Some parents of children beginning kindergarten next year who were expecting to enrol their child in a nearby catchment have already been told that they will have to attend their local school instead, the Sun-Herald understands. Loading Enforcement of the out-of-area enrolment policy long has been patchy, with some principals abiding by the rules and others "empire building", according to education insiders - deliberately growing their populations through out-of-area enrolments to gain prestige or higher salaries. Many principals also had only a vague idea of their school's capacity, and would include existing demountables in their calculations. Some demountables have been on school grounds for years, if not decades. But a revised policy was introduced on July 22 and principals have been told it is to be implemented consistently across the system.

The key changes are the introduction of 100-points of identification at enrolment for high-demand schools, and the clarity on population based on permanent buildings. Each principal has been given a cap calculated by the department's Asset Management Unit, and department officials will discuss the suggested cap with each principal and finalise the number by the end of this term. Out-of-area students already at schools will not be affected. But if a school is over its cap, a younger sibling entering kindergarten school might be refused a spot. Schools under their cap will still be able to take out-of-area enrolments. But those close to it will have to convene a panel and make the choice based on strict criteria. Sibling rights are the chief priority. "Criteria must not include student ability, performance or achievement," the policy said.

Those over the cap will not be able to take any non-local enrolments, and will, over time, need to cut their populations back. Principals will be able to ask their regional manager for approval to take an extra out-of-area student under extenuating circumstances, such as the non-local sibling of a child in a support unit. Loading While many schools in Sydney are over capacity, many also sit half-empty as the result of a well-entrenched culture of parents shopping for schools outside their local catchment on the basis of reputation or NAPLAN results. The new policy, initiated by former Education Minister Rob Stokes last year, was intended to address the problem of some schools being crowded with demountables, and others down the road having empty classrooms. Primary Principals Association president Phil Seymour said principals recognised the need to rationalise enrolment policy but "we have to have a heart and show compassion for our students and families and the circumstances they find themselves in," he said.

"The issue of sibling rights need to be honoured. We need to support our families and ensure sibling are attending the same school." He also questioned the way the cap is calculated, saying many schools didn't have enough permanent buildings to cater for local demand. "The formula used by the department needs to be adjusted to reflect the actual enrolments or there will be an enormous impact on staffing and principal classification." The head of the Secondary Principals Council, Craig Petersen, said principals wanted to keep the discretion to allow out-of-area enrolments under exceptional circumstances. They also want reassurance rules will be applied consistently around the state. "We are a state-wide system of education, we are not 2200 schools building our individual empires," he said.

Mr Petersen called for a transition period over a few years, to guard against some schools being affected by rapid increases or decreases in their numbers. He also acknowledged some parents would be upset to see their options reduced. "From a public educator's perspective, what we don't want to do is to be driving parents who choose public education away from public education - we want to be the system of choice," he said. Both principals said the department was listening to their concerns. David Hope, the president of the P&C Northern Sydney District Council, said he understood the need to use assets more effectively, but if the department reduced parent choice it also needed to ensure that standards were high at every school. "What we are advocating is that they'd solve the problem if they bought every school up to the same high standards," he said.

Lynda Montiero-Wallace, the convener of the Eastern Suburbs P&C Alliance, queried how the permanent buildings at schools in the eastern beaches could cater for the rapidly increasing population. "How are they going to limit in-area enrolments?" she said. Maurie Mulheron from the NSW Teachers Federation said the union was not consulted about the revision, but has been receiving complaints from members who were concerned about the staffing allocation at their schools. The federation wrote to the department on Friday requesting a meeting for early this week to get more information. A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said "the department is providing principals with greater clarity when undertaking enrolments.