• See the details provided on the Enrolments page.

Mandatory Legal Attendance

• All children must attend school once they turn 6 years of age.
• All states & territories make provision for children to commence earlier than this. You are referred to the Enrolments page for greater detail.

Classes

• Most systems have smaller classes in the early years;
• Classes may be created in any of the following models :
• Single Sex - rare in state systems, slightly less in non-government systems;
• Mixed Sex - the most common model in all systems.
• These are combined with :
• Single Year or Grade groupings [e.g. Year 1, Grade 4];
• Multi-Age or Multi-Grade groupings, sometimes called Composite Classes, [e.g. Years 3/4, Years 4/5/6]. Quite common in smaller schools.
• Note :
• provided appropriate student selection is carried out in larger schools, composite classes can be beneficial to all students involved.
• In smaller schools, it may not be possible to avoid them.
• Before becoming upset by the possibility of your child's inclusion in such a class :
• talk to the school;
• ask how arrangements were decided and what benefits are anticipated;
• why was your child included ?
• make judgements on Knowledge not feelings.
• Related Sites :
• Australian Capital Territory P & C Information
• Parents’ Views of Composite Classes
  [In an Australian Primary School]
  A study of ‘Parents of children in a large primary school in New South Wales [who] were asked questions related to their attitudes towards and beliefs about composite [multigrade] classes.’ A full-text, downloadable .pdf document is available, as well as the abstract on the site.
• Family Groups are groups of children from across the whole primary school. There are often social benefits for All students involved in such groups;
• Streamed Classes are created by grouping students in the same cohort on their educational capacity;
• Parallel Classes allow common groups from the same cohort of students.
• Special Groups - include :
• Opportunity C Classes [New South Wales] - children grouped based on high intellectual capacity.
• Classes for children with disabilities, e.g. Hearing, Vision, Behaviour, …

Progress

• In normal circumstances, children will progress from school year to school year, on an annual basis;
• In some instances Repetition may be considered in the best interests of the child.
  Repetition involves taking the same grade level a second time. If suggested, these criteria must be considered :
• it should occur in the Earlier Years of school, though not recommended for the first formal year of school. In most instances, in the later years, it is of dubious quality at best;
• it Must be discussed with you, as parents, over a period before repetition becomes the chosen option;
• you must be aware of what has been done to negate the need for this;
• Evidence needs to be provided as to why it is considered, anticipated Benefits and what Alternatives have been considered;
• No Child should face repetition more than once;
• Note :
  with increasing options available to assist children maximise progress, repetition is becoming a less valued/valuable option.
• Progression to High School will be an accepted process unless there are extreme circumstances.
• In all states this is a set Procedure which your school will detail for you.
• The Normal Age for students progressing to high school falls roughly between 11.75 and 12.75 years, though this can vary upward slightly.
• There are some restrictions on the Lower Age Limit which need to be checked if your child falls into this category.
• See the Important Examinations page for details relating to special placement tests in New South Wales and Western Australia.

Teachers

• In most instances, your child will have One teacher for their everyday education;
• In some circumstances they may be in a Team Teaching group. Two or more teachers may teach different curriculum areas. There are obvious benefits from the use of specific expertise.
• In addition they may experience these specialists, based on school staffing & organisation :
• librarian;
• computing teacher;
• English as a Second Language teacher;
• music/choir teacher;
• foreign language teacher;
• sport/physical education teacher;
• art/craft teacher;
• Reading Recovery teacher;
• Itinerant teacher [various specialities];
• Relief from Face to Face teacher who takes normal lessons [some states]
• Some specialists may be from outside the school, bringing specific expertise. Others may be different classroom teachers, but have specific expertise.

Curriculum

• For specific curriculum information, check details from the Curriculum & Syllabi page.

Uniforms, Fees & Financial Assistance

• Check indicators on the following pages :
• Enrolments
  For uniform and fees;
• Fees
• Financial Assistance
  School, Department & government assistance, scholarships, discounted fees, etc..