Enrolment Policy
A General Introduction:
The Board of Management of St.
Patrick’s J.N.S. Corduff is setting out the above policy in accordance with the
provisions of the Education Act 1998. The B.O.M. trusts that parents will be
assisted in relation to enrolment issues and that the Principal will be willing
to clarify any matters arising from this policy.
Decisions
in relation to applications for enrolment are made by the Board of Management
of the school.
(1) St. Patrick’s Corduff is a Catholic Co-educational
Junior Primary School under the patronage of his Grace the Archbishop of
Dublin.
(2) It currently has nineteen teachers
comprising administrative Principal.
There are additional Support Teachers catering for Early Start, Learning Support,
Learning Disability, Foreign-Nationals and Home/School/Community Liaison.
(3) Classes range from Junior Infants to
Second with a half unit of Early Start-i.e.
30
pupils.
(4) Our school is staffed and resourced by
the Department of Education and Skills and we operate within the regulations
laid down by the Department with due regard to the resources and funding
available.
(5) Our school follows the
curricular programmes prescribed by the D.E.S. which may be amended from time
to time in accordance with Section 9 and 30 of the Education Act 1998.
(6) Within the context and parameters of
Department regulations and programmes, the rights of the Patron and the funding
and resources available, our school supports the principles of:
(a) Inclusiveness to include the enrolment
of children with a disability or other specific educational needs
(b) Equality of access and participation to
the school
(c) Parental choice in relation to enrolment
(d) Respect for the diversity of values, beliefs,
traditions, languages,
Culture and
ways of life in society.
(7) Our school opens at 9.00a.m. and closes
at 2.40p.m.
(8) Our breakfast club is available to all
pupils from 8.30a.m. Daily.
(9) A list of school closures for the year
is drafted, sanctioned by the Board of
Management
and distributed to parents by September 30th yearly.
Rationale:
This
policy aims to ensure that the appropriate procedures are in place to enable
the school
- To make decisions on all applications in an open and transparent
manner, the mission statement of the school and legislative requirements.
- To make an accurate and appropriate assessment of the capacity of
the school to cater for the needs of applicants in the light of the
resources available to it and
- To put in place a framework which will ensure effective and
productive relations between students, parents and teachers where a
student is admitted to the school.
Legal Framework:
Education (Admission to school)
Act 2018
Section
9 (j) of the Education Act 1998 specifies, that “ A recognized school shall …
Subject to this Act and in particular section 15 (2) (d), establish and
maintain an admissions policy which provides for maximum accessibility to the
school”.
Section
15 (2) (d) states the Board of Management shall “publish …. The policy of the
school concerning admission to and participation in the school and ensure that
policy principles of equality and the right of parents to send their children
to a school of the parents’ choice are respected”.
Section
27 (1) states that “ A board shall establish and maintain procedures for the
purpose of informing students in a school of the activities of the school” and
(2) that “the procedures established and maintained under subsection (1) shall
facilitate the involvement of the students in the operation of the School
having regard to the age and experience of the students, in association with
their parents and teachers”.
The Education Welfare Act, 2000 [Section 19 (1)] requires that a Board of Management shall not refuse to
admit a child except where such refusal is in accordance with the school’s
Admission Policy. Section 19 (2)
requires that parents must provide relevant information to the school while
Section 19 (3) requires that the Board of Management, shall as soon as possible
(but no later than 21 days) after receiving such information “make a decision
in respect of the application concerned and inform the parent in writing
thereof”
The Equal Status Act, 2000 [Sections 5 & 7 (2)] prohibits discrimination on the grounds
of “gender, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race
or membership of the Travelling Community” regarding admission, access to
programmes, participation in the school or regarding expulsion or any other
sanction. There are limited exceptions
regarding single-sex schools and schools promoting particular religious values
[Section 7 (3)]
Goals:
The
school shall have in place appropriate channels of communication and procedures
- To inform parents about the school, it’s programmes, activities and
procedures.
- To enable applications for admission to the school to be handled in
an open, transparent manner.
- To put in place criteria under which applications shall be
considered
- To ensure that these criteria are informed by our ethos, our mission
statement and current legislation.
- To specify what information is required by the school at the time of application.
B. Procedures:
The school’s
procedures for enrolment which are subject to regular review are as follows:
1. Application:
Parents/Guardians who
wish to enrol pupils in Junior Infants will be required to come to the school in
January of the year of commencement and fill out an application form. A copy of the pupil’s birth cert, ppsn and a
utility bill is required for those who reside in the parish/catchment.
Enrolment dates are
communicated through the School, Parish Newsletter, Home/School/Community Liaison Co-coordinator
and other parents.
Information on the Enrolment Form may include:
Pupils’ name, age and
address. Name and address of pupil’s parents/guardians
Contact telephone
numbers
Contact telephone
numbers in case of emergency
Details of any
medical conditions which the school should be aware of
Religion
Previous schools
attended if any, and reasons for transfer (if applicable)
Any other relevant
information (including any such further information as may be prescribed under
the Education Welfare Act (2000) or Education for persons with Special
Education Needs Act (2004)
It is the
responsibility of parents/guardians of any child to inform the school of any
particular needs on the enrolment application form for the child’s own
welfare. In this context the school
authorities will have equal regard for the welfare of all the students and
their right to an education in an atmosphere that is not detrimental to their
physical, emotional, moral, social or intellectual development. Failure to
fully complete the application form, failure to supply any relevant information
requested by the school or failure to make reasonable arrangements to meet with
the school authorities to discuss the application may result in a child being
refused admission to the school.
Application for immediate admission in the current
school year
·
Application forms are available from the school
secretary
·
Failure to fully complete forms will result in refusal
to admit the applicant
2. Decision Making:
Decisions
in relation to applications for enrolment are made on behalf of the Board of
Management in accordance with our school policy. Parents will be informed of decision within
21 days of a written application. (Education Welfare Act 2000)
In general the Board of
Management, in so far as practicable, having regard for our enrolment policy
will enrol children on application provided that there is a place
available. The Board of Management
reserves the right to determine the number of classes at each level and the
maximum number of children in each class. The number will vary across class
levels as factors such as the following will be taken into consideration. Size
of/available space in classrooms
Ø Educational needs of
children of a particular age
Ø Multigrade classes
Ø Presence of children
with special educational/behavioural needs
Ø DES class average directives
Ø Teaching resources
provided to the school
The maximum number of children
accepted into our classes will be reviewed by the BOM annually.
Right of
Refusal
The Board of Management reserves the right to
refuse an application for admission in exceptional cases - e.g.
1. In the opinion of
the Board of Management, the child poses an unacceptable health and safety risk
to other students, to school staff or to school property.
Or
2. A child has
special needs such that, even with additional non-teaching resources available
from DES/NCSE, the school cannot meet such needs and/or provide the child with
an appropriate education
The Board of Management is bound
by the Department of Education and Skills Rules for National Schools which
provides that pupils may only be enrolled from the age of four years.
Criteria for enrolment for
schools under the Patronage of His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin.
1. Siblings of pupils in St. Patrick’s JNS and St. Patrick’s
SNS
2. Children who attend the
Early Start Unit of St. Patrick’s J.N.S.
3. All children who live
within the catchment/ parish boundaries applying for a placement are entitled
to a place if there are vacancies after the groups from (1) and (2) have been
allocated places.
4. All children who apply to the school
are entitled to a place in the school if there are vacancies in the school
after groups from (1) to (3) have allocated places.
Criteria for enrolment for Early
Start:
In accordance with the Department of Education and Skills revised
guidelines (March 2012) the following criteria apply for enrolment in Early
Start.
As applications greatly exceed current intake of 30 pupils, the following
criteria is used:
1. Children must
be more than 3 years and less than 4 years and
7 months on the 1st September of the year of enrolment.
2. Needs
of Family/Child.
3. Recommendation of other
agencies.
The
Board of Management extends these criteria to include:
4. Siblings of children
currently attending St. Patrick’s JNS.
5. Siblings of children
currently attending St. Patrick’s SNS.
6. Children of the parish/catchment.
In the event that
there are more applications than places available, priority will be given to
(a) Department of Education & Skills
guidelines.
(b) To children in the fourth category in
order of age, starting with the oldest.
(c) All other categories.
On application all parents will be informed that having
a child’s name on the waiting list does not guarantee a place in Early
Start. This is also stated on the Early
Start Application Form.
C.
1. Enrolment of Children with Special
Needs:
The
Board of Management may request a copy of the child’s medical and/or
Psychological
report or request that a child be assessed immediately in order to establish
the educational and training needs of the child relevant to his/her disability
or special needs and to profile the support service required. Following the receipt of the report the Board
will assess how the school could meet the needs specified in the report. Where the Board deems that further resources
are required, it will, prior to enrolment, request the Department of Education
and Skills to provide the resources needed to meet the needs of the child as
outlined in the medical or psychological report.
The
resources necessary may include any or a combination of the following:-
Visiting
teacher service, resource teacher hours, special needs assistant and
specialized
equipment or furniture, transport or other.
The
Principal will meet the parents of the child to discuss the child’s needs.
Appeals
Details on appealing
decisions on enrolment under section 29 of the Education Act (as amended by
Section 4 of the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2007) are available
on the Department’s website at www.education.ie.
2. Pupils Transferring:
Pupils may transfer
to St. Patrick’s J.N.S. at any time subject to the school policy and available
space and in some cases the approval of the Department of Education and
Skills. A notice of enrolment will be
issued and relevant information concerning attendance and the child’s
educational progress will be requested. (Education Welfare Act).
3. Parents who accept a place for their
child in St. Patrick’s JNS will be required to sign an undertaking to uphold
the school’s policies including its Code of Behaviour. Parents must also accept
the Catholic Ethos of the school as a condition of Enrolment.
4. This policy will be reviewed by the Board of Management in
2020.
Ratification and Communication
This policy was ratified by the
Board of Management of St. Patrick’s J.N.S. at its meeting on
______________________. Parents may view
this policy on the school website or by appointment with the Principal.
_____________________________ Date:________________________
Dr. Pat
O’Connor
Chairperson
of the Board of Management