MAINSTREAM ENROLMENT POLICY
A.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Scoil Chaitríona Junior Renmore, Galway is a Catholic co-educational
primary school under the Patronage of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Galway.
Scoil Chaitríona Junior has a total teaching staff of 37 teachers. This includes 20 class teachers, 9 learning
support/resource teachers, 4 special class teachers, 3 full time language
support teachers and an administrative principal. The special classes cater for children with
specific speech and language disorder and moderate general learning
difficulties.
Scoil Chaitríona Junior is a co-educational junior school, catering for
children from Junior Infants – 2nd class. Children with special needs are taught in the
special classes, as described above and within mainstream classes.
Scoil Chaitrona has a long tradition of welcoming and serving
all pupils and does not discriminate on the grounds of gender, family status,
religion, age, disability, ethnicity, asylum seeker / refugee status, sexual
orientation, or special educational needs.
Scoil Chaitríona Junior is an inclusive school.
Aims:
This policy aims to
ensure the appropriate procedures are in place to enable the school to make
decisions on all applications based on legislative requirements. It was formulated
by the Board of Management, Staff and Parents with input from Scoil Chaitríona
senior school, THE Patron, the Education Welfare Service and the Special
Educational Needs Organiser (SENO).
Relationship to the Characteristic Spirit of the School
Scoil Chaitríona Junior is a Catholic
Primary School which endeavours to engage every pupil to actively participate
in all school activities in a caring, secure and happy atmosphere. This policy
is in keeping with the mission statement of the school, which strives to
fulfill the intellectual, physical, spiritual, moral and emotional needs of
each child, supported by a professional staff in partnership with parents and
the wider community.
Scoil Chaitríona Junior 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.
Within the context and parameters
of D.E.S. 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:
(a) inclusiveness, particularly with reference to
the enrolment of 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 in society.
TIMETABLE
Scoil Chaitriona
Junior opens for pupils at 8.40 and closes at 14.30. Classes begin at 8.50 a.m. The annual school calendar, outlining school
holidays, is made available to parents each year in the month of September.
B.
PROCEDURES
Parents seeking to
enrol their children in Junior Infants in Scoil Chaitríona Junior are requested
to return a completed Enrolment Form with original Birth / Adoption Certificate
along with proof of address (utility bill) to the secretaries’ office as soon
as possible but no later than the first day of the academic year eg September 1st.
Late Enrolments
Children who wish to
transfer to Scoil Chaitriona Junior from another school within the city may only enroll up to and including September 30th, upon
receipt of completed Application Form along with a signed letter of acceptance
& compliance with the Code of Behaviour (Form )
Late enrolments will
be accepted if the pupil is new to the area (with proof of address, utility
bill etc), transferring from outside the city.
Applicants to Special Classes
Procedures relating to
the enrolment of children with special needs to special classes are outlined in
the appendices.
Provision of key information by parents:
Applications will only
be accepted on the basis of a fully completed and accurate Enrolment Form. A
specific enrolment application form will be provided by the Board of Management
and the following information will be sought:
·
Pupil’s
name, address, date of birth.
·
Pupil’s PPSN number
·
Names and
addresses of pupil’s parents/guardians.
·
Contact
telephone numbers
·
Contact
telephone numbers, in case of emergency.
·
Details of
any medical conditions of which the school should be aware.
·
Details of
any legal orders of which the school should be aware.
·
Baptismal
Certificate for Catholic children
·
Previous
schools attended and reason for transfer.
·
Any other
relevant information, including any such information as may be prescribed under
the Education Welfare Act, 2000.
·
Any
concerns raised by previous schools around the child’s behaviour
·
Any
additional Special Educational Needs the child has and any reports which may be
available
·
Completed Primary
Online Data form in compliance with the Department of Education requirements.
By completing the
enrolment form of Scoil Chaitríona Junior, the parents and pupils are agreeing
to abide by school policies, procedures and the Code of Behaviour which may be
reviewed from time to time.
As a condition of
enrolling a child, the parents / guardians are required “to confirm in writing
that the Code of Behaviour so provided is acceptable to them and that they
shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with such code by the
child” Section 23 (4) of the Education Welfare Act 2000 (form B)
Prioritising children for enrolment
In the event of the
number of children seeking enrolment in any given class/standard exceeding the
number of places available, before the start of or during the school year, and
the B.O.M. being unable to provide suitable accommodation, or recruit the
required teaching staff, the following criteria will be used to prioritise
children for enrolment.
·
Sisters
and brothers of children already enrolled in Scoil Chaitriona Junior, giving
priority to the oldest. This will
include step sisters, step brothers living at the same address.
·
Children
living within Renmore parish, giving priority to the oldest.
·
Children
of current school staff, giving priority to the oldest.
·
Children whose home address is closest to the school,
as measured by a straight line on an O.S. map, if the child is normally
resident outside the Renmore Parish boundary.
·
Priority
will be given to children whose 4th birthday falls prior to June 30th
of year of enrolment in Junior Infants.
C.
DECISIONS
A decision in writing
or ‘Text a Parent from the Principal and Chairperson will be issued to parents
/ guardians within 21 days of receipt of applications, form A and form B (which
is the signed letter of offer and agreement of compliance with the Code of
Behaviour).
As a general principle
and in so far as is practicable, having regard to the school’s enrolment
policy, children will be enrolled on application, provided there is space
available.
The board of management reserve the right to
refuse enrolment or transfers from other schools in the case where a child has
been suspended if it is deemed that he/she would pose an unacceptable risk to
other pupils, school staff and / or school property. A written refusal will be
issued.
In the event that a
decision on enrolment is not made within 21 days, the parents may write a
letter of appeal under the Education Welfare Act 2000 to the Chairperson.
Decisions in relation
to applications for enrolment are made by the Board of Management of Scoil
Chaitriona Junior, in accordance with school policy. Applications for enrolment should be lodged
prior to June 1st and will be replied to by June 21st of
the year of enrolment.
Enrolments will be
taken for the 30th of September each year until classes are full in
seniority of age.
While recognising the right of parents to enrol their child in
the school of their choice, the Board of Management of Scoil Chaitríona Junior
is also responsible for respecting 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 are taken in the best interests
of all children. Assisting the school in
such circumstances, the Board of Management reserves the right to determine the
maximum number of children in each separate classroom, bearing in mind:
a)
Size of,
and available space in, classrooms.
b)
The
educational needs of children of a particular age.
c)
Multi-grade
classrooms.
d)
Presence
of children with special educational/behavioural needs.
e)
D.E.S.
maximum class average directive which currently determine a maximum average of
22 children per class.
D. APPEALS
Parents who are
dissatisfied with the enrolment decision, may appeal to the Board of
Management. It must address, in writing, to the Chairperson, stating the
grounds for appeal, and lodged within ten days of receiving the refusal. The Chairperson will issue a written response.
Parents, if unhappy with the result of this appeal, may appeal to the
department of education and Skills on the official form provided by the DES.
This appeal must be lodged within 42 days of receipt of the refusal from the
school to enrol. Details on appealing decisions on enrolment under section 29
of the Education Act ( as amended by Section4 of the Education (Miscellaneous
Provisiona) Act, 2007, are available on the Department’s website at
www.education.ie ( Circular 22/02 Processing of an Appeal).
All appeals and
decisions of the school management will be dealt with in an equitable manner,
and in accordance with fair procedures.
E.
TRANSFER OF PUPILS
When the enrolment
offer has been accepted by the parent, information concerning attendance and
the child’s educational progress must be forwarded from the previous school (Section
28, Education Welfare Act 2000).
Pupils data (stored on
the Primary Online Database) will be shared with new schools of pupils if they
transfer out of Scoil Chaitríona Junior.
F.
SCHOOL BOOKLET & CODE OF BEHAVIOUR
The Board of
Management of Scoil Chaitríona Junior will append its school handbook and the
Code of Behaviour to this policy. Details of the policy in relations to
suspension & expulsion are included in the Code of Behaviour.
This policy is
endorsed by the Diocesan Administrator (in the absence of the bishop) and
adopted by the Board of management of Scoil Chaitríona Junior on ________
February 7th 2017.
It is published on the
schools website and reference to where it can be accessed will be printed on
the enrolment form for parents.
G.
EVALUATION AND REVIEW
The Board of
Management will monitor the implementation of this policy and it will be reviewed
annually in order to maintain effective management of the admissions process.
H.
COMMUNICATION AND RATIFICATION
This policy was
reviewed in and ratified by the Board of Management in February 2017.
It is communicated to
parents via the school website,
www.renmorejunniorschool.com.
Copies are available for viewing in the Principal’s office.
Signature of Principal: __________________________________ Date:
______________
Signature of Chairperson: __________________________________ Date:
______________