Admissions Policy

We welcome applications from all nationalities, although our primary mission is to serve the international community legally living in Japan for work. For this reason, we have established a priority system for our admissions and waiting lists. The admission categories are as follows (listed in order of highest to lowest priority):

Company transfers have a higher priority

1. Foreign students (neither parent nor student has a Japanese passport) 

2. Dual national students (one parent has a Japanese passport)

3. Japanese students returning from overseas or another international school within Japan (parent(s) and student have a Japanese passport

4. Japanese students (parent(s) and student have a Japanese passport)

Additional information:
FIS Siblings will be given priority within their group. All applications will be considered equally.

Due to increasing demand, some of our grade levels are full and currently have waiting lists. Because of the mobile nature of our community, spots do come up regularly, and we encourage all interested families to submit an application. Applicants will only be added to our waiting lists once a full application is received. When spots become available, places will be offered to the students on our waiting lists in the priority order listed above.

English is our language of instruction and communication at FIS.

While English proficiency is not required for Early Years students, a certain level of English proficiency is necessary for both Elementary and Secondary students.

Our admissions process is designed to help us understand what language support might be necessary for your child to be successful at FIS. All prospective families complete a Language Survey to identify which languages are spoken and to what proficiency. Depending on their linguistic background, students may be required to take the WIDA Model Assessment to determine their abilities in the four language domains (Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening). These results are crucial in determining the level of support needed. If an applicant's English level does not meet the accepted standard for their grade, the student may be supported by our ELL program after enrollment. In cases where a student's English proficiency would significantly impact their ability to meet academic requirements, the school may request an academic coach to help the student learn English as quickly as possible. The cost of the academic coach, in extreme cases, would be borne by the family.

It is important that at least one parent/guardian has some proficiency in English, as all communication from FIS is in English. After enrollment, our bilingual school staff can provide some translation support to families. Additionally, if FIS parents/guardians are interested in improving their English, they can enroll in English classes offered through our community English conversational school, FICS.

FIS is an inclusive learning environment and welcome applicants with neurodiverse needs. Severe needs may be difficult to support as FIS has limited support services and facilities available.

During the admission process, the Head of School and Wellbeing Assistant Principal will make a decision about FIS’s ability to support an individual's learning needs. In cases where a student's needs would significantly impact their ability to meet academic requirements, the school may request an academic coach to help the student. The cost of the academic coach, in extreme cases, would be borne by the family.

Length of Stay

FIS requires a minimum one-year commitment from all enrolled students.

Visas

For expatriate students, an official dependent visa is required in order to attend FIS. The school's mission is to serve the international community legally living in Japan for work therefore we are unable to accept students with temporary visitor visas. 

Please note that, as FIS is not a boarding school, we are unable to provide support for student visas or arrange housing.

Living Arrangements

It is an expectation that students will live with their parent or legally appointed guardian. Please refer to FIS GUARDIAN REPRESENTATIVE AGREEMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS.

For students for whom this is difficult due to the distance from FIS, please contact the school regarding other possible options. Please refer to the FIS Safeguarding page for additional information living arrangements.

• Children enrolled in Early Years must be toilet trained before attending Early Years.
• Children must be wearing underwear. 
  • Please note that wearing pull up diapers are not considered toilet trained. 
• A child having accidents daily would not be considered toilet trained. 

Why do children have to be toilet trained before they begin Early Years? 

• There are strict standards for changing and disposing of wet or soiled diapers/pull up diapers and our classrooms are not equipped for this. In order to adhere to the commitment to health and safety of our community, we have to uphold sanitary standards.
• When an adult is busy changing a child’s soiled clothing, or cleaning/sanitising the classroom, it is taking away from learning time for all students and it removes one adult from the direct supervision of and interaction with the rest of the class. 
• We do understand that even toilet trained children will occasionally have accidents. By definition, “accidents” are unusual incidents and should happen infrequently. In these instances, the teachers will help children to change their clothes as much as possible, adhering to safeguarding guidelines, whilst encouraging independence.

A toilet trained child is a child who can do the following: 

• Communicate to the teachers that he/she needs to go to the bathroom before they need to go 
• Alert him/herself to stop what he/she is doing, to go and use the bathroom 
• Pull down his/her clothes and get them back up without assistance 
• Wipe him/herself after using the toilet
• Get on/off the toilet by him/herself 
• Wash and dry hands
• Able to wait a) for someone who is in the bathroom or b) if we are away from the classroom 

We will ask your child many times throughout the day if they need to use the bathroom. A teacher will assist children as needed, but children should be able to complete toileting activities independently. This is an issue which protects all concerned. It is not uncommon for a child who is fully toilet trained to have a setback when he/she is in a new environment. Early Years staff are aware of this and will assist the children when necessary. Please have your child dressed in clothing that he/she can easily manage independently. Please send a complete change of clothes appropriate for the season. These will be left at school in case of accidents, and returned at the end of the school year. Parents will be notified if a child has a toileting accident. 

We understand that each child arrives at this milestone differently, however, if the situation is not manageable within the classroom environment, we will discuss the issue with the parents and reserve the right to suspend attendance of the child at such time. A child will not be considered toilet trained for our Early Years program if the child continues to consistently have toileting accidents after the first 3 weeks of school. After the first 3 weeks of school, considerate of the child’s age, the following policies will be in place for children who have accidents: 

• If one or two accidents occur in one week, the parents will be notified with the understanding that the issue needs to be addressed and corrected. 
• If three or more accidents occur in one week, the parent will be notified with the understanding that if the issue is not corrected by the end of the third week the child will have to stay home at least one week or longer until he/she is completely toilet trained. 
• If multiple accidents occur in one day, the parent will be notified on that day; and if not corrected by day three, the child will have to stay home at least one week or longer until he/she is completely toilet trained. 

Please note that this policy is not in place to shame or punish a child or inconvenience primary caregivers. Rather, cleaning accidents in the Early Years setting is time consuming, and this time that teachers spend attending to and cleaning accidents is time that they are not spending interacting with children and facilitating the curriculum in a safe manner. This policy is intended to ensure the safety and happiness of children and staff at Fukuoka International School.