Parents and guardians of children are being informed by The Highland Council that its time for enrolment into pre-school and primary school in the Highlands.
The next school session starts on 16 August 2011. All children who will be five on or before that date should be enrolled during primary enrolment week commencing 31 January 2011.
Children who will be five between 17 August 2011 and 29 February 2012 may also enrol at this time although it may be decided, after discussion, to delay entry.
Chairman of The Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport Committee Councillor Bill Fernie said: "It's important for people to register their children. I am aware of some parents' queries about younger children and whether they are old or mature enough to start school. Now is the time to raise any queries about your children and to do so as soon as possible to enable the Council to plan appropriately for the next academic year."
Enrolment will take place at local primary schools at 3pm each day from 31 January to 4 February 2011. Where Gaelic Medium Education is available, parents should indicate their preference when enrolling their child for primary school.
All children born between 1 March 2007 and 28 February 2009 are entitled to a funded pre-school place during the session 2011/2012. Enrolments will be accepted during the week commencing 7 February 2011 for all pre-school funded places.
Parents wishing their to enrol their child / children for a place can contact their local primary school, playgroup or nursery for information on registered centres in their area and the enrolments procedures.
For information on Gaelic Medium pre-school provision in certain areas contact Highland Council Childcare Information Service for details on 0845 6011345 or email: childcareinformationservice[AT]highland.gov.uk.
An information leaflet is available for parents who are considering bilingual Gaelic Medium education for their child or children. Copies of the leaflet are available at Highland Council Service Points and on the Council's website at www.highland.gov.uk/gaelicmediumeducation
Councillor Hamish Fraser, Chairman of The Highland Council's Gaelic Committee said: "In the 25th anniversary of Gaelic Education my message to parents or guardians is to enrol your children for Gaelic Education. There are many reasons why you should: one of which is, learning Gaelic at a young age makes it easier to learn other European languages. Also, research carried out by Edinburgh University has proven that young people who grow up with more than one language have a range of mental benefits that make them better at learning and more effective at dealing with complex situations."
At both pre-school and primary school enrolments parents should bring their child's / children's birth certificate with them.