Enrolment Policy
March 2012
1.0 Introduction. Scoil Etchen Naofa is a Roman Catholic Primary school in the Parish of Kinnegad under the patronage of Dr. Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath. It is a twenty four teacher school including the Principal. There are Learning Support and Resource Teachers available for children with special educational needs. Five Special Needs Assistants are also sanctioned as part of the school staff. The range of classes taught is from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. The school is of mixed sex. The school depends on grants and resources provided by the Dept. of Education and Science and therefore cooperate with regulations laid down by the Department. The school follows the curricular programmes prescribed by the Dept. of Education and Science which may be amended from time to time, in accordance with sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act 1998.
The school supports the principles of:
(a) Inclusiveness, this includes children with a disability or other special educational needs.
(b) Equality of access and participation in the school.
(c) Parental choice in relation to enrolment.
(d) Respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages and ways of life within society.
The school opens at 9.15 am and closes at 3.00pm. There is a small break from 11.00 am to 11.10 am. The children go out to the yard at 12.30 pm for lunch break and return to class at 1.00 pm. There is a small afternoon break from 2.00pm to 2.05pm.
2.0 Enrolment/Admission Policy The Enrolment Policy of Scoil Etchen Naofa has been formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998. In order to assist Parents in relation to enrolment matters, The Chairperson of the Board of Management or the Principal will be happy to clarify any further matters arising from the policy.
Parents seeking to enrol their child(ren) in Scoil Etchen Naofa are requested to return a completed Enrolment Application Form (available in the office) with an original Birth / Adoption Certificate to the school by specified date each year. A Certificate of Baptism certificate should also be provided where the child has been baptised outside the Parish of Kinnegad. The names of children for whom Enrolment Application forms and Birth/ Adoption Certificates have been returned, will be placed on a class waiting list. Under the Rules of the Department of Education and Science pupils may only be enrolled from the age of four years and upwards. However, compulsory attendance at primary school does not apply until the age of six years.
Equality of access is the key value that determines the enrolment of children to our school. No child is refused admission for reasons of ethnicity, special educational needs, disability, language/accent, gender, traveller status, asylum-seeker/refugee status, religious or political beliefs & values, family or social circumstances.
While recognising the right of parents to enrol their child in the school of their choice, the Board of Management of Scoil Etchen Naofa is also responsible to respect the rights of the existing school community and in particular, the children already enrolled. This requires balanced judgements, which are guided by the principles of natural justice and acting in the best interest of all children. Assisting the school in such circumstances, the Board of Management, with due regard for the Patron’s wishes, reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each separate classroom bearing in mind:
vi. In exceptional circumstances the Board of Management on foot of a written request may allow for the enrolment of children not catered for in the above categories.
In order to accommodate groups (i), (ii) and (iii) Boards may have to operate a cut off in age of applicants to give places to groups (i), (ii) and (iii) if there is pressure for places in the school. Schools within the parish co-operate with one another in this area taking into account the wider needs of he parish community and its apostolic mission.
The maximum class size in the school is not to exceed 30 pupils in any class from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. Maximum enrolment therefore will therefore fall between 29 and 30 pupils x (Number of mainstream class teachers).
There is a defined Registration period to be agreed by the BOM each year. This is usually a two week period in late February and early March. Other pupils may be enrolled during the school year (if newly resident in the area). Enrolment Notices will be provided to local Creches, put on notice boards in local shops, advertised in the Parish Bulletin, School Newsletter and given to local print media. Pupils wishing to transfer from other schools are enrolled subject to the Rules governing National Schools, as well as our own school’s enrolment policy and local agreements with other schools. Pupils transferring between Parish schools are requested to do so only at the beginning of a school quarter and with the consent of the Boards of Managements of both schools. If necessary waiting lists will be established for classes and places allocated on a first come first serve basis. This will be determined by the date of receipt of a completed enrolment form. In the event of a child being unavailable to take up a place in these classes when a parent/guardian is contacted by school management then such a place will be offered to the next available child on the list. All enrolments are made under the terms of The Education Welfare Act (2000). Information concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress are to be provided by the school from which the child is transferring.
The Board of Management specifies that Junior Infants will only be admitted to the school on September 1st (or first school day of this term) unless a pupil has moved into the area and has previously been enrolled in another school and there is place in the class. Prospective parents are encouraged to visit the school by appointment prior to the enrolment of their child(ren).
New Junior Infants spend one/two informal periods in school at the end of June familiarise themselves with this new environment prior to the school opening in September. Children with special needs will be resourced in accordance with the level of resources provided by the Department of Education and Science to the Board of Management. Educational resources and facilities as outlined by a professional and/or medical report should be put in place prior to the child’s first day in the school. Notwithstanding the availability of such resources, parents of children who are unsatisfied with the level of educational provision in our school, are advised to consider a special school which is designed and resourced to specifically cater for the needs of children with specific learning/behavioural difficulties.
Children enrolled in our school are required to co-operate with and support the School/ Board of Management’s Code of Behaviour as well as all other policies on curriculum, organisation, & management. The Board of Management places Parents/ Guardians as responsible for ensuring that their child(ren) co-operate with said policies in an age-appropriate way. In accordance with the Department of Education and Science’s rules for National Schools, a child may be suspended and in exceptional circumstances expelled.
These policies may be added to and revised from time-to-time.
3.0 Parental Involvement As a Catholic school, we believe that the school is not an isolated unit but a union of many people who come together to give it its life and meaning. Parents/Guardians are invited to the school for an induction presentation given by members of staff, representatives of the Parents Council and BOM prior to their child(ren) starting in Junior Infants. This meeting usually takes place in late may or early June.
The triple partnership of home, school and parish is essential if the school is to live up to its Mission Statement. We aim to establish this relationship through:
March 2012
1.0 Introduction. Scoil Etchen Naofa is a Roman Catholic Primary school in the Parish of Kinnegad under the patronage of Dr. Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath. It is a twenty four teacher school including the Principal. There are Learning Support and Resource Teachers available for children with special educational needs. Five Special Needs Assistants are also sanctioned as part of the school staff. The range of classes taught is from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. The school is of mixed sex. The school depends on grants and resources provided by the Dept. of Education and Science and therefore cooperate with regulations laid down by the Department. The school follows the curricular programmes prescribed by the Dept. of Education and Science which may be amended from time to time, in accordance with sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act 1998.
The school supports the principles of:
(a) Inclusiveness, this includes children with a disability or other special educational needs.
(b) Equality of access and participation in the school.
(c) Parental choice in relation to enrolment.
(d) Respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages and ways of life within society.
The school opens at 9.15 am and closes at 3.00pm. There is a small break from 11.00 am to 11.10 am. The children go out to the yard at 12.30 pm for lunch break and return to class at 1.00 pm. There is a small afternoon break from 2.00pm to 2.05pm.
2.0 Enrolment/Admission Policy The Enrolment Policy of Scoil Etchen Naofa has been formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998. In order to assist Parents in relation to enrolment matters, The Chairperson of the Board of Management or the Principal will be happy to clarify any further matters arising from the policy.
Parents seeking to enrol their child(ren) in Scoil Etchen Naofa are requested to return a completed Enrolment Application Form (available in the office) with an original Birth / Adoption Certificate to the school by specified date each year. A Certificate of Baptism certificate should also be provided where the child has been baptised outside the Parish of Kinnegad. The names of children for whom Enrolment Application forms and Birth/ Adoption Certificates have been returned, will be placed on a class waiting list. Under the Rules of the Department of Education and Science pupils may only be enrolled from the age of four years and upwards. However, compulsory attendance at primary school does not apply until the age of six years.
Equality of access is the key value that determines the enrolment of children to our school. No child is refused admission for reasons of ethnicity, special educational needs, disability, language/accent, gender, traveller status, asylum-seeker/refugee status, religious or political beliefs & values, family or social circumstances.
While recognising the right of parents to enrol their child in the school of their choice, the Board of Management of Scoil Etchen Naofa is also responsible to respect the rights of the existing school community and in particular, the children already enrolled. This requires balanced judgements, which are guided by the principles of natural justice and acting in the best interest of all children. Assisting the school in such circumstances, the Board of Management, with due regard for the Patron’s wishes, reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each separate classroom bearing in mind:
- Size of /available space in classrooms.
- Availability of grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Science.
- Educational needs of children of a particular age.
- Multi-grade classes.
- Presence of children with special educational/ behavioural needs.
- Department of Education and Science maximum class average directives.
- Children of the parish or the traditional catchment area served by the school, including children of Travelling Community resident within parish or this traditional catchment area.
- Brothers and sisters of children in the school.
- The children of staff who are working in a full time capacity in the school.
- Catholic children who live outside the parish and do not have a Catholic school in their parish.
vi. In exceptional circumstances the Board of Management on foot of a written request may allow for the enrolment of children not catered for in the above categories.
In order to accommodate groups (i), (ii) and (iii) Boards may have to operate a cut off in age of applicants to give places to groups (i), (ii) and (iii) if there is pressure for places in the school. Schools within the parish co-operate with one another in this area taking into account the wider needs of he parish community and its apostolic mission.
The maximum class size in the school is not to exceed 30 pupils in any class from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. Maximum enrolment therefore will therefore fall between 29 and 30 pupils x (Number of mainstream class teachers).
There is a defined Registration period to be agreed by the BOM each year. This is usually a two week period in late February and early March. Other pupils may be enrolled during the school year (if newly resident in the area). Enrolment Notices will be provided to local Creches, put on notice boards in local shops, advertised in the Parish Bulletin, School Newsletter and given to local print media. Pupils wishing to transfer from other schools are enrolled subject to the Rules governing National Schools, as well as our own school’s enrolment policy and local agreements with other schools. Pupils transferring between Parish schools are requested to do so only at the beginning of a school quarter and with the consent of the Boards of Managements of both schools. If necessary waiting lists will be established for classes and places allocated on a first come first serve basis. This will be determined by the date of receipt of a completed enrolment form. In the event of a child being unavailable to take up a place in these classes when a parent/guardian is contacted by school management then such a place will be offered to the next available child on the list. All enrolments are made under the terms of The Education Welfare Act (2000). Information concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress are to be provided by the school from which the child is transferring.
The Board of Management specifies that Junior Infants will only be admitted to the school on September 1st (or first school day of this term) unless a pupil has moved into the area and has previously been enrolled in another school and there is place in the class. Prospective parents are encouraged to visit the school by appointment prior to the enrolment of their child(ren).
New Junior Infants spend one/two informal periods in school at the end of June familiarise themselves with this new environment prior to the school opening in September. Children with special needs will be resourced in accordance with the level of resources provided by the Department of Education and Science to the Board of Management. Educational resources and facilities as outlined by a professional and/or medical report should be put in place prior to the child’s first day in the school. Notwithstanding the availability of such resources, parents of children who are unsatisfied with the level of educational provision in our school, are advised to consider a special school which is designed and resourced to specifically cater for the needs of children with specific learning/behavioural difficulties.
Children enrolled in our school are required to co-operate with and support the School/ Board of Management’s Code of Behaviour as well as all other policies on curriculum, organisation, & management. The Board of Management places Parents/ Guardians as responsible for ensuring that their child(ren) co-operate with said policies in an age-appropriate way. In accordance with the Department of Education and Science’s rules for National Schools, a child may be suspended and in exceptional circumstances expelled.
These policies may be added to and revised from time-to-time.
3.0 Parental Involvement As a Catholic school, we believe that the school is not an isolated unit but a union of many people who come together to give it its life and meaning. Parents/Guardians are invited to the school for an induction presentation given by members of staff, representatives of the Parents Council and BOM prior to their child(ren) starting in Junior Infants. This meeting usually takes place in late may or early June.
The triple partnership of home, school and parish is essential if the school is to live up to its Mission Statement. We aim to establish this relationship through:
- encouraging a shared commitment to the success of each individual child;
- encouraging an ethos of understanding and openness in home-school-parish relationships;
- Helping parents to develop a positive role in complementing and supporting the work of the school in educating their children.
- through parent/partnership groups working in school under the auspices of Scoil Etchen Parents Council;
- fund raising parent helpers;
- involvement in assemblies, celebrations, concerts and school Masses;
- involvement in sacramental preparation;
- school fetes, sport and gala days.