Introductory Statement The Board of Management is setting out its policy in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act (1998), the Board of Management trusts that by so doing parents will be assisted in relation to enrolment matters and that, furthermore, the Chairperson of the Board of Management or the Principal Teacher will be happy to clarify any further matters arising from the policy.
This policy was drawn by a committee - Fr. Patrick Condon, Chairperson, Board of Management, Eleanor Ronayne, Principal, Emmet Cronin, Teacher’s representative on the B.O.M., Catherine Baldwin, B.O.M. Marie Geary, Parents representative on B.O.M. and Eileen McCarthyThompson, Chairperson, Parents Council.
The Board of Management has ratified ‘Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children’ (2011) and these guidelines are fully implemented in the school and underpin all policies, procedures and practices
Mission Statement Knockanore National School aims to promote the full and harmonious development of all pupils: cognitive, intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual, including a living relationship with God and other people and promotes a Christian philosophy of life.
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.
Aims
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 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
General Information School Details Knockanore National School Knockanore Co Waterford Roll No: 17522B Tel No: 024 97101 E-mail: [email protected] Website: knockanorens.scoilnet.ie/blog
Knockanore National School is a co-educational primary school under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, William Lee. The school caters for the full range of classes from Junior Infants to sixth class. It is an inclusive school and caters for children of all abilities. There are five full time teachers, including the principal, four mainstream teachers and one resource teacher/learning support teacher. Special Needs Assistants are assigned to the school by the Department of Education and Skills to enable the inclusion of certain children with special education needs.
Knockanore School operates under the Rules for National Schools and Departmental Circulars and is funded by grants and teachers resourced by the Department of Education and Skills. The school is subject to The Education Act (1998), The Education Welfare Act (2000), The Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act (2001) and all relevant equality legislation. Knockanore School follows the curricular programmes laid down by the Department of Education and Skills.
Application Procedure Parents wishing to enrol their children in Junior Infants at Knockanore school should - 1.Request an Enrolment Pack, which includes:
School Information Booklet
Enrolment Policy
Code of Behaviour
Enrolment Application Form
Reminders re availability of Enrolment Pack will be given through announcements in the local churches, through the school children, local newspapers and the school website.
2.Return a completed Enrolment Application Form to the school by February 28th.
Parents and children enrolled in Junior Infants will be invited to an Induction day in the school in June each year.
Junior Infants are enrolled in September provided the child has reached his/her 4th birthday. Normally, Junior Infants will not be enrolled during the year unless transferring from another school. This is for education reasons as the curriculum is progressive and it is advisable for the child to complete a full year.
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.
No child is refused admission for reasons of ethnicity, special educational needs, disability, language/accent, gender, traveller status, asylum-seeker/refugee status, religious/political beliefs and values, family or social circumstances.
Children enrolled in Knockanore School are required to co-operate with and support the school’s Code of Behaviour as well as all other policies. Parents/Guardians are responsible for ensuring that their child/children co-operate with these policies in an age-appropriate way. A copy of the Code of Behaviour will be issued to all parents and each parent will be requested to sign an undertaking to uphold the school Code of Behaviour.
Information required on Enrolment Application Form includes:
Pupil’s name and address
Date of Birth
Names and addresses of pupil’s parents/guardians
Occupations of parents/guardians
Contact telephone numbers
Emergency telephone numbers
Details of any medical conditions, which the school should be aware of
Religion
Previous school attended
Any other relevant information
Documents required
Birth Certificate
Baptismal Certificate, if baptised outside the parish.
Decision Making Process Decisions in relation to application for enrolment are made by the Board of Management. Parents will be notified of acceptance of their children and, as a general principle, children will be enrolled on application provided that there is space available and the child had reached his/her 4th birthday, though compulsory attendance does not apply until the child is six years of age.
To assist the school in such circumstances of over crowding, the Board of Management reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each separate classroom bearing in mind Department of Education and Skills guideline in relation to class size and staffing provisions. Other factors that may be considered are:
Health and Safety concerns regarding staff and children.
Size of and available space in classrooms
Educational needs of children
Multi-grade classes
Presence of children with special educational/behavioural needs.
Department of Education and Skills class size directives
Appropriate supports and resources are available
Time of school year
Enrolment Criteria In the event of the number of children seeking enrolment exceeding the number of places available the following criteria will be used to prioritise children for enrolment.
1. Catholic Children from within the catchment area. 2. Thereafter to other children from within the catchment area. 3. And then to Catholic children from outside the catchment area Roman Catholic children from outside the parish. 4 All children who apply to the school and are not Roman Catholics and not resident in the parish. 5. In the event of being unable to enrol children in any year, the child’s name will be placed on the waiting list in accordance with the criteria as above.
Other pupils may be enrolled during the school year if newly resident in the area. Pupils wishing to transfer from other schools are enrolled subject to the Rules for National Schools, Education Welfare Act and school’s Enrolment Policy.
While recognising the rights of the parents to enrol their child in the school of their choice, the Board of Management of Knockanore School has a responsibility 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 the children.
Children with Special Needs Children with special educational needs are welcome to enrol in the school and every effort will be made to provide them with an appropriate education as well as to include them in every aspect of school life. The child enrolling in Knockanore School will be resourced in accordance with the level of resources provided by the Department of Education and Skills to the Board of Management.
The Board of Management may request copies of relevant reports 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 endeavour to have all resources and supports in place before the child is admitted to the school. This may include visiting teacher service, resource teacher, special needs assistants etc. specialized equipment or furniture, transport services etc.
The school will meet with the parent of the special needs child to discuss the school’s suitability for the child. If considered necessary, a full case conference may be called which will include parents, class teacher, learning support teacher, resource teacher and psychologist or social workers as appropriate.
Exceptional Circumstances The school reserves the right to refuse enrolment to a pupil in exceptional cases. Such an exceptional case could arise where either: 1.The pupil has special needs such that, even with additional resources available from the Department of Education and Skills, the school cannot meet such needs and/or provide the pupil with an appropriate education. 2.In the opinion of the Board of Management, the pupil posed an unacceptable risk, to other pupils, to school staff or to school property.
Children of Other Faiths or no Faith Bearing in mind the Roman Catholic ethos of the school, every effort will be made so that the school is as inclusive as possible. While Roman Catholic education and the ethos of the school permeates the day, children of other faiths or none, where request is made in writing, will be excused from attendance at formal religious instruction classes and specifically Roman Catholic liturgies.
Appeals Procedure In line with Section 28 of the Education Act 1998, parents who are dissatisfied with an enrolment decision, may appeal to the Board of Management. This appeal must be addressed, in writing, to the Chairperson of the Board, stating the grounds for the appeal, and lodged within ten days of receiving the refusal. Parents, if unhappy with the result of this appeal, may appeal to the Department of Education and Skills under Section 29 of the Education Act on the official form provided by the Department. An appeal form will be issued by the school to the parents/guardians. This appeal must be lodged within 42 days of receipt of the refusal from the school to enrol.
Pupil Transfer Pupils may transfer to the school at any time subject to the school’s enrolment policy and available space.
Code of Behaviour A copy of the Code of Behaviour of Knockanore National School will be issued with the Enrolment Policy, outlining the policy in relation to suspension and expulsion in accordance with NEWB guidelines.
Review The policy will be monitored on an ongoing basis. It will be reviewed by the Staff, Board of Management and Parents Representatives before or during the school year 2016.
Ratification On receipt of approval from the Patron, the revised policy should be approved at a meeting of the Board of Management, signed by the Chairperson, dated and retained with the minutes of the particular meeting.
Communication/Circulation of Policy Revised copies/updates will be made available on-line and/or issued in hard copy on request to parents/guardians. New applications to the school will be given a hard copy of the enrolment policy.
Approval of Patron This policy was approved by the Patron,
William Lee Bishop of Waterford & Lismore
Date24/01/12
Ratified by Board of Management on 05/10/11
Fr. Patrick Condon Chairperson, Board of Management