Cloughduv National School

Enrolment Policy
Cloughduv National School March 2018

Introduction

The Board of Management of Cloughduv National School hereby sets out its Enrolment and Admission Policy in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998 and the Board trusts that by so doing, parents will be assisted in relation to enrolment matters

Decisions in relation to applications for enrolment are made by the Board of Management of the school.

General School Information: Name of School: Cloughduv National School
Telephone No: (021) 7336548

His Lordship the Bishop of Cork and Ross is the Patron of the school.
At present, the staff is comprised of 5 class Teachers, one Special Needs Assistant (SNA) and 2 Special Education Teachers (SET), as well as a school secretary. The full range of classes is taught in the school and classes are of mixed gender. The school depends on the grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Science and it operates within the regulations laid down, from time to time, by the Department. The school policy has regard to the resources and funding available.

Classes start at 9.20 a.m. and finish at 3.00 p.m. Infant Classes finish at 2.00 p.m.

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 consistent with the ethos, 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

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 purposes 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.

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 & current legislation
To specify what information is required by the school at the time of application



Context, Resources, School Organisation & Curriculum

The school supports the principle of equality for all students regarding access to and participation in the school. The school respects the diversity of traditions, values, beliefs, languages and ways of life in society. The school acknowledges the right of parents to send their children to a school of the parent’s choice, subject to the resources available to the school including classroom accommodation, class size, teaching resources and financial resources and subject to the capacity of the school to provide for the needs of any applicant or student. The school is staffed in accordance with the standard pupil – teacher ratios sanctioned by the Department and any additional teaching hours sanctioned by the Department in respect of curricular concessions, special needs, special programmes etc. The school operates within the regulations laid down by the Department from time to time.

The capacity of the school to implement its desired curriculum, its broad range of educational programmes, its breadth of extra-curricular activities, its school plan and policies are dependent on the resources it receives.
Consequently, in determining its activities and programme for any school year the school must have due regard to the teaching, management and administrative resources and the accommodation, equipment and funding available to it.

Roles and responsibilities in developing and implementing this policy:

Roles of Board of Management

To ensure that a policy is in place and that it is reviewed
To appraise this policy with regard to its suitability and the effectiveness of its implementation and to make recommendations for improvement where appropriate.
To decide on appeals by parents or students with respect to any decision(s) made by the Principal/Board.

Role of the Principal

To formulate draft policy in consultation with the teaching staff, students, parents, Board
To monitor its implementation and to ensure that it is reviewed by the review date
To implement the policy and to support other teaching staff in their implementation of the policy
To apply for and acquire such resources as are available in accordance with government policies
To ensure, within the constraints of available resources, that alternative programmes are devised where necessary and practicable to meet the needs of students
To appraise the policy with regard to its suitability and the effectiveness of its implementation and to make recommendations for improvement where appropriate
To ensure a register of all students attending the school is established and maintained
To ensure that a record of attendance or non-attendance is maintained for each student registered at this school and, in the case of non-attendance, the reason for same
To direct parents to read the school policy on Substance Use
Prior to registering a child, to provide the parents of an applicant with a copy of the school’s Code of Behaviour and ensure that the parent confirm in writing their acceptance of the Code as an assurance that they shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with the Code by the child
To provide, on request, to any parent of a child registered in the school a copy of the Code of Behaviour
Where a child is refused admission, to advise the parents of their right of appeal to the Trustees and the Department of Education setting out Title and Address of each and advising of time limits

Role of Teaching staff

To co-operate with the implementation of this policy
To take the needs of all students into account in the way in which they select textbooks, plan and teach their lessons and conduct assessments
To bring concerns about special needs, curricular matters and information to the attention of the Principal and / or Deputy Principal.
To keep parents informed through the regular Parent / Teacher Meetings and School Reports and by meeting parents from time to time as required.
To appraise this policy with regard to its suitability and the effectiveness of its implementation and to make recommendations for improvement where appropriate

Role of Students

To co-operate fully with the school in the implementation of the policy

Role of Parents

To support the policy and to co-operate fully with the school in its implementation
To bring to the attention of the school authorities any concern they may have in relation to the school’s provision for the educational needs of their child
To appraise this policy with regard to its suitability and the effectiveness of its implementation and to make recommendations for improvement where appropriate

Policy Considerations

The Board of Management of Cloughduv National School reserves the right of admission if such admissions contravene Departmental guidelines on class size, etc.

The school will not refuse a child on the basis of ethnicity, special education needs, disability, traveller status, refugee status, political or religious beliefs, family or social circumstances.

The school will maintain a list of refused applicants for each class, their place on that list having been determined under the criteria outlined.

The Board of Management respects parental choice in relation to enrolment, provided the enrolment criteria are fulfilled.

The Board of Management of Cloughduv National School, in its Policy of Admissions/Enrolment, respects the rights of the existing school community and the children already enrolled. Consequently, the Board of Management reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each class, bearing in mind:
Health & Safety Concerns regarding Staff and Children
Available classroom space
Multi-grade classes
Educational needs of the children
Presence of children with special needs
Department of Education & Science class size directives
Appropriate Supports and Resources are available
Time of school year

Procedures

Application Procedure

The Board of Management will communicate generally to the school community through appropriate channels e.g. newsletter, website, emails, parish bulletin, letters to parents to outline the application for enrolment procedures.

Parents seeking to enrol their child(ren) in Cloughduv National School should return a completed enrolment application form (available in the office) to the school prior to the start of the new school year. Parents of children enrolling in Junior Infants will be invited to an information meeting in the school in the spring of each year. Pupils enrolled will be invited for a familarisation visit in June. The school will not refuse a child on the basis of ethnicity, special education needs, disability, traveller status, refugee status, political or religious beliefs, family or social circumstances.

The completion of an application form or the placement of your child’s name on a list, however early, does not confer an automatic right to a place in the school.

Enrolment Criteria & Decision.

In the event of the number of children seeking enrolment in any given class exceeding the number of places available the following criteria will be used to prioritise children for enrolment:

AChildren already enrolled in the school
BBrothers and sisters (including stepsiblings, resident at the same address) of children already enrolled with priority going to the eldest.
CChildren living within the parish.
D Children of current school staff.
E Children whose home address is closest to the school (as measured by a straight line on an Ordnance Survey map if the child is normally resident outside of the parish/agreed catchment area).
F Children of parents who are past pupils of the school
G In the event of being unable to enrol a child(ren) for categories A,B,C & D in a given class at the beginning of the year, or midyear, such children will receive priority (in order A,B,C, D) for the subsequent school year over other children on the class waiting list.

Other pupils may be enrolled during the school year if newly resident in the area.
Pupils wishing to transfer from other school are enrolled subject to the Rules for National Schools, Education Welfare Act and school’s enrolment policy.

Children with Special Needs

Children with special needs enrolling in Cloughduv National School will be resourced in accordance with the level of resources provided by the Department of Education and Science to the Board of Management.
The Board of Management may request a copy of the child’s medical and /or psychological report or request that the child be assessed immediately in order to assist the school in establishing the educational needs of the child and to profile the support services required. The Board of Management will endeavor to have all resources and support in place before the child is admitted to the school. This may include visiting teacher service, SET, SNA etc., specialised equipment or furniture, transport services etc. The school will meet with parents of the child with special needs to discuss the school’s suitability for the child. If necessary a full case conference may be called including parents, class teacher, SET and psychologist or social workers as appropriate.

Appeals Procedure

Parents, who are dissatisfied with an enrolment decision, may appeal to the Board of Management. It must be addressed in writing, to the Chairperson of the Board, stating the grounds for the appeal, and lodged within 10 days of receiving the refusal. The Board of Management will respond to this appeal. Parents, if unhappy with the result of this appeal, may appeal to the Department of Education and Science under section 29 of the Education Act on the Official form provided by the Department. This appeal must be lodged within 42 days of receipt of the refusal from the school to enrol.

Evaluation
The Board of Management will monitor the implementation of all aspects of the Policy and review and amend the Policy as required, with particular emphasis placed upon
Effective management placed on application process
Clarity and transparency relating to the process
Applicants informed in good time re the status of their application, particularly in the case of refusal to enrol
Positive Parental feedback

This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on

Signed: _______________________ Signed: __________________________
Chairperson, B.O.M. Principal/ Secretary to the B.O.M

Date: ________________________ Date: ____________________________
This policy will be reviewed as necessary.