Class Placements

This is a complex process and involves many factors as we consider enrolled numbers at each year group, the learning and social needs of each child, as well as our funding allocation for teachers from the Ministry of Education. Our goal is to come up with a placement for each child which will offer that child the greatest chance of success.

The process of making up classes for each school year begins early term 4, based on the best information available at that time.  The staff has input into this process considering but not limited to the following factors:

• The child’s academic, social, emotional, and behavioral developmental levels & needs

• The child’s physical and social maturity

• The child’s interactions with other students

• The age of the child

• The “social dynamics” factors within the class

• The preferred learning style(s) of the student

• The gender balance in each class

• Previous class placements

• Number of years the student has been with the teacher 

• Student friendships

We also look at what is in the best educational interests of students as a whole. It is worth noting children do not always work to their full potential alongside their best friends!

While we want to provide the best placement for every child we cannot accept requests from parents regarding any specific preference of teacher or classmates.  However, we do want to know if there are other important learning-related factors that we may not be aware. Please contact a member of the Senior Leadership team to discuss. 

Occasionally there are special reasons or circumstances why a child should or should not be placed in a class. For example – legal reasons. It is important that these are indicated to us so that we can take these into consideration.

The placement of a child in a particular classroom is the decision of the school. As a child-centred school, all children’s needs will be met, whether they are in a single year level or combination classroom.

We encourage you to be positive about the class placements with your children. If they don’t have their best friend in their class, reassure them!

Our children test our reaction to news to gauge how they should react, we need to be the reassurance they need. So be positive, reassure them and show them that you are confident that they will have a good year.

Any request for change will be met with a “let’s have a chat " 6 weeks into next term with the Senior Leadership Team.