Enrolment
Policy
In accordance with the provisions of the
Education Act, 1998, the Board of Management of North Bay Educate Together
National School, has developed this Enrolment Policy document to assist parents
in relation to enrolment matters. The school Principal (Sally McGinley) can be contacted to clarify any matters arising from the
policy.
Contact details for North Bay are as
follows:
North Bay Educate Together National School,Greendale Avenue,Kilbarrack,Dublin 5.Tel.: 01 832 5536Fax.: 01 832 5064
email: office@northbay.ie
Web: http://www.northbay.ie/
Hours of opening: 8.40am - 2.20pm
The ethos of North Bay is
multi-denominational, democratic, co-educational and child-centred. The school
values and supports the principles of inclusiveness, equality of access and
participation in the school, parental choice, and respect for diversity of
values, beliefs and traditions.
The management structures of the school
involve i) a Patron, in the form of a Committee, whose principle function is to
protect the ethos of the school; and ii) a Board of Management, responsible for
day-to-day running of the school. The school Patron is drawn from the parent
body of the school, with significant representation from the parent body on the
Board of Management also. The school Patron is registered as a limited company
with charitable status.
North Bay is staffed in accordance with current Department
of Education guidelines. Additional support, when
sanctioned by the Department of Education and Science, is available as the need
arises, including resource teaching hours and Special Needs assistants. The school teaches classes at all levels from
Junior Infants to 6th Class.
North Bay depends on grants and teacher resources
provided by the Department of Education and Science, and operates
within the regulations laid down, from time to time, by the Department. The policies
of the school, therefore, must have regard to
resources and funding available. The school follows the curricular programmes
prescribed by the Department of Education and Science, which may be amended
from time to time in accordance with Sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act
(1998). The school has developed its own "Ethical Core Curriculum" to
support the ethos and core values of the school. This programme is
called the Learn Together Programme.
a.
Deferrals:
When a deferral is agreed, the child is placed at the
top of the list for the next school year. See deferrals policy below.
b.
Sibling Policy: Siblings of children in the school (and step siblings,
resident at the same address) will be given preference if enrolled at least two
years before planned date of entry.
c. Fostering/Adoption Policy: Fostered or adopted
children will be placed on the pre-enrolment list in accordance with their
birth date. Their place on the pre-enrolment list will depend on the time
elapsed between placement of the child with the family and the enrolment date.
For example, a child placed with the family at age two but placed on the
enrolment list at age three will be treated as a child enrolled at age one.
Confirmation from the relevant agency of the date of placement of a child with
the family will be need to be provided with the enrolment form
d. Special Circumstances: In exceptional
circumstances and depending on the particular needs and circumstances of each
class, the Principal, in consultation with the Board of Management, will have
the facility to offer up to five places across the school in any given year,
without reference to the waiting list.
e.
Other
applicants in date order of application. The names of all applicants are
placed in date order on a pre-enrolment list. When the applicants who qualify
for circumstances (a) to (d) are filtered, the other applicants may qualify for
places in the school. These places are offered according to the year for which
the application has been made.
Application Procedures: Parents (including parents
of children currently in the school) are advised to put their children's names
on the pre-enrolment list as soon as possible after the child is born (or
placed in your care). Parents seeking to enrol their child(ren) are requested
to return a pre-enrolment form with an original birth/adoption certificate.
Enrolment is by way of written application only, using the schoolŐs pre-enrolment
application form. Each form received by the school will be acknowledged in
writing.
Admission: Children are offered a place in the school in accordance
with the school admission policies, detailed above. The number of places
offered is in accordance with the Department of Education and Science
guidelines in relation to class size. The Board of Management is bound by the
Department of Education and ScienceŐs Rules for National Schools which provide
that pupils may only be admitted to the school from the age of 4 years and
upwards. The Board of Management has agreed that the school will be
considered full when enrolment has reached the number of classes multiplied by
the current Department of Education pupil/teacher ratio.
Confirmation: In October/November of the year prior to the child being
eligible for entry to the school, parents are sent an offer of a place in
respect of all eligible children. This form offers 2 options:
a. Confirmation
that you will accept a place in the following September;
b.
A request that your child's name be removed from the
pre-enrolment list. Should parents later change their
minds, they must re-apply to have their child placed on the pre-enrolment list,
the date of re-application now determining priority on the list.
If a
confirmation form is not returned within the dates specified on the offer of a
place, the child's name is removed from the list. No further forms will be sent
out. For parents accepting the offer of a place in the school, an Information
Evening for parents and Registration Day for
parents and children will be held.
Pre-enrolment List: When the class is filled, parents of all the other
applicants on the list will receive a letter informing them that the class is
now full. This letter will also note that cancellations can emerge between that
date and the start of the school year for which they applied. They will be
asked to indicate whether they want their child to remain on the list by
returning a form. A new pre-enrolment
list will then be set out from those wishing to remain on the list awaiting
cancellations. Future offers for that school year will be made from that list.
Children
transferring from another school: Procedures
are as detailed above. When completing the pre-enrolment form, parents also
complete the appropriate section of the application form. Children may transfer
to the school at any time, subject to available space, although intake to the
school usually takes place in September. The Education Welfare Act (2000)
contains specific provisions in relation to transfer of pupils, including the
requirement that information concerning attendance and the child's educational
progress is communicated between schools.
Special
Needs: Should it become apparent that
a child has special educational and/or health needs, it is very important that
these are discussed with the school Principal as soon as the needs become
apparent, in order to facilitate the child in the school. It is open to the
Board of Management to request a copy of a child's medical and/or psychological
report or, where such a report is not available, to request that the child be
assessed immediately. The purpose of the assessment report is to assist the
school in establishing the educational and training needs of the child relevant
to his/her special needs and to profile the support services required. This
enables the Principal to have in place necessary resources when the child starts
in the school. Otherwise, there may be lengthy delays in accessing these
resources, through no fault of the school. Occasionally, it may be necessary
for Boards of Management to decide to defer enrolment of a particular child
pending a) the receipt of an assessment report; and/or b) the provision of
appropriate resources by the Department of Education and Science to meet the
needs specified in the psychological and/or medical report.
Change
of Address: It is very important that
any change of address is notified to the school in writing, along with the
names and dates of birth of all children on the pre-enrolment list. It
is the responsibility of the parent/guardian of the applicant to ensure that
the school has the appropriate contact details.
When a Junior Infant place is offered to
a child, a request for deferral is considered in consultation with the
Principal. Deferrals can only be considered on the grounds of age or
special needs. When a deferral is agreed, the child is placed at the top of the
list for the next school year.
If a family is moving (for example, for reasons of
employment) for a fixed period of time and it is necessary for a child to be
taken out of the school for this period, the time frame for return must be
agreed with the Principal. The place can only be held open for a child for the
remainder of the school year during which the child left the school provided that
(a)
(a) The
child has attended at least the first month of the school year
(b) The child returns to school on the agreed date
Children enrolled in North Bay are
required to co-operate with and support the Code of Behaviour (see attached)
and ethos of the school, as well as all other policies on curriculum,
organisation and management.
© North Bay Educate Together National School 15-01-2009