St Andrews Lutheran College, which is owned and operated by The Lutheran Church of Australia, Queensland District offers its program of Christian education to all applicants regardless of ethnic origin, gender, religion, ability or disability, provided that:

1. through enrolment procedures, parents seeking enrolment for their child/children undertake to support willingly and freely the stated purposes of St Andrews Lutheran College
2. adequate space and resources are available, or where required, the consideration of a reasonable adjustment has been made
3. full disclosure in response to the matters and questions raised on the enrolment form and in the enrolment interview

Priority of Enrolment

The current enrolment priorities are:

1. Children of practising Lutheran families
2. Children in receipt of a Secondary School Scholarship
3. Siblings of students already attending the College or children who attended the Pre-Prep program for a minimum of 2 days per week at the St Andrews Lutheran College Early Learning Centre, in order of application.
4. Children and/or grandchildren of permanent staff members or children of past students of the College, in order of application.
5. New applicants

All applicants may be affected by date of application within each enrolment priority.

Notwithstanding the above order of preference, no student shall be regarded as having automatic right of acceptance.  Priority of enrolment is to be at the discretion of the Principal.

Enrolment priorities will be determined from time to time by The College Council.

Entry Age 

The entry age for Prep requires that a child turn 5 years of age by June 30 in the year of entry.

The Principal of College has discretion in the following circumstances:

A child may be enrolled in the preparatory year the College if:

(a) The child will be at least 5 years on or before 30 June in the proposed year of attendance at the College; and

(b) The Principal or delegate is satisfied the child is ready for and meets the selection criteria as published.

What is School Readiness?

All students enter the Preparatory year with different levels of ability and experiences.  However, there are a number of developmental and environmental indicators and skills which can help to support children enter and sustain school life successfully.  School readiness is related not only to specific pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills, it includes physical health, social and emotional adjustment, independence, the child’s approach to learning and their level of language, cognition and general knowledge.

The holistic nature of the students and his/her approach to learning is the paramount concern when assessing readiness. The areas of development that may be considered, include but not confined to, are:

• Expressive and receptive language skills;
• Gross and fine motor skills;
• Social/emotional readiness;
• Attitude to learning and cognition; and
• Self-care and independence.

Selection Criteria

To assist the Principal in making an informed decision, an investigation will be carried out to gain an understanding of the student’s abilities.

The investigation could include, but is not confined to:

• Observational data from previous and current educational settings;
• Interview with the student and their parents/caregivers;
• Age appropriate assessment activities; and
• Educational and specialist reports.

A decision will be made by the Principal or delegate once the above information has been collated and discussed with relevant staff.

Enrolment Process

• Application form and fee are required before an interview for placement occurs. Interviews for available placements will be conducted in the twelve months prior to enrolment;
• Interviews are conducted by the Principal or nominated representative in consultation with the Principal. These nominated representatives are normally the Deputy Principal (Head of Junior School) or Deputy Principal (Head of Secondary School);
• Placement is offered (subject to satisfactory interview) by letter (signed by Principal).  A confirmation fee and Alumni fee is required at this time to secure a position;
• Applications are automatically cancelled if the College is unable to contact applicants during the review period.

Fee Remission

The College has a policy of offering a level of fee remission to families of good standing with the College who may have difficulty in paying the school fees on a short term basis. The College Council normally sets benchmarks for the total amount of such discounts that can be made available.   

Fee remission for a particular family is at the discretion of the College.

The College’s decision is normally based upon the information provided by a Means Test Application form that has been completed by the applicant.

Probationary Enrolment

From time to time the Principal may decide to offer an applicant probationary enrolment.  The circumstances for this would generally be one or more of the following:

• The student’s report card or reference indicate there is a possibility of the student being unwilling or unable to adhere to the College Code of Conduct;
• Uncertainty over whether or not the family may be able to pay the school fees.

The confirmation letter will contain details of the probation which normally means that a review of the enrolment will be held at the conclusion of the first term and as required thereafter.  If the student’s behaviour is unsatisfactory or if fees are not paid, the enrolment will be terminated at the discretion of the Principal.

Termination of Enrolment by Parents

One term’s notice must be given or the family will forfeit the enrolment deposit and a term’s fees will be charged.

Termination of Enrolment by the College

Enrolment may be terminated by the College because of:

• Non-payment of school fees;
• Refusal to allow student to participate in mandatory school activities e.g. Worship. Outdoor Education in Year 9;
• Failure of the parent or student to comply with College policies and procedures;
• Failure of the parent to provide complete and truthful information on the Enrolment form or other College documents;
• Severe breach by the student of the College Code of Conduct (see Student Handbook for specific examples).  This might be a one-off serious breach or repeated misbehaviours that have significantly disrupted the learning of the student or of other students;
• The student’s ceasing to reside with parent or appointed guardian;
• A parent’s unwillingness or inability to engage in an appropriate level of contact with the College.

Process for Termination of Enrolment by the College

1. The parent will be notified in writing that there is an issue that could lead to termination of enrolment. The amount of notice will depend on a number of factors, for example, for a serious, sudden behavioural issue no notice might be given, whereas, for non-payment of school fees several weeks notice might be given.
2. The College will seek to apply principles of natural justice and procedural fairness to the process by which termination of enrolment occurs, particularly in response to student misbehaviour.  The process would normally include:

• An investigation into the misbehaviour being conducted as far as possible in an impartial manner to examine the evidence and establish the facts;
• The past behavioural history of the student being examined;
• Any College behavioural interventions that have taken place being identified. (This is particularly important if the behaviour has been going on for some time and numerous attempts have been made to correct it);
• An identification of any special needs of the student or special considerations that may apply to the situation;
• An opportunity for the student and his/her parent to be clearly informed as to the substance of the allegation;
• An opportunity for the student and his/her parent to be able to respond to the allegation;
• Availability of counselling or support for the student and his/her parent;
• A face-to-face interview with the Principal or his/her nominee;
• The decision being made by the Principal in the light of all available evidence;
• Opportunity for the student to repair harm e.g. through a Student Conference (Restorative Practices).