family has not paid holding fees.
Sometimes families seem to be “hedging their bets” to see if they get an offer elsewhere and wish to defer entry. This is why we offer to hold the place open by charging the academic tuition fees rather than a smaller defer amount. Helps them make the choice so to speak.
Does this help? Happy for you to call me or email me if you want to discuss further.
Regards
SarahHi Belinda
Our system automatically generates all formal letters of offer with the Head of School’s signature.Other correspondence, such as transfer on the waiting list to another year group, cancellations, no place after interview, withdrawals, Confirmed Place offers, etc are signed by the Director of Enrolments.
Hope that helps! Feel free to contact me if you require any further information.
SarahHi All
We are currently looking at ParentPaperwork – https://www.parentpaperwork.com/ very impressed with their applications for Parent Consent forms for excursions as well. It also has a screen with analysis of who has received your email, who has opened it and who has actioned it.
They also have a separate facility for enrolment forms.
It comes with a facility for parents to sign the online form if you need or to check a box depending on your requirements.
For Enrolment forms parents can self serve on your application form and create their own password which means they can come back to a form and complete it. They can also upload documents as you require eg birth certificate, report, medical details.
I am having a more indepth look next week.
It will sync with your database or you can print off or view as an excel.
Hope this helps.
Sarah
