INFORMATION FOR NEW ENTRANTS

Wigram Primary School – Te Piki Kāhu

At Wigram Primary School children are able to start school from the day they turn five years old. Some parents choose for their child to start on their fifth birthday or the day after their fifth birthday, and some choose to start their child at the beginning of the next week or term, depending on what day of the week or week of the term your child’s birthday falls. We are happy to help you as a parent to determine the best start date for your child. Legally all children need to be enrolled in a school before they turn six.

When should I enrol my child?

You are welcome to enrol your child as early as you like; it is useful for our planning and preparation if you enrol your child at least one school term before their fifth birthday.

How to Enrol

Submit online enrolment form

There is a link to the zone map for Wigram Primary School and additional information about out-of-zone enrolments on the Enrolment page. You can also find our Online Enrolment form on this page.

If you do not have access to a suitable device with internet access, you are welcome to come into our school office and complete an enrolment form on the office iPad.

Provide a copy of your child’s NZ Birth Certificate

or NZ Passport (if NZ Citizen), Australian Passport (if Australian Citizen) or NZ residency permit or NZ student visa/permit and parental work permit (if the child is not a NZ Citizen)

Provide proof of your address

Provide an Immunisation Certificate

Plunket Book

Provide a copy of any Court Order Documents

If applicable

Information for Parents

School visits

To achieve a successful transition to school, it is very helpful for your child to have some familiarity with the school, their teachers and with our learning space (Pūkeko). We recommend that three visits are appropriate for most children, but are happy to facilitate more visits if necessary.

Approximately one month before your child’s fifth birthday, the New Entrant teacher will contact you by email to arrange suitable dates for these visits. At this time you will also be sent a copy of the Pūkeko class information booklet. The information booklet contains further information about how to prepare for starting school, how the learning space works, how to purchase uniforms and stationery etc. We most commonly schedule visit days for one day a week for the three weeks before a child starts school. Tuesday is our usual “visit” day, however, we are able to be flexible based on work schedules, etc.

  • Our usual structure is having a first visit that runs from 9.00 – 10.00 am, where you, as a parent, stay with your child to support them as they become familiar with the space. School begins at 8.55 am and you are welcome to arrive a little early so your child can get to know their new environment and you have a chance to talk with the teachers. For this first visit, you don’t need to bring anything for your child.
  • The second visit runs from 9.00 – 11.00 am, where you drop your child off and pick them up at the end of the visit. Please provide a water bottle with some water in it and a small fruit or vegetable snack for your child, as the children have a snack at around 10.00 am.
  • The third visit runs for the whole morning from 9.00 – 12.30 pm, so your child is able to experience staying for a longer period of time, including morning tea. For this visit, your child will need their water bottle, a small fruit or vegetable snack and something small to eat for morning tea (e.g. crackers, yogurt, more fruit, biscuits, etc). Your child does not need to wear their school uniform for these visit days.

If you as a parent are wanting to have a look at the learning space your child will be in and have an opportunity to ask any questions, (prior to enrolment or once you have enrolled, but before your child has their visits), you are welcome to book an appointment with the New Entrant Leader. To book an appointment or to find out more information about your child’s transition to school please email the Pūkeko New Entrant Leader, Miss Alicia Bell.

At Wigram Primary School we work in collaborative teaching teams. In our Pūkeko Space, we have teachers who share joint responsibility for all of the learners. When the children start school, they enter our Kōhanga (nest) we focus on building relationships and friendships, learning school routines, children managing themselves and their belongings, social skills and feeling happy and settled at school. To aid the transition to school we have an emphasis on learning through play, as well as more structured learning groups for developing literacy and numeracy skills. Academic learning is a part of our programme in Pūkeko, but is not our sole focus. We want to ensure we look at the children holistically, and that our programme responds to their interests, and emotional and social needs, as well as academic learning. While the children are in Pūkeko the teachers work to ensure we set them up for success for the rest of their time at Wigram Primary School.

At Wigram Primary School we do not have a list of tasks that we expect your child to know or complete before they start school. This is in recognition of the fact that all children are different and learn at different paces. Having a positive attitude towards learning, and social skills such as sharing, turn-taking, working with others, and talking about what you are doing, are more valuable than specific knowledge. Once your child is at school they will learn more about giving new and challenging things a go, not giving up and trying their best. The best thing you could do at home to prepare your child for school would be to encourage and praise your child for demonstrating any of these skills or attitudes. Reading books together and doing lots of talking are also good things to do as a family. If your child shows interest in learning the alphabet, numbers, or how to write their name, prior to starting school that is great, however, it is not essential. The learning we do with children once they start school is always based on celebrating and emphasising what they already know and then looking at their individual next steps.

Contact us

If you require any further assistance with the enrolment process, please do not hesitate to contact our school’s office at: