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:
- the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, including the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects; and
- a living relationship with God and with other people; and
- a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; and
- 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:
- the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or
- 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.
All denominational schoolDromindoora NS is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate where it refuses to admit as a student a person who is not Roman Catholic and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school. |
Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class
Dromindoora NS is a mainstream school. It does not have a Special Class or ASD Class. Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are catered for by their mainstream class teacher with the support of the Special Education Teacher. |
Admission of Students
This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –
- the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)
- 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
All denominational schoolDromindoora NS is a Roman Catholic school and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of Roman Catholic faith where it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school. |
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 Dromindoora NS 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: Criteria for enrolment into Junior Infants in the mainstream in the event of oversubscription: 1. Brothers and sisters of children in the school. 2. All children who live within the parish boundaries applying for a placement are entitled to a place if there are vacancies after the group above have been allocated. |
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:
If oversubscribed, the order of priority (within each of the priority categories above) is determined by the date of birth of each child, with priority to the oldest.If two pupils happen to have same date of birth, pupil who lives closest distance to school will be the recipient of a place. |
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:
(other than, in the case of the school wishing to include a selection criteria based on siblings of a student attending or having attended the school
This is subject to the application being received at any time during the period specified for receiving applications set out in the annual admission notice of the school for the school year concerned. This is also subject to the school making offers based on existing waiting lists (up until 31 st January 2025 only). |
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—
- it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school to classes or years other than the school’s intake group are as follows: Applications for enrolment during the school year will be considered subject to school policy, available space and the provision of information concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress. Such applications will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis but will normally only be considered for admission on the first day of each new term unless the applicant is newly resident in the area |
The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school, after the commencement of the school year in which admission is sought, are as follows: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 N.S. 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. |
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-
- an application for admission of a student to the school, or
- the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.
Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction
Dromindoora NS is of a Catholic ethos and, in keeping with that ethos, children of all or no other faith are welcome to apply to this school. We respect the decision of parents to withdraw their child/children from taking part in the religious education curriculum, religious ceremonies, school Masses, etc. The following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parent(s)/guardian(s) have requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction (etc.) in the school. These arrangements will not result in a reduction in the school day of such students: A written request should be made to the Principal of the school. A meeting will then be arranged with the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student, to discuss how the request may be accommodated by the school. |
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