*** READ ME FIRST !!! - P1 Registration FAQ ***

[ChiefKiasu]

SELECTING A SCHOOL


0. Before you post a question, use the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/search.php function! You will probably find that your question has been answered before in some topics or threads. It's not surprising that people who know the answer may not want to answer the same question again, especially if they think you have not at least made an initial effort to look for the answer that they have previously provided.

1. Read http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/choosing-primary-school-singapore first, to get a feel of the types of Primary schools available to you, and what to look for in a school.
- Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=193 for ideas of what to look for when you visit a school;
- Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=690 if you are concerned with getting schools which give students priority to the Secondary schools that you desire;
- Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=382 if you want to know more about the schools that offer Higher Chinese to students from Primary 1;
- Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2080 to get a feel for the Primary schools that offer the Gifted Education Programme to students from Primary 4 onwards.

2. Read http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/measuring-home-school-distance to understand how to calculate your home's distance from the school.
- Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=426 for other recommendations on measuring Home-School distances;
- Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=699 for what you should and should NOT do when reporting your home address for the Primary 1 Registration exercise;
- Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=476 for information of what you need to do if you want to let your children be looked after by their grandparents during Primary school.

3. Take a look at http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/singapore-primary-schools-ranked-academic-excellence to get a feel of the schools that produced Top PSLE students in the past 8 years.

4. Take a look at http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/singapore-primary-schools-ranked-popularity to get a feel of how difficult it would be for you to successfully get a place in a particular school.
- It might be worthwhile to look at the birthrates in the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=395 to get a feel of the competition for Primary 1 places for the year of registration.

5. If you have specific queries about a particular school, first, find out which Area the school belongs, and then go to the following Forum threads to post your questions:
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=415
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3487
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=435
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=463
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=294
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=486
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=424
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=399
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=272
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=358
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=459
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=436
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=386
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=461
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=319
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=464
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=488
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=408
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=489
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=490
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=291
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=452
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=462
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=265
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=242

6. Please do NOT start a new thread in this Forum asking for opinions about a specific school, or comparing across a number of schools. You are welcome to post your queries in the Area threads as listed above, which also have a poll that gives you an indication of what people think of the schools in the Area. We need to keep this particular Forum clean and tidy to make it easier for everyone, including yourself, to look for information and opinions about the schools. We have intentionally kept the number of topics in this Forum small to make it easier for you to navigate. Please help us keep it that way.

7. We have locked the ability to post new Topics for the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewforum.php?f=5. Members can only post Replies to the existing Topics in this Forum. The intent is to get members to read the existing Topics before posting.

[RRMummy]

:goodpost: Hey Chief, thanks again for making life so much more organized and 'easier' for us!!


:celebrate:

ChiefKiasu:

SELECTING A SCHOOL

0. Before you post a question, use the

Hmm.. just noticed when I reread.. got LEVEL 0 woh... reminds me of Kungfu Panda :nunchuk: ...

[ChiefKiasu]

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS


1. Read the http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=305 first to understand the requirements for the P1 registration exercise. If you have any question regarding the statutory requirements for P1 registration, post your question in this thread.

2. You are NOT allowed to register for more than 1 school at any one point in time. If you have secured a place in a school in an earlier Phase, eg. Phase 2A, if you wish to try your luck for another school in Phase 2B or 2C, you must first withdraw from the first school before you are allowed to register with the rest of the parents in the later Phase.

3. You are ALLOWED to do Parent Volunteering (PV) services for more than 1 school, and qualify for Phase 2B for more than 1 school. But you can only register in Phase 2B for 1 school at any one point in time.

4. To qualify for Phase 2A2 as ex-students of a school, you need to either show your report card or your PSLE results. If you have lost both, you can purchase a new copy from MOE http://www.seab.gov.sg/SEAB/psle/lossPSLECert.html.

5. For the registration, you MUST bring the originals of the necessary documentation with you in person (or your authorized proxy). The school will make copies from the originals. If you want to save them the trouble, you can make the copies yourself and let them verify on the spot. But most likely the school will still prefer to make their own copies from the originals.

6. You may download and print and fill in the registration forms for each phase from this http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/application-forms, before you go to the school. Otherwise, you can always fill them out on the spot. Supposed to take only 5 mins to fill, assuming you have all the information on hand.

7. If spouse is outstation, photocopies of their NRIC are fine, but you need to produce the original copy of your marriage cert.

8. There is NO need to bring your child along to the registration exercise. But it is good to let your child have an look-see of the place where he/she will be spending the next 6 years of his/her life.

9. If you are unsuccessful in an earlier Phase (eg. Phase 2B) in securing a place for your child, you are allowed to try again for the same school at a later Phase (eg. Phase 2C). However, you need to re-register your child in the later Phase (it is NOT automatic), and you will be treated with the same status as all other applicants in that Phase.

[ChiefKiasu]

REGISTRATION STRATEGIES


1. Before asking what is your chance of getting into a particular school, help yourself by reading:
- http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=712 ;
- http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/singapore-primary-1-registration-school-balloting-history;
- http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/singapore-primary-schools-ranked-popularity

2. Nobody can guarantee you success if you are not in Phase 1 or 2A.

3. The most typical way of creating the best chance of getting into a school is to move to 1km to the school, and do Parents Volunteering (PV) for the school.

4. Read http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/enhancing-your-chances-getting-your-child-your-school-choice which summarizes the \"findings\" in the following threads to find out how you may qualify for Phase 2B.
- http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=269
- http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=243
- http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=420

[ZacK]

Thanks Chief for the reminder that it's almost registration time for kids going to P1 in 2010 and for organising the information :celebrate:

[luvmum]

:lovesite: :goodpost:


Thank u for putting this up...so the useful man!!!

[ChiefKiasu]

Thanks all for the compliments... it's just that we noticed a surge in traffic in the recent days and lots of newbies posting panic questions. Class Monitors jedamum and luanee have been working overtime directing traffic, so we definitely need to have an FAQ. What I have put up are not really FAQs, but more of a directory or sitemap. Moving forward, I'm hoping that people can contribute to this topic by posting in the following format:


Q: Burning question.
A: Iron-clad answer.

Sample:

Q: Why did the School Principal reject my PV offer?
A:
1. Because he can.
2. Because he already have 10 platoons of parents in his Parents Support Group offering to do the same traffic warden, librarian, canteen management, story reading, party management, car washing, apple polishing services.
3. Because his school don't have such a PV scheme.
4. Because you have passed the PV registration deadline.
5. ... etc

[Luanee]

Ur're right chief! Really a surge of panic questions recently! Makes me think of my own panic situation last year this time hee...


OK off hand I can think of this question, coz I had been answering similar ones many times:

Q: My child was borned in year XXXX. When do I need to sign up as a PV?
A:
1. First u add 7 to XXXX. That would be the year ur child be starting P1.
2. Then u minus 2 years from that, meaning by June of year XXXX+5 is the LATEST date u must get yourself accepted as a PV.
3. Some schools start PV registration earlier. So to be on the safe side, start enquiring one year earlier ie. XXXX+4.
4. And do note some schools are quite selective in their PV selection exercises, so pls have some back-up plan. And some schools do not accept PV at all.
5. If in any doubt, CALL UP the school to ask. That be best.

[ChiefKiasu]

RRMummy:

... Hmm.. just noticed when I reread.. got LEVEL 0 woh... reminds me of Kungfu Panda :nunchuk: ...

Indeed, RRMummy... there is now... a Level ZERO.

[ChiefKiasu]

Q: Can I use a rental address to register my child?

Variations:
Q: Can I use the address of my uncompleted property to register my child?
Q: Can I move house after my child's successful Primary school registration?
Q: How long must we stay at the address that was used to register my child?

A:
Based on what is published on http://www.moe.edu.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/required-documents/, MOE permits the use of the addresses of incomplete properties for Primary 1 Registration as long as the property is ready for the child to stay in no later than the start of Primary 3.

Aside from this, there are really no regulations pertaining to how long before or after P1 registration that parents are required to rent or stay at an address.

The most important principles are:
1. Your NRIC must always reflect the address you are currently staying in, or
2. you have papers to prove that you will be staying with your child in a yet-to-be completed address near the school, and
3. your child must be staying in the address you used for the registration when he/she enters Primary 1, or before Primary 3.

MOE (and KiasuParents.com) strongly encourage parents to stay put in that address for the full six years of their children's Primary school education, and for a good reason. However, this is difficult to enforce as people do have to move for various valid reasons. So it becomes an honor system for parents to report to the schools they are registering in that they do not intend to stay in the address for too long, and leave it to the school to decide what priority they should be giving to the registrant.

This is a loophole, exploited by some parents desperate to get a place for their child in the very popular schools. The most obvious modus operandi would be to either rent or purchase a property near the school which they have no intention to stay in for more than a few months, and change their NRIC address to the property's location for use during the Primary 1 Registration. In doing so, they would have violated the 1st and 3rd principles, since their child is not staying in that property for any extended period of time. They can be charged with lying about their home address, which is a serious and chargeable offence. There have been cases where parents have been caught and thrown into jail, and the child had to leave the school even after she has completed up to 2 years of Primary school.

So, yes, some parents may have been able to get away with it. But even if we do not consider the dire consequences of being found out, is the need to get into the popular schools so important that we have to lie and teach our children to lie in order to get into the schools? I think not.

Some valid reasons for changing address after P1 registration:
1. You are moving to another address within the vicinity of the school.
2. You are making some alternative child care arrangements, eg. you decided to move, but the child either stays with the care-giver in the original address, or close-by.