Enrolling in Prep
ALL 2025 PREP IN CATCHMENT ENROLMENT APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN ON TUESDAY, 23 APRIL 2024 FROM 9:30AM
**Please ensure you use the Guide to Enrolment in the link below for information required to present with your application in person. Bring an original birth certificate (not commemorative certificates) / Passport and applicable Visa with your application.**
All Queensland children are required to undertake Prep as the first year of school. Prep is a full-time program that children attend from Monday to Friday during normal school hours.
Prep provides the foundation for your child's success at school by developing:
- the knowledge, understanding and skills detailed in the Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history (Foundation Year)
- a positive approach to learning
- independence and confidence
- creativity and problem-solving skills
- physical abilities, including gross and fine motor skills.
In Prep, teachers support children's learning by making connections between school and their experiences at home, kindergarten or childcare.
To be eligible for Prep, children must be aged 5 years by 30 June in the year they start Prep. If your child was born between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, they are eligible to commence Prep in 2025.
View the Department's prep ready reckoner calculator External link to determine when your child can commence their preparatory year.
Supporting a Successful Transition to Prep
Warrigal Road State School offers families many opportunities to support the transition from home, kindy and childcare to Prep.
Many children have attended early childhood services prior to commencing school. These services have built strong relationships with families and focused on supporting children's diverse range of life experiences, knowledge, understandings, language, history, traditions and cultures.
When families and children enter the school gate, it is important that we acknowledge these prior learnings and life experiences, to help promote a sense of belonging and connection, giving children the best possible start to their schooling.
By continuing to promote strong relationships with early childhood services, families and communities, we can make informed decisions about how to support each child's successful transition and continued learning at school.
We encourage families to enrol early to ensure access to the many transition opportunities available throughout the year prior to starting school.
Play Group
Warrigal Road State School partners with our Outside Hours School Care provider YMCA to provide regular play group sessions throughout the year. Families are welcome to bring children under school age to attend these. The sessions are generally held in the YMCA space one morning a week during school time. We also offer some Saturday morning sessions.
Details about play group sessions are advertised on our school's Facebook page and emailed to families who have enrolled their children in Prep for the following year.
Little Warrigals
Little Warrigals is a transition program for students who will attend prep the following year at Warrigal Road State School. This program provides children with an opportunity to become familiar with some routines and expectations before starting school. It is also a great way to meet teachers, other children and other parents. Little Warrigals consists of 4 x 45 minute sessions over four consecutive weeks during school time, where parents come along with their children and participate in some fun activities with a Prep teacher.
Little Warrigals is offered to families who have enrolled their children in Prep for the following year. A welcome email is sent to families after the enrolment application has been accepted. Little Warrigals occurs in Term 3.
Prep Orientation Sessions
All children must attend a Prep Orientation session before starting Prep. All parents/carers are required to book a one-and-a-half-hour timeslot and attend this session with their child. The sessions are run at the beginning of term 4 (October/November). Information, including how to book, are emailed to enrolled Prep families mid year.
During the Prep Orientation, parents will attend an information session led by one of our Leadership team. This session will cover general school procedures, and information about starting Prep. Children will be in a nearby room, where they will be able to interact with other children and have hands on activities guided by some of our Prep teachers. Our Prep teachers will spend some time getting to know the children, which will assist us in a successful transition for children starting Prep. We hope that this will be a positive way for parents and children to meet new friends in our Warrigal family.
Following the information session, each parent will have a one-on-one meeting with one of our staff to collect further information to support your child's transition into Prep.
Partnership with local Early Childhood Education Centres (ECECs)
Warrigal Road State school has built strong partnerships with our local Early Childhood Education Centres, to support successful a successful transition between Kindy and school. We connect with educators in a variety of ways to share current, evidence based educational practices, and provide opportunities to share information about children to support their transition to school. These opportunities include:
- Network meetings with WRSS staff and educators and leaders from different ECECs
- Educators (Prep and ECEC staff) visiting different educational settings to observe and share current educational practices
- Prep staff attending local ECEC parent information sessions
- Building Blocks to Success – an annual conference for Prep and Kindy educators and leaders for professional development
- Kindy Excursions – Kindy children visit a Prep class in Term 4 to engage in school familiarisation activities
ENROLMENT
To enrol at Warrigal Road State School:
Check your address using the catchment map External link
Download and complete the enrolment application form
Use the GUIDE TO ENROLMENT for information required to be presented with your application in person to the school office between 9.30am and 2pm.
ALL 2025 PREP IN CATCHMENT ENROLMENT APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN ON TUESDAY, 23 APRIL 2024 FROM 9:30AM
**Please ensure you bring an original birth certificate (not commemorative certificates) / Passport and applicable Visa with your application.**
For more information on enrolment both in and out of catchment click here