Introduction 

This Admission Policy complies with the requirements of the Education Act 1998, the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 and the Equal Status Act 2000. In drafting this policy, the board of management of the school has consulted with school staff, the school patron and with parents of children attending the school.

The policy was approved by the school patron on June 25, 2018.  It is published on the school’s website and will be made available in hardcopy, on request, to any person who requests it.

The relevant dates and timelines for Dromindoora NS admission process are set out in the school’s annual admission notice which is published annually on the school’s website at least one week before the commencement of the admission process for the school year concerned.

This policy must be read in conjunction with the annual admission notice for the school year concerned.

The application form for admission is published on the school’s website and will be made available in hardcopy on request to any person who requests it.

Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school

Dromindoora NS is a Catholic co-educational Primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Killaloe.

“Catholic Ethos” in the context of a Catholic primary school means the ethos and characteristic spirit of the Roman Catholic Church, which aims at promoting:

1. the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, including the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects; and
2. a living relationship with God and with other people; and
3. a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; and
4. the formation of the pupils in the Catholic faith,

and which school provides religious education for the pupils in accordance with the  doctrines, practices and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and/or such ethos and/or characteristic spirit as may be determined or interpreted from time to time by the Irish Episcopal Conference.

In accordance with S.15 (2) (b) of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management of Dromindoora NS shall uphold, and be accountable to the patron for so upholding, the characteristic spirit of the school as determined by the cultural, educational, moral, religious, social, linguistic and spiritual values and traditions which inform and are characteristic of the objectives and conduct of the school. 

Dromindoora N.S is a co-educational Catholic, primary school, which strives to provide a well ordered, caring, happy and secure atmosphere where the intellectual, spiritual, moral and cultural needs of the pupils are identified and addressed. While Dromindoora NS is a school with a Catholic ethos, it also has due recognition for all other religions. Déanfaímíd iarracht Gaeilge a labhairt. The school motto is: 

                              ‘Ag oscailt ár gcroí,

                                Ag leathnú ár naigne”

School Philosophy

OUR VISION

Our Vision is that of a caring, loving Catholic School where all children, whatever their ability, race or creed are cherished for their uniqueness.

Our school seeks to give equal opportunity to all children to reach their full potential – academically, spiritually, physically, morally, socially and emotionally.

We endeavour to achieve this goal in a climate of positive co-operation, supported by the entire school community of pupils, teachers, support staff, parents/ guardians, Board of Management and Parish.

OUR MISSION.

The staff of Dromindoora National School seeks actively, through work and action, to create a happy climate of physical, emotional, social and intellectual security for students, staff and parents/ guardians. In this way teaching and learning can take place within the context of mutual valuing and respecting relationships.

The teachers at Dromindoora National School see education not just as providing students with knowledge and skills but also as providing for the all-round development of the individual.

We believe each child has a unique and special contribution to make.

We believe every child matters.

We strive to develop independence in our students together with the ability to self-evaluate, self-motivate and internalize discipline. We want out students to be happy with themselves, others and their world.

We want out pupils to enjoy school.

We endeavour to achieve quality in all that we do.

These aspirations can only be achieved through the co-operation of students, teachers, support staff, parents/ guardians, Board of Management and Parish.

We believe it takes a community to raise a child.

OUR ETHOS.

We seek to promote an ethos, which is:

Welcoming, tolerant, open, listening, safe, caring, inclusive and fun.

We are proactive in our efforts to achieve this environment through our language and our actions. The teachers see parents/ guardians as partners in this process.

Admission Statement 

Dromindoora NS will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:

1. the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
2. the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
3. the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
4. the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
5. the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
6. the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
7. the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
8. the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or 
9. the ground that the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned has special educational needs

As per section 61 (3) of the Education Act 1998, ‘civil status ground’, ‘disability ground’, ‘discriminate’, ‘family status ground’, ‘gender ground’, ‘ground of race’, ‘religion ground’,  ‘sexual orientation ground’ and ‘Traveller community ground’ shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of the Equal Status Act 2000.

Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class

Admission of Students

This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –

1. the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)

1. a parent of a student, when required by the principal in accordance with section 23(4) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, fails to confirm in writing that the code of behaviour of the school is acceptable to him or her and that he or she shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with such code by the student

Oversubscription 

In the event that the school is oversubscribed, the school will, when deciding on applications for admission, apply the following selection criteria in the order listed below to those applications that are received within the timeline for receipt of applications as set out in the school’s annual admission notice: 

In the event that there are two or more students tied for a place or places in any of the selection criteria categories above (the number of applicants exceeds the number of remaining places), the following arrangements will apply:

What will not be considered or taken into account

In accordance with section 62(7) (e) of the Education Act, the school will not consider or take into account any of the following in deciding on applications for admission or when placing a student on a waiting list for admission to the school:

Decisions on applications 

All decisions on applications for admission to Dromindoora NS will be based on the following:

• Our school’s admission policy

• The school’s annual admission notice 

• The information provided by the applicant in the school’s official application form received during the period specified in our annual admission notice for receiving applications

(Please see section 14 below in relation to applications received outside of the admissions period and section 15  below in relation to applications for places in years other than the intake group.)

Selection criteria that are not included in our school admission policy will not be used to make a decision on an application for a place in our school.

Notifying applicants of decisions

Applicants will be informed in writing as to the decision of the school, within the timeline outlined in the annual admissions notice. 

If a student is not offered a place in our school, the reasons why they were not offered a place will be communicated in writing to the applicant, including, where applicable, details of the student’s ranking against the selection criteria and details of the student’s place on the waiting list for the school year concerned.  

Applicants will be informed of the right to seek a review/right of appeal of the school’s decision (see section 18 below for further details).

Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant

In accepting an offer of admission from Dromindoora NS you must indicate—

(i) whether or not you have accepted an offer of admission for another school or schools. If you have accepted such an offer, you must also provide details of the offer or offers concerned and

(ii) whether or not you have applied for and awaiting confirmation of an offer of admission from another school or schools, and if so, you must provide details of the other school or schools concerned.

Circumstances in which offers may not be made or may be withdrawn

An offer of admission may not be made or may be withdrawn by Dromindoora NS where—

1. it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.
2. an applicant fails to confirm acceptance of an offer of admission on or before the date set out in the annual admission notice of the school.
3. the parent of a student, when required by the principal in accordance with section 23(4) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, fails to confirm in writing that the code of behaviour of the school is acceptable to him or her and that he or she shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with such code by the student; or
4. an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10 above.

Sharing of Data with other schools

Applicants should be aware that section 66(6) of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 allows for the sharing of certain information between schools in order to facilitate the efficient admission of students. 

Section 66(6) allows a school to provide a patron or another board of management with a list of the students in relation to whom—

(i) an application for admission to the school has been received,

(ii) an offer of admission to the school has been made, or

(iii) an offer of admission to the school has been accepted.

The list may include any or all of the following:

(i) the date on which an application for admission was received by the school;

(ii) the date on which an offer of admission was made by the school;

(iii) the date on which an offer of admission was accepted by an applicant;

(iv) a student’s personal details including his or her name, address, date of birth and personal public service number (within the meaning of section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005).

Waiting list in the event of oversubscription

In the event of there being more applications to the school year concerned than places available, a waiting list of students whose applications for admission to Dromindoora NS were unsuccessful due to the school being oversubscribed will be compiled and will remain valid for the school year in which admission is being sought.

Placement on the waiting list of Dromindoora NS is in the order of priority assigned to the students’ applications after the school has applied the selection criteria in accordance with this admission policy.  

Applicants whose applications are received after the closing date, outlined in the Annual Admission Notice, will be placed at the end of the waiting list in order of the date of receipt of the application.

Offers of any subsequent places that become available for and during the school year in relation to which admission is being sought will be made to those students on the waiting list, in accordance with the order of priority in relation to which the students have been placed on the list.

Late Applications

All applications for admission received after the closing date as outlined in the annual admission notice will be considered and decided upon in accordance with our school’s admissions policy, the Education Admissions to School Act 2018 and any regulations made under that Act. 

Late applicants will be notified of the decision in respect of their application no later than three weeks after the date on which the school received the application.  Late applicants will be offered a place if there is place available.  In the event that there is no place available, the name of the applicant will be added to the waiting list as set out in Section 13.

Procedures for admission of students to other years and during the school year

Junior Infants, with the exception of those transferring from another school, may only be admitted to the school prior to (date tbc)

Declaration in relation to the non-charging of fees

The board of Dromindoora NS or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-

1. an application for admission of a student to the school, or
2. the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.

Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction 

Reviews/appeals

Review of decisions by the board of Management

The parents/guardians of the student, may request the board to review a decision to refuse admission. Such requests must be made in accordance with Section 29C of the Education Act 1998.    

The timeline within which such a review must be requested and the other requirements applicable to such reviews are set out in the procedures determined by the Minister under section 29B of the Education Act 1998 which are published on the website of the Department of Education and Skills.

The board will conduct such reviews in accordance with the requirements of the procedures determined under Section 29B and with section 29C of the Education Act 1998.

Note:  Where an applicant has been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, the applicant must request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.

Where an applicant has been refused admission due to a reason other than the school being oversubscribed, the applicant may request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.   

Right of appeal

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parents/guardians of the student, may appeal a decision of this school to refuse admission.  

An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1) (c) (i) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due to the school being oversubscribed.

An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1) (c) (ii) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due a reason other than the school being oversubscribed.

Where an applicant has been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, the applicant must request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998. (see Review of decisions by the Board of Management)

Where an applicant has been refused admission due to a reason other than the school being oversubscribed, the applicant may request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998. (see Review of decisions by the Board of Management)

Appeals under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 will be considered and determined by an independent appeals committee appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills.    

The timeline within which such an appeal must be made and the other requirements applicable to such appeals are set out in the procedures determined by the Minister under section 29B of the Education Act 1998 which are published on the website of the Department of Education and Skills.

The policy was ratified by the Board of Management of Dromindoora NS on Date.

Signed: __________________________________ Chairperson, Board of Management

The contents of this policy have been approved by St. Senan’s Education Office, acting on behalf of the Patron.

Appendix (1)

Enrolment Application Form

Dromindoora NS 2021/22

Pupil’s First Name: _________________________   Surname: _________________________

Date of Birth: _________________________   Gender: _________________________

Address (at which the applicant resides): _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

Name and class of Sibling(s) currently enrolled:_________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________ 

Parish in which the applicant resides: _________________________________________________ 

Parent(s)/Guardian(s) Details:

Name: _______________________________________ [  ] Parent [  ] Custodian [  ] Legal Guardian

Address: _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Home Tel. __________________ Mobile __________________ Email. _______________________

Name: _______________________________________ [  ] Parent [  ] Custodian [  ] Legal Guardian

Address:  _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Home Tel. __________________ Mobile __________________ Email. ________________________

Signature 1: _________________________    Signature 2: _________________________

Date: _________________     Date: _________________

Completed enrolment applications must be returned to Dromindoora NS, Caher, Co Clare no later than closing time on closing date.

Appendix (2)

Enrolment Registration Form

This form should be used to obtain 

• SEN information
• Emergency contact details
• Medical details 
• Birth/Baptismal Certificates
• Guardianship/custody/access arrangements (please refer to the guardianship information sheet that can be found in the resources section of www.stsenansed.ie).
• Other information sought by the school