ENROLMENT POLICY
Scoil Naomh Buadáin is a
co-educational primary school under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Derry. The 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. In the interest of balanced integration, Scoil Naomh Buadáin is an inclusive
school welcoming all children of all faiths
Children enrolled in Scoil Naomh
Buadáin, are required to co-operate with and support the school’s Code of
Behaviour/Discipline as well as all other policies. Parents/Guardians are
responsible for ensuring that their child(ren) co-operate with these policies
in an age-appropriate way. A copy of the Code of Behaviour is available on the
school’s website, www.stbodensns.ie and in the
office and each parent will be requested to sign an undertaking to uphold the
school code of Behaviour and policy* at the beginning of each school year.
Scoil Naomh Buadáin operates under the Rules for National Schools and Departmental Circulars
and is funded by grants and teachers resourced by the Department of Education
and Science. The school is subject to The Education Act (1998), The Education
Welfare Act (2000), The Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act
(2004) and all relevant equality legislation. Scoil
Naomh Buadáin follows
the curricular programmes laid down by the Department of Education and Skills.
Application Procedure
The Board of Management will
communicate generally to the school community through appropriate channels e.g.
website, text-a-parent, erected signs outside the school and the local Church
and newsletter.
Parents/guardians seeking to enrol
their child(ren) in Scoil Naomh Buadáin should return a completed enrolment
application form (available in the
office and on the website) to the school, by dates specified by the school, together
with
- An
original Birth/Adoption certificate
- Proof of
address i.e. One current utility bill – Electricity / Gas/ TV Service
Provider /Landline Telephone only (dated within two months of
registration)
- A Roman
Catholic Baptismal Certificate
Parents/ guardians will also be requested on
application
·
to
submit any relevant reports in relation to the child( see below)
·
to
sign an undertaking to uphold the school’s Code of Behaviour and policy
·
to
sign an undertaking to respect the ethos of the school, in particular in
relation to festivities such as Christmas, Easter and Hallowe’en.
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.
Decision making
Decisions in relation to application
for enrolment are made by the Board of Management. Parents/Guardians 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 has 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 Science guidelines in relation to class size
and staffing provisions. Other factors that may be considered are:
- Size of and available space in classrooms.
- Educational needs of children of a particular age.
- Presence of children with special educational/behavioural needs.
- Multi-grade classes.
In the event of the number of
children seeking enrolment in any given class/standard exceeding the number of
places available the following criteria will be used to prioritise children for
enrolment:
A. Catholic children living within the
parish of Culdaff
B. Brothers and sisters (including
stepsiblings, resident at same address) of children already enrolled in the
school.
C. Catholic children residing outside
the Parish who do not have a catholic school in their Parish.
D. All children who live within the
Parish, but are not Catholic, applying for a placement are entitled to a place
if there are vacancies after the groups
( A, B, C ) have been allocated places.
Having complied with the conditions
outlined in A – D above, any remaining places will be allocated according to
application date as indicated on application for consideration form. Should all
dates be the same a lottery will apply
Unsuccessful applicants will be
placed on a waiting list until the end of the school year. They may re-apply
for a place for the following year
Enrolment of pupils during the
school year, if newly resident in the area or transferring from other schools is
subject to the Rules for National Schools, Education Welfare Act and school’s
enrolment policy.
If a pupil has been removed from the
school roll (following DES Guidelines) and wishes to return to Scoil Naomh
Buadáin, an enrolment for consideration form or a letter of application must be
re- submitted. The application will then be considered by the Board of
Management in accordance with school policy.
Children with Special Needs
Children with special needs enrolling
in Scoil Naomh Buadáin will be resourced in accordance with the level of
provision by the Department of Education and Science to the Board of Management.
Notwithstanding the availability of such resources, parents of children who are
dissatisfied with the level of educational provision in our school are advised
to consider an alternative placement, to cater for the specific needs of their
child.
The Board of Management requires a
copy of the child’s medical and/or psychological report or requests 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.
Upon successful application, failure to provide the school with all relevant
medical, psychological and other reports will
invalidate the enrolment application and result in the child being
withdrawn from the school. It may be necessary for the Board of Management to
defer enrolment of a child pending assessment report and/or provision of
resources by the Department of Education and Science to meet the needs
specified by in the psychological and a medical report.
The Board of Management will
endeavour to have all resources and support in place before the child is
admitted to the school. This may include visiting teacher service, resource
teacher, special needs assistants etc, specialised equipment or furniture,
transport services etc.
The school may meet with the parents
of the special needs child to discuss the school’s suitability for the child.
If necessary a full case conference may be called including parents, class
teacher, learning support teacher, resource teacher and psychologist or social
workers as appropriate.
Appeals
Procedure
Parents / Guardians
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 ten days of receiving the refusal. Parents/guardians, 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 enroll.
Scoil Naomh Buadáin supports the
principles of:
v Inclusiveness with reference to the enrolment of children with a
disability or other special educational need;
v Equality of access and participation in the school;
v Respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages
and ways of life in society.
within
(a) the rights of the Patron
as set out in the Education Act, 1998
(b) the context and
parameters of Departmental regulations and programmes,
(c) the provisions of
Section 14(b) (i) of The Equal Status Act 2000
(d) and the funding, teacher
resources and accommodation available.
Implementation
Date:
28th February, 2016.
Timetable
for Review: Reviewed at end of 2019 – 2020 school year
and then, every two years thereafter.
Ratification
and Communication:
·
Ratified by the Board of
Management
·
Circulated to ancillary staff
·
Circulated to all
parents/guardians via internet and Newsletter
·
Published on school website.
Signed on
behalf of the Board of Management by:
______________________________________
Chairperson
Date:
_________________________________