SA public schools to welcome mid-year intake from 2024

Is your child born between May 1 and October 31? Then there’s good news coming for you, with mid-year intakes returning to SA public schools and preschools.

CHILDREN will be able to join preschools halfway through the year from 2023, and reception students can meet their new classmates the following July.

The government has allocated $72m in its forward estimates to make good on its commitment to reintroduce a mid-year intake for students in government schools and preschools.

Public schools stopped offering multiple school intakes in 2014.

Resuming the mid-year intake – alongside the January one – aims to help reduce the large age gaps in early year classes and differences in students’ development. From 2023, children born between May 1 and October 31 will be able to begin preschool from the start of term 3 in the year they turn four.

Modbury South Preschool students Matt, Poppy and Loe. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Education Minister Blair Boyer said early childhood research had made it clear how crucial the years before school were to a child’s development.

“Starting preschool and school can be an exciting but sometimes challenging time for families,” he said.

“We hope with the introduction of the mid-year intake, parents can confidently know that their child is starting preschool and school at the best time for them.”

Money to revive the mid-year intake starts flowing in from 2023-24 ($17m), with the bulk of the funding allocated over the two following years.

Mr Boyer said families had been calling for flexibility, and the move meant children born in the middle of the year would no longer have to wait until the year following their fourth birthday for their sons and daughters to begin their “learning journey”.

Education Minister Blair Boyer with Modbury South Preschool student Poppy and local MP for Newland Olivia Savvas. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The move is expected to help teachers offer programs better suited to children’s age and stage of development.

SA Association of School Parent Communities president Jenice Zerna backed the changes.

“Of course it’s not compulsory – some parents will think their child is not ready, but at least they still have the option,” she said.

“It’s really good for their social skills, especially those that don’t have a lot of interaction with other children.”

As previously reported, another major policy shift is Labor’s plan to offer preschool for three-year-olds from 2026.

The budget includes $2m, split over two years, to set up a royal commission into early childhood education and care.

It will examine how preschool programs can be delivered in SA and also look at ways the school day might better meet working families’ needs. Other pre-poll commitments include $50m over four years for 100 more mental health learning specialists at government schools, and $29m to appoint an “autism lead teacher” in all primary schools.

Another $119m has been set aside to expand the capacities of Adelaide Botanic High School and Roma Mitchell Secondary College, to collectively accommodate an extra 1000 students.

In addition, $27m is allocated to 19 smaller school upgrades, including $4m each for Avenues College in Windsor Gardens and Westport Primary, Semaphore Park. However, that money would not be available until the next two financial years.

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