4. Decisions and deferrals

After the testing and interview stage has been completed, the school admissions panel convenes to make decisions. Final decisions regarding admission and class placement are based on considerations of:

• The content of the documentation received at the time of initial application
• The result of the applicant’s English proficiency testing
• The result of the applicant’s mathematics test (Grades 2 and above)
• The result of the student interview (Grades 4 and above)
• The result of the parent interview

In addition, the following factors are also considered:

• Availability of places
• Age eligibility
• Balance of cultural backgrounds, genders and English abilities
• Physical and social maturity, especially for younger children

For the main intake periods, final results are sent out by e-mail on the dates specified (see Section 3.02). At other times during the year, we aim to send out final results by e-mail no earlier than one week after the final component of the testing and interview stages has been completed. In some instances, depending on the number of applicants tested or when further consideration is required, issuance of results may take longer than one week. Only an applicant’s parents/guardians will be informed of the results.

All decisions are final and non-negotiable.

Admissions results take the following forms:

• Successful – The application has been successful and a place in a particular class has been reserved. A formal Offer of Enrollment letter and an invoice for school fees is sent to the applicant. The fees must be received by the date indicated on the invoice in order to secure placement. Payments not received by the due date will result in the automatic cancellation of the offer.
• Successful (English Language Support) – The application has been successful, but language support has been deemed necessary for the applicant in one or more skill areas (i. e. reading, writing, listening, speaking).
• Successful (Conditional): The application has been successful but with various conditions concerning academic or behavioral issues. Enrollment will be reviewed after a certain period and the conditions must have been met in order for the child to continue learning at KIST.
• Unsuccessful – The application has been unsuccessful. In general, this result is likely to be due to a combination of reasons such as when the result of the applicant’s English and/or mathematics testing is below expectations for admission to the grade level applied for; when the views expressed by parents/guardians during the parent interview do not match with the school’s philosophy and aims; or when there are concerns regarding the applicant’s general behavior, attitude or motivation. As we are unable to provide feedback of any kind, we suggest you reflect on your application carefully in relation to the criteria outlined before submitting a further application. Unsuccessful applicants who wish to re-apply must wait until the next school year.
• Waiting list / Waiting list (English Language Support) – The application has been successful but there are no places available in the relevant class. Regardless of the timing of application, this placement is valid until the end of the school year for which you applied. We will notify applicants if a place becomes available during the period of waiting. This is based on certain criteria being met regarding cultural background, gender and language needs. If a period of six months or more has passed since the original testing date, a re-assessment to check the applicant’s current English and/or mathematics level may be required before a final offer can be issued. In this case, the re-assessment will be conducted at no additional cost. If no places become available, the application will expire at the end of the school year for which you applied. If the result of the re-assessment indicates that the child’s level has declined below that required for admission, the application will be cancelled. While on the waiting list, families are strongly encouraged to investigate other schooling alternatives. We cannot guarantee if or when a place may become available. If places do become available, it may be at any time during the period of waiting. If you receive an offer of enrollment while on the waiting list, but are unable to accept for certain reasons, please advise whether you wish to remain on the waiting list or to cancel your waiting list enrollment. We may contact you at certain times during the period of waiting to reconfirm your intention to remain on the waiting list or not. We also ask that families contact our admissions office to inform us of any change in circumstances.
• Re-assessment – The applicant has not been assessed due to extenuating circumstances on the day of the admissions test. Depending on the specific situation, the applicant may be given a new date to participate in testing. In cases where a very young child has been unable to participate due to becoming distressed or being unable to separate from their parents, if an opportunity for re-assessment is granted, the date of the re-assessment will be scheduled no earlier than three months after the original test date in order to allow time for the child to develop. Until the re-assessment has been completed, a final result cannot be issued and a place in the class will not be held. It is possible that any available places may have been filled by the time the re-assessment is conducted.

If the results of a child’s English and/or mathematics test (Grades 2 and above) indicate that the child requires additional English language and/or mathematics support over and above that which can be offered in the regular classroom, an offer of enrollment may include one or more stipulations that the child attends before- or after-school support classes on weekdays (fees apply), and/or the Summer Academic Program during the summer vacation
(fees apply). Depending on the level of support required, attendance may either be compulsory or recommended. If compulsory, failure to participate may result in cancellation of enrollment.

Families who receive an offer of enrollment must act quickly to secure a place for their child. An offer of enrollment will be accompanied by an invoice for school fees. Offers of enrollment are valid only until the payment date indicated on the invoice. For payments not received by the due date, it will be assumed that you have decided not to accept the offer and the application will be cancelled automatically. In fairness to other families waiting for a place, an offer cannot be extended beyond the date indicated on the invoice for any reason. Furthermore, once an offer of enrollment has been cancelled it cannot be re-instated except where special circumstances can be proven and the following conditions are met:

• Immediate places must be available in the relevant class.
• You must contact our Admissions Office before the date of enrollment indicated on the original offer of enrollment.
• You must have provided a reason for non-acceptance of the original offer of enrollment by the due date of school fees.

If any of the above conditions are not met, your request for re-instatement will be denied. If re-instatement is approved, a handling charge of ¥2,000 will apply. Once received, the enrollment fee is non-refundable for any reason. As such, parents of children offered a place at KIST should consider their family situation very carefully and find out everything they need to know about the school before accepting an offer of enrollment through payment of the enrollment fee. After payment has been confirmed, families will receive information on how to access our online enrollment documents portal (for August enrollments, this will be sent around the end of June). All families must complete and submit all required documents prior to the first day of school. If not submitted before the first day, the student will not be permitted to enter the classroom.

Families who receive an offer of enrollment for their child’s admission but wish to delay the starting date for various unforeseen reasons, such as a change to their date of arrival in Japan, may apply for a short-term enrollment deferral. The maximum time a student may defer enrollment is one deferral period corresponding to the main school vacation periods (i. e. August–December; January–March; or April–June) only. Deferral for longer periods is not possible.

There are two types of deferral:

• Secured deferral – Families pay the school fees for the deferral period to secure the child’s placement. This includes tuition fees as well as annual general fees (excluding optional services such as school bus and school lunch).
• Unsecured deferral – Families do not pay the school fees for the deferral period. The child’s placement is not secured. Enrollment is dependent on the availability of a place at the end of the approved deferral period. If no places are available, the student is added to the general waiting list, if requested, until the end of the school year originally applied for.

For both secured and unsecured deferrals, as your child is not considered to be officially enrolled at KIST until the first date of attendance, the deferral period is not counted as part of your child’s overall period of enrollment. Families who wish to apply for a short-term enrollment deferral should download the Application for Enrollment Deferral from the school website and submit it to the office before the first day of school for which your child was accepted (as indicated on your Offer of Enrollment). Applications received after the first day of school are not accepted.

If the circumstances in which a student was accepted change after enrollment, the school reserves the right to conduct an enrollment review. This includes situations where issues concerning a student’s academic ability, attitude or behavior not identified during the application screening and admissions testing process become evident, or when learning or developmental problems become evident after enrollment. The purpose of the review is to allow us to identify the needs of the student and assess if we have, or are able to access, suitable facilities or staff that will fully meet the student’s needs. It is also designed to identify areas in which parents can support the student to meet his or her needs. As KIST does not employ a learning needs specialist, in some cases, an enrollment review may result in enrollment being cancelled if we believe that we are unable to meet a student’s identified needs.

Only one application may be submitted per school year. Unsuccessful applicants must wait until the next school year before re-applying. Furthermore, applicants tested in December for admission during the January–March period, as well as those tested in January/February for admission during April or May or the subsequent school year commencing in August, who receive a result of “Unsuccessful” or “Waiting” must wait for a minimum of six months before applying for the next school year.