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Admissions/Enrolment Policy
Introduction
The Board of Management (BoM) of Scoil Mhuire gan Smal formulated this policy in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998.
The policy was formed by consultation between staff, parents, and members of the Board of Management and reviewed annually Sources of reference for research purposes include CPSMA, INTO, IPPN, Education Act, Education Welfare Act and the Rules for National Schools.
Mission Statement:
Our school, in partnership with parents, aims to educate and prepare children for life in their community. We propose to do this by fostering independence, confidence and self-
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 and mission Statement of the school all 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 pupil is admitted to the school
Aims:
The school shall have in place appropriate channels of communication and procedures
● To inform parents about the school, its 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 specify what information is required by the school at the time of application
General Information:
School Name: Scoil Mhuire gan Smal
Address: Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8
Contact details:
Tel: 01 4541641
Fax: 01 4539408
Email:office@smgs.ie
School’s denominational character: Catholic
Name of Patron: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
Type of school: The school is coeducational and caters for children from the age of 4. The primary school curriculum is delivered over 8 years.
Number of teachers in the school: 24
The number of teachers includes the Principal teacher, 12 class teachers, learning support teachers, Resource teachers, Home School Liaison teacher, English Language Support teachers. Full range of curricular subjects are taught.
The school follows the curricular programmes prescribed by the Department of Education and Skills, which may be amended from time to time, in accordance with Sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act (1998).
The school depends on the grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Skills and it operates within the regulations laid down, from time to time, by the Department. School policy must have regard to the resources and funding available.
Within the context and parameters of Department regulations and programmes, the rights of the Patron, as set out in the Education Act, and the funding and resources available, the school supports the principles of:
Inclusiveness, particularly with reference to the enrolment of children with a disability or other special educational need;
Equality of access and participation in the school;
Parental choice in relation to enrolment;
Respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages and ways of life in society.
The BOM, in consultation with the Teaching Staff, may decide to shuffle class groupings after Senior Infants if it deems it beneficial to the children’s learning.
Opening hours of the school: Junior and Senior Infants: 8.50 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
1st class to 6th class: 8.50 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.
Policy Considerations
The Board of Management (BoM) of Scoil Mhuire gan Smal reserves the right of admission if such admissions contravene Departmental guidelines on class size, etc.
The school will maintain a list of refused applicants for each class, their place on that list having been determined under the criteria outlined. This list will not be finalised until after our Infant Reception Day.
The BoM respects parental choice in relation to enrolment, provided the enrolment criteria are fulfilled.
The BoM of Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, in its Policy of Admissions/Enrolment, respects the rights of the existing school community and the children already enrolled. Consequently, the BoM reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each class, bearing in mind:
● Health & Safety Concerns regarding Staff and Pupils
● Available classroom space
● Educational needs of the children
● Presence of children with special needs
● Department of Education & Skills class size directives
● The availability of appropriate Supports and Resources
● Time of school year
Application Procedure
The BoM will communicate generally to the school community through appropriate channels e.g. text-
1. Junior Infant Enrolment
Parents seeking to enrol their child (ren) should return a completed application form, available from the office with an original birth/adoption certificate to the school and Baptismal Certificate, if appropriate.
● Child’s name, date of application, child's date of birth, Religion, address, nationality , Parents’ nationality, school/playschool previously attended, telephone contact numbers are recorded in the School Record of Applications. The receipt of an application merely confirms that it will be assessed under the criteria outlined, and does not confer any further status on that application.
● Applications are placed on file.
Everyone on the incoming Junior Infant list is contacted in October of the year before school entry
● A database of the applications is compiled and ordered according to the Enrolment Criteria by the Principal and Secretary.
The Principal, Deputy Principal and HSCL will draft a letter of confirmation of place to successful applicants
● Only the parents of the children who have been offered a place will be invited to the Reception Day for new pupils.
● All other applications will be numbered and placed on a waiting list and parents advised of the child’s position on that list within 21 days of Reception Day
Enrolment Criteria & Decision / Appeals
Certain information will be required when children are being enrolled. The BoM provides a specific enrolment application form for this purpose. Such information includes:
• Pupil’s name, age and address; Names and addresses of pupil’s parent/guardian
• Birth certificate
• Parents’ contact telephone numbers; Contact telephone numbers in case of emergency;
• Details of any medical conditions and/or assessed syndromes which the school should be aware of;
• Religion;
• Previous schools attended, if any, and reasons for transfer, if applicable, and
• Any other relevant information, including any such other information as may be prescribed under the Education Welfare Act 2000.
• Incomplete application forms may result in refusal to admit a pupil.
• Further relevant information may be sought at a later stage
• Applications for other classes may be made at any time of the year.
Junior Infant Enrolment Criteria
Priority regarding admission to the school will be given to the following categories of pupils
1. Siblings of pupils already enrolled in our school
2. Catholic children living in the Pastoral Area
3. Past-
4. Other children living in the Pastoral Area.
5. Other children living outside the Pastoral Area
If the applications within categories exceed the number of places available, children will be listed according to date of application.
Criteria for Enrolment to Senior Infants to 6th Classes
The following criteria will be applied if there is a surplus of applications for available places in the Senior Infants to 6th classes.
The BOM may request a copy of the child’s medical and/or psychological report. Where such a report is not available, the BOM may request that the child be assessed and the school be given a copy of the report. The purpose of the assessment report is to assist the school in establishing the educational and training needs of the child relevant to his/her ability or special needs and to profile the support services required.
The school principal will meet with the child’s parents to discuss his/her needs and the school’s capability and suitability in meeting those needs. Where the BOM deems further resources are required it will prior to enrolment request the DES to provide these resources.
It may be necessary to defer enrolment of a particular child pending the receipt of the assessment report and/or provision of appropriate resources by DES to meet the needs specified in the report.
Right of Appeal
Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 parents are informed in writing of their right to appeal a decision of the BOM of a refusal to enrol a child. Details in relation to this are available from DES, Cornamaddy, Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Pupils Transferring
Pupils may transfer to the school at any time subject to the school’s enrolment policy, available space and in some cases the approval of the DES.
The Education Welfare Act 2000 contains specific provisions in relation to the transfer of pupils including the requirement that information concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress should be communicated between schools. A request for this information will be made when the child is registered.
Code of Behaviour
The school will append its Code of Behaviour to the school’s enrolment policy. Prior to registering a child, the parents of an applicant will be provided with a copy of the school’s Code of Behaviour and the parent will confirm in writing that the Code of Behaviour so provided is acceptable to them and that they will make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with the Code by the child.
Review Procedure
The policy will be monitored and reviewed regularly by the full staff and BOM. Any staff member, BOM member, parent, guardian who is unhappy with the content of the policy may request a review at any time and such a request will be dealt with as quickly as possible. The next review of this policy will take place in the school year 2015/2016.
Approval of the Patron
The enrolment policy will be published in such manner as the BOM considers appropriate with the agreement of the Patron.
Ratification
On receipt of approval from the Patron, the revised policy should be approved at a meeting of the BOM signed by the Chairperson, dated and retained with the minutes of the particular meeting.