How to Enrol at James Cook Primary School

Everything you need to know about how to enrol your child at James Cook Primary School. If you have questions not answered on this page (and on the linked pages) please contact the school office on 9700 2601.

Our School Zone

Are We Your Designated Neighbourhood School?

Our school zone is available on findmyschool.vic.gov.au which hosts the most up-to date information on school zones in Victoria. 

Students residing within our school zone are guaranteed a place at our school. Your school zone is determined based on your permanent residential address. 

Our school manages enrolments using the Placement Policy to ensure that students have access to their local school. Students may enrol at another school if there are available places. 

For more information about our school zone, please contact our school.

For answers to frequently asked questions about school zones, visit School zones. 

For more information, you can:

• email the VSBA at vsba@education.vic.gov.au
• visit School zones for answers to frequently asked questions
• call the School Provision and Establishment Division via the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) on 1800 896 950

Students Outside our Zone

Enrolments from outside the boundary can be submitted for consideration after September 30th, once the demand on our capacity from families within our boundary becomes clearer. We cannot provide an outcome to students outside the boundary until we have assessed all applications from students inside the boundary.

Students residing in this zone are guaranteed a place at our school, which is determined on the basis of your permanent residential address. Proof of residential address will be required.

If you live outside the James Cook Primary School zone you are not guaranteed a place at the school, since we must prioritise enrolments for students that live near our school. Please contact the school to put your child on our waitlist, but we highly recommend that you initiate enrolment with your local school in the meantime, on the assumption that James Cook PS will not be able to accept your enrolment. 

An important consideration for out-of-zone enrolment is the transition to high school. The main high schools we feed to are Gleneagles Secondary College, Hallam Secondary College & Doveton College and they are often at capacity and do not accept enrolments from outside their zone. This means that if we accept an out-of-zone enrolment at James Cook PS, when that student graduates to Year 7 all their friends will go to their local school and your child will have to go to a different high school without their peer group.

New Foundation (Prep) Students

All Victorian government primary schools follow the statewide Foundation (Prep) enrolment timeline. The timeline advises families when and how to enrol their child at a Victorian government primary school. 

For more information about the enrolment timeline, visit: Enrolling in Foundation (Prep). 

Our school uses the Department of Education’s secure digital enrolment system called VicStudents. This means you can submit your Foundation (Prep) application online and receive updates through the system. If you have any questions about the online enrolment process, please contact our school. Paper enrolment application forms are also available on request. 

Enrolment in primary school is a three-step process:

1. Book a school tour. We run periodic tours of the school for prospective parents to learn about James Cook PS and see the facilities and teaching in person. The school tours are run by a member of our Principal team. All tours start in the Administration office at the school. Bookings are essential,  please call the office on 9700 2601 for tour dates & times.
   
   
2. Apply to enrol using the online portal. This is your expression of interest in attending James Cook PS, but you can apply to other primary schools at the same time. Applications for Prep 2026 are open from Monday April 20, 2026 and are due on or before Friday July 31, 2026.
   
   
3. Accept an offer and complete enrolment. If your application is successful we will send you an offer of placement by email in early August 2026. To enrol you will then need to return to the online portal and complete the required enrolment forms.

You can only use the online form for new Preps in 2027 — for all other enrolments, please contact the school.

If you need assistance using the online enrolment form there is a Quick Reference Guide for Parents:
Quick Reference Guide for Parents on Digital Enrolment
Please see the Starting School page on the Dept website for more information.
See below for more information on forms and the transition program.

Other Year Level Enrolments (non-Preps)

If your child is transferring from another school to James Cook PS, then you will need to first have an interview with the Assistant Principal. Please contact the school to arrange an appointment.

We also accept enrolment applications for students in other year levels. You can submit a request at any time in the school year.  

Eligible students who live within our school zone are guaranteed a place, while students outside the zone may be enrolled if there are available places. 

If you are seeking enrolment at other year levels, please contact our school for more information. 

School Tours

We run periodic tours of the school for prospective parents to learn about James Cook PS and see the facilities and teaching in person. The school tours are run by a member of our Principal team. All tours start in the Administration office at the school. Bookings are essential, please call the office on 9700 2601 for tour dates & times.

Transition Program & 'UP Day'

Every year we run a 5-week transition program in November and December for new Prep students the following year. This transition program provides:

For Children: a chance to learn how their Prep classes will be structured each day, to meet their new teachers and fellow students.

For Parents: while the students are meeting their new teachers, parents are provided with information sessions about every aspect of James Cook PS, and are given an opportunity to ask questions.

For Teachers: the transition sessions provide an opportunity for all Prep teachers to meet and interact with all future students, and to watch their interactions with other students. This informs their decisions about class and teacher allocations.

Additionally, the Victorian Department of Education has an annual Orientation Day in December for Year 6 students to attend their high school for the following year. On the same day we have our “UP Day” when students “step up” to their classes for the following year to meet their new teachers and fellow classmates. If you will be attending James Cook PS the following year we encourage you to bring your children to our ‘UP Day’.

Required Forms

Enrolment Form

For Prep students, you can use the online form linked above in the Prep section.

To enrol your non-Prep child at James Cook PS you will need to complete an enrolment application and provide specific information about your child. This information is listed on the Department of Education website, and we are unable to enrol your child until we have received all the required forms. To commence this process, please contact the school.

Enrolment application forms for students not in Prep are available for collection from the school office. Enrolment application forms for students in Years 1-6 are not available online.

Please note that the forms must be completed and signed by both legal guardians. If you are unable to get both parents signatures please contact the school office.

Immunisation History Statement

You will also need to provide your child’s immunisation status via an Immunisation History Statement (IHS) before we can complete enrolment — you can get the IHS through Medicare Online. If you need to get it through the post it can take up to 14 days.

Medical Information (Management Plans)

If your child has a medical condition that may require support during school hours then you should provide details (e.g. asthma management plan, required daily medications, etc) with your enrolment. Our leadership team can discuss the support we can provide at school, so please contact the school office if you need to discuss your child’s needs.

Proof of Address

Proof of address needs to be supplied when applying for enrolment at James Cook Primary School. This can be in the form of a drivers licence, utility bill, or rental agreement.

You may find these videos helpful in navigating the enrolment process:

Foundation Enrolment Process - English Video

Foundation Enrolment Process - Arabic Translation (Voiceover)

Foundation Enrolment Prcess - Dari Translation (Voiceover)

Foundation Enrolment Process - Hazaragi Translation (Voiceover)

Foundation Enrolment Process - Turkish Translation (Voiceover)

Foundation Enrolment Process - Farsi Translation (Voiceover)