We welcome you on your journey to Prep.Starting Prep can be a very daunting time, not only for your child but for you as a parent, especially if this is your first child's journey to school. We hope to be able to help you on your journey and answer a few of the many questions you may have in the information below, as you start the enrolment process.
When can my child start Prep?
Prep is available to all children who turn 5 years old by the 30th June in the year they start Prep. View the Department of Education's
age calculator to determine when your child can commence their preparatory year. If your child is eligible to start Prep, please read through the enrolment steps below.
Prep Enrolment Procedure
To make a successful transition to Prep, we have a few simple requests:
- Attend one of our Prep Information Sessions (Optional)
-
Complete an enrolment application (Required)
- Come along to Koala Joeys Playgroup
(Optional)
- Meet with our Deputy Principal (Required)
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Enrol into our Pre-Prep Program - Benowa Bunyips
(Optional)
-
Attend our Meet your Teacher day (Required)
Prep Information Session and Tour
A number of sessions, including an evening session, are held to provide parents with information about Prep and school for children of this age at our school. Parents are provided with the opportunity to tour our Prep area and to have their questions answered.
Each year we utilise an online platform to continue to engage with families enrolling with us, covering a number of topics, and again providing families with the ability to ask questions. If you are confident as a parent, your child will sense this, and is more likely to transition positively and with reduced anxiety into the new environment.
Registrations for our Prep Information Sessions are essential.
Registrations for 2025 sessions will open shortly, please check back with us to secure your spot.
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Find out everything you need to know about starting Prep at our Prep Information Session.
For your child starting Prep in 2026.
Registrations will open soon.
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Upcoming Information Sessions:
06 March 2025, 9:30am or 6:00pm
22 May 2025, 9:30am or 6:00pm
28 August 2025, 9:30am
Enrolment Application
To ensure your enrolment process is as smooth as possible, and to be eligible for all pre-prep activities at the end of the year, please submit the following documents prior to Week 8 of Term 3 of the previous year of enrolment:
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Enrolment Application
- Birth Certificate (or other documentary evidence)
- Current passport and visa for any child born overseas
- Proof of residence (such as a rates notice or lease agreement for in catchment only)
- A secondary source of proof of residence (such as a recent electricity bill or drivers licence for in catchment only)
- Any medical documents relevant to your child
(such as an Action Plan)
- Legal/court order if applicable
Please note that we require original documentation (or originals witnessed by a Justice of the Peace/Commissioner of Declaration) where possible.
On completing your enrolment application form, please submit along with the above documentation in person at Reception or email directly to our Enrolments Officer at enrolments@benowass.eq.edu.au.
Prep Enrolment Appointment
All enrolling families are invited to meet with Mrs Lange, our Deputy Principal for Prep - Year 2, during Terms 2 and 3. This is an opportunity to meet you and your child, to share information and for
us to learn how we can support your child through their transition to school.
Supporting your child in their successful transition to school
We value the contributions you have made to your child's development since birth, as well as the decisions around their early learning opportunities. We very much look forward to working with you, as we all know how important the readiness of the child for school, the school for the child, and your capacity as parents is, to their development.
Benowa State School offers a number of opportunities for future children and their families to be a part of the school community, recognising that the more confident a child is about their surroundings, the more scope they have for learning and social development.
The following are some of those opportunities that are offered each year:
Koala Joeys Playgroup
Each Wednesday from 9:00am – 10:30am from Week 2 - 10 of school Term's 1-3 and Week 2-7 in Term 4, families are invited to accompany their child/ren aged from 0 (birth) to 5 years (pre-prep) to Koala Joeys; our very own playgroup facilitated by our trained staff.
Koala Joeys is located within Benowa State School and we provide a range of organised activities based on the Early Years Learning Framework and is the ideal program to familiarise your children with the school environment prior to their commencement of Prep. Please
visit our Koala Joeys page for more information on the program, and the benefits of regularly attending.
The Benowa Bunyips Pre-Prep Program
This Program is a series of five sessions run by our staff in Term 4 - for children enrolled in the Prep Program for the following year. Please note: enrolment applications and prep appointment need to be completed prior to acceptance into the Benowa Bunyips Program. It comprises of:
activities suitable for this age,
a visit to each of the prep classrooms and
visits to many of the shared spaces the children will be a part of the following year, including playgrounds and the iCentre (library).
Please contact our Enrolment Officer, Jill Sabell on +61 (0) 7 5510 4382 or email: enrolments@benowass.eq.edu.au for more information on any of these exciting activities.
We look forward to being a part of your child's education when you enrol with us.
Are you within our Catchment Area?
A school catchment area is the local area that surrounds a school. Your local state school is the school which is closest to your home. A map of the local area surrounding the school defines the catchment area and a state school's core intake of students must live within the catchment area of that school. Catchment areas ensure every Queensland student from Prep to Year 12 is able to enrol at their local state school.
You can still apply for enrolment at Benowa State School if you are out of the catchment area, however enrolment is not guaranteed.
For more information on our Catchment Area and to find out whether you live in the Benowa State School catchment, please click through to our Catchment Area page.