Overview#

Enrolment schemes provide school boards with a mechanism to manage the number of non-local (out-of-zone) enrolments to manage the risk of overcrowding at their school and give children who live in the school’s home zone a guarantee that they can attend the school.

The purpose of an enrolment scheme is to:

• help the school board to manage the risk of overcrowding
• provide a fair and transparent process for enrolment
• make sure we are making the best use of schooling facilities across the network of local schools.

Enrolment schemes

Proposed enrolment schemes#

We are working with Te Rau Horopito to develop an enrolment scheme and with Lemonwood Grove School and West Rolleston Primary School, to establish amendments to their current enrolment schemes – in particular, changes to the home zones for each school.

A key part of an enrolment scheme is the home zone.

In consultation with the Establishment Board of Te Rau Horopito and the School Boards of Lemonwood Grove School and West Rolleston Primary School, we have drafted 3 new or amended proposed enrolment schemes to better balance local demand to capacity across the network and to accommodate the opening of the new school.

Te Rau Horopito#

A new enrolment scheme for Te Rau Horopito is proposed for the opening of the school.

The areas of interest for inclusion are identified as Core, Area A and Area B in the attached map.

When completing the survey, indicate which area(s) you are discussing.

Lemonwood Grove School#

There is continuing significant roll pressure at Lemonwood Grove School.

When schools experience roll growth towards their capacity, the Ministry must consider what responses are required to prevent overcrowding. The first mechanism available to manage roll growth from within a school's home zone is to review and amend their home zone to assist in re-directing demand to schools with the capacity to accommodate these students if there is scope to do so.

The proposed amendment withdraws from the west of the current zone to relieve the roll pressure at the school as well as to accommodate for the opening of the new neighbouring school.

The areas of interest for withdrawal are identified as Area A, B and C in the attached map. When completing the survey, indicate which area(s) you are discussing.

West Rolleston Primary School#

The proposed enrolment scheme amendment for West Rolleston Primary School would enable the school to accommodate future roll growth as well as supporting the opening of the new school at the start of 2026.

Start date#

The new and amended enrolment schemes are proposed to commence from 1 January 2026.

Information about the consultation#

All ākonga | learners who live within the home zone of each respective school at the date they enrol (begin attending school) will have an entitlement to attend that school, and those that live outside the home zone may be accepted if there are out-of-zone places available and an application meets legislative requirements. To be able to do this, boards at state schools keep an eye on the number of applications received from in-zone students to help them determine the places they might have available for out-of-zone students once all in-zone enrolments are accepted. In recent years, very few out-of-zone places have been offered by schools in Rolleston.

All students who are already enrolled at a school before the enrolment scheme amendment commences are entitled to stay at that school. Siblings of current students who reside outside the home zone will have priority access to any out-of-zone places offered by the school.

We are consulting on the inclusion of an “additional entitlement to enrol” provision (this is also known as "Grandparenting”) in the Lemonwood Grove School and West Rolleston Primary School enrolment schemes. If this is approved, any siblings of current students residing in a withdrawal area may be able to enrol at the school under this provision. If you have any feedback on this provision, please provide it in the survey. See the attachment below for further information.

It is important that we hear and understand community perspectives before we establish these new or amended enrolment schemes at Te Rau Horopito, Lemonwood Grove School and West Rolleston Primary School – especially the design and practical implications of the proposed home zone amendment. 

Have a look at the maps and information available before you participate in the consultation process.