Enrolment Procedure

1. Rationale

As an international school delivering the Cambridge Assessment International Curriculum to students from a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds, it is important that Sekolah Nusa Alam only accepts those students and families who are able and willing to engage with this curriculum and with SNA’s educational mission. The goal of this enrolment policy is thus to ensure that students being enrolled at SNA have

[a] sufficient academic ability (in particular sufficient fluency in the English language); and

[b] sufficient parental support and understanding of SNA’s educational model.

2. Enrolment Process

2.1 Step 1: Enquiry and Registration

2.1.1 Parents express an interest in writing, via email, by telephone or in person. At the enquiry stage:

[a] Parents are asked the date of birth of their son / daughter; the School Reception refers to the list of dates of birth (from dd/mm/yy to dd/mm/yy) to establish the year group which is appropriate for the applicant; an applicant may also be a candidate for one academic year below that which is age appropriate. In certain circumstances (e.g. given an applicant’s educational history) a year above may also be considered [see 2.3.3]  [see Appendix 1 for current dates of dates of birth range / year groups]

[b] Parents are also asked to give a broad indication as their son / daughter’s proficiency in English; this is an important question in the light of 2.2.1 [oral test]. A parent should be advised that, in order for an applicant to be accepted at Sekolah Nusa Alam, s/he must at least have reasonable proficiency in English. Parents should consider at this early stage whether they genuinely believe that their son / daughter can fulfil that criterion.

2.1.2 Parents are informed as to availability of places in the year group (no reference is made to the possibility of a year below or year above at this point since the applicant has not yet been tested. Should there be no places available, the parents are informed that, if they wish to continue the application, a successful outcome would still result in the applicant being placed on a waiting list.

2.1.3 Should the parents wish to continue the application, the School Reception should inform the parents that they are required to procure a registration form which, upon full completion, is returned to the School Reception together with the following supporting information:

1. A copy of the applicant’s passport photo page or birth certificate
2. Copies of the applicant’s school report(s) for the last school year
3. Two (2) passport photos.
4. Copies of the applicant’s vaccination certificates.
5. Copies of any documents regarding the applicant’s special educational or medical needs (if applicable) or any other relevant documentation pertinent to the application

Assessment will not be carried out until the School is in receipt of the registration form together with the supporting documentation (1) to (5) above. There is a degree of flexibility in this stipulation given that parents may have travelled from another town/country and may not have all documentation to hand. The School may allow the delayed submission of certain documentation, but no application process will begin until the School is in receipt of at least

[a] the application form and

[b] items (2) and (5) listed above.

Parents who withhold verbal or documented information which they believe would result in the student being refused admission are at risk of being instructed to remove the student at a later date should the student have been initially accepted without, at that stage, the School’s cognisance of factors that ultimately prove detrimental to the progress of the student or disruptive to others within the School community.

At this point classroom teachers/section coordinators should be informed about a potential enrolment.

2.2 Step 2: Assessment process

2.2.1 Upon receipt of the documentation in 2.1.3 above, an appointment will be made for the assessments. Parents are informed by the School Reception the time, date and duration of these assessments. Reception must consult with the relevant section heads/staff regarding arrangements for assessment.

The assessments will last between 2 to 2.5 hours and will comprise testing in English (written English, English reading comprehension) and Mathematics. Test papers are specifically assigned for the year group for which the application has been made. The assessor, where necessary with the assistance of other subject specialists, will mark the written papers in accordance with the mark schemes. The results of the assessment may not be known until the following day depending upon the commitments of the assessor on the day that the assessment took place although the School will make every effort to provide a result on the same day.

No assessment will be considered unless all of the requirements of 2.1.3 have taken place.

2.3 Step 3: Recommendation

Dependent upon the results the following recommendations can be made:

[a] The applicant is accepted unconditionally; s/he should be able to access all, or virtually all areas of the curriculum with little, if any additional support. At KS3/4 level, no subject would be considered inappropriate from the point of view of English content.

[b] The applicant is accepted but may require some in-class / EAL support in identified areas of the curriculum, for example certain subjects with considerable English content may be considered challenging, and the assessor would advise the appropriate teachers of that fact. In this category would be included certain features of English or Mathematics (e.g. gaps in mathematical knowledge, weaknesses in written English) which do not prevent the applicant accessing the curriculum, but which should be known by the teachers.

[c] The applicant will be accepted into the High School provided s/he is enrolled in the year group below that which is appropriate for his / her age.

[d] The applicant is not accepted. The assessor should explain to the parents the reason(s) for the refusal and suggest strategies for rectification of the weaknesses should a second application be made at a later date. The assessor may inform the parents that a second application is not advisable given that the student’s knowledge is highly inadequate and would simply be unable to deal with the curriculum content.