Applications Process

Applications for 2023 close 30th June 2022.

Before applying	Psycho-educational assessment	As we specialise in Gifted education, we require evidence of giftedness in support of all enrolment applications. The supporting documentation we require includes a psychologist's report, including cognitive ability and academic achievement test results, often referred to as a psycho-educational assessment. Please be advised that many Australian psychologists are currently booked 6-12 months in advance. If your child is Gifted, these assessments may be of benefit in increasing understanding of your child, no matter which school they attend. If you have any questions about this, please contact us at enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au or on 08 8317 6020.
Semester 1 2022	Applications for 2023 are open	Please submit the application form and all supporting documents in full by close of applications on 30th June 2022.
	Application Review	If your application is incomplete, you will be contacted to request an estimated date for the submission of missing documents. If it is not clear whether or not the criteria has been met, further information will be sought before applications close.
	Application Ranking	All applications which meet our criteria will be ranked, based on review.
30th June 2022	Applications Close* *except Reception class, see 23rd September below.	Any incomplete applications will be considered withdrawn at this point. All applications which do not meet our criteria will be notified at this point.
Term 3 2022	Interviews	Interviews will be offered to select applicants.
	First Round Offers of Enrolment	After interviews have concluded, the first round of offers will be made, dependent on the number of places available.
	Second Round Offers of Enrolment	A second-round offer may be made if a place becomes available. Once all places have been filled, the remaining applicants will be notified.
23rd September 2022	Reception Class Applications Close	To allow psychological assessment to be undertaken as close as possible to the age of 5, the Reception Class application timeline has been extended.
Week 1, Term 4 2022	Welcome!	Enrolments will be finalised by Week 1 of Term 4 so that transition arrangements can be made.
Term 4 2022	Reception Class Interviews, Offers and Transition

All applications must go through the above process in the above timeframe. Please apply for the intake for which you wish to be considered, as there is no waitlist and enrolment is not deferred except in exceptional circumstances. Siblings will also need to go through the ordinary application process and will not be prioritised.

International Applications

We do not offer a mid-year intake. If you are applying from overseas, please speak with us about commencement dates as we understand your current school year may not line up with ours.

We do not accept international students at this time. If the student is not an Australian citizen, they will need a residential visa, not a student visa (500). For more information, please contact enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au.

Application Form

Please be advised, you will not be able to save the form mid-entry. You may submit an incomplete application and then later send us the remaining documents to be appended to your application. If you do this, please let us know when to expect the remaining documents. If at any time you are unsure of what you have provided us with, please contact enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au to request a summary. Any application which remains incomplete at close of applications will be considered withdrawn.

The form consists of the following sections:

Short Answer Section

This section consists of the following four questions:

• Describe the advanced abilities of your child.
• What interests does your child enjoy exploring?
• What challenges your child and how do they respond?
• Why do you think Dara School may be a good fit for your child?

Supporting Evidence

Please provide all supporting documentation by close of applications (see Applications Process above).

Cognitive Ability

• Evidence of Cognitive Ability, such as Woodstock Johns III, WISC, AGAT, MYAT or other cognitive ability test results with the Psychologist’s report in full.

Academic Achievement

• Achievement tests, if applicable, such as WIAT, UNSW, PAT Reading Comprehension, PAT Mathematics, ICAS competitions, Olympiad competitions, etc.
• Current school report, if applicable.
• NAPLAN results, if applicable.

Anecdotal Evidence

You may choose to provide a further statement about your child’s expression of giftedness in the form of an application letter or other anecdotal evidence as appropriate. If you would like to discuss what might be appropriate to include for this category in your case, please contact enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au or call us on 08 8317 6020.

Please also download and complete the following forms, if applicable:

• Authority to Exchange Information – if you would like to authorise us to contact the psychologist, kindergarten teacher, or another service provider for a reference or contextual information in support of the application, please fill out this form authorising us to contact them.
• Teacher Questionnaire – please send this form to your child’s current teacher to return to us.
• Explorers Application – if you are applying for the Reception class, please also download and complete this questionnaire to be submitted with your application. While some children exhibit signs of giftedness from a very young age, please be aware that we need to look at physical, social and emotional school readiness, not just intellectual potential or academic ability, to ensure that we are an appropriate environment for the potential student.

Student Information and Parent/Caregiver Information

The last two sections ask for basic information such as the student’s name and what year level they are currently enrolled in.

In this section, we request a photo of the student and also ask whether the prospective student has any special educational needs. If the student has special educational needs, you may choose to provide documentation at this point which will help us to plan ahead accordingly if an offer of enrolment is made.

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Interviews

Please refer to the Applications Process above for information on when interviews are held.

What should I bring?

If you have been invited to an interview, please bring the student and any questions either of you have. We look forward to meeting you.

What can I expect?

The interview will be held by a panel comprised of the School Principal and another Dara School teacher, or two Dara School teachers if the Principal is unavailable. The interview will take approximately one hour. If you require any further information in advance, please contact us at enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au or on 08 8317 6020.

Offers of Enrolment

Please refer to the Applications Process above for information on when offers are made.

The enrolment form, any supporting documents (MIS forms, etc.) and the enrolment deposit are due two weeks from the date the offer is made. If you have any questions about this in advance, please contact us at enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au or on 08 8317 6020.

Commencing at Dara

Transition Program

Transition visits are offered in Term 4 for newly enrolled students. More information will be provided closer to the date as part of the Welcome Pack for new families. If you have any questions about this in advance, please contact us at enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au or on 08 8317 6020.

Ongoing Development

Students

It may take six months for a student to adjust to their new educational environment and for their Personalised Education Plan to become accurate. We appreciate your patience as we get to know your child and your child gains confidence in communicating about their learning.

Parents

Informative documents and events may be provided throughout the year to help you adjust to the new educational environment. Student-led learning can be foreign to many parents as it’s not what you would have experienced when you were at school. This can make it hard to understand how and what your child is learning. We hope to bridge that gap through continual parent education in student-led gifted education. As always,  please don’t wait for us to provide you with information – if you have questions, reach out!

Parent Handbook

Families are provided with copies of the Parent Handbook which will cover such information as uniform purchases, OSHC, etc. If you have questions about this in advance, please contact us at enquiry@daraschool.sa.edu.au or on 08 8317 6020.