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ADMISSIONS POLICY

The Board of Management of Killashee Schools Sets out below its policy of Admissions in accordance with the provision of the Education Act, 1998.

Killashee School depends on the grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and it operates within the regulations laid down, from time to time, by the Department. All our school policies must have regard to the funding and resources made available to the school. Our school follows the curricular programmes prescribed by the DES which may be amended from time to time, in accordance with Section 9 and 30 of the Education Act 1998.

Equality of access is the key value that determines the enrolment of children to our 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.

While recognising the rights of parents to enrol their child in the school of their choice, the Board of Management of Killashee school is also responsible for respecting 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 all the children.

Application Procedures

Killashee School follows these procedures for enrolment of Junior Infants for the next school year:

• Parents are informed of the dates, time and venue of the enrolment through:
• Informing pupils already in the school
• By Letter

While parents are encouraged to enrol their children at this time, parents will be allowed to enrol their children at a later date pending acceptance by the BOM.

• The Principal and Junior Infant Teacher meet with the parent(s)/guardian
• The school encourages the parent/guardian to have the children accompany them to meet the                              class teacher and become familiar with their new environment.
• All children are requested to present a birth certificate
• Parents fill an application form, along with consent forms for school trips, forwarding child's                              details to Health Board for immunisation purposes, work/photo on school website etc.
• Parents of children requesting school transport can contact the bus companies involved (phone numbers available from the school office.)
  
• An induction meeting for parents of Junior Infants parents will be held in June where school                                                       uniform, books, code of behaviour and other policies etc., will be discussed. d.

Decision Making

Decisions in relation to applications are guided by the principles of natural justice and acting in the best interest of all children and are made by the Board of Management in accordance with school policy. As a general principle, and in so far as is practicable, having regard for the school’s enrolment policy, the children shall be enrolled on application, providing there is space available. Killashee School is bound by the rules for National Schools which states that a child may not be allowed to attend or be enrolled in national school before the fourth anniversary of his/her birth (Rule 64.1).

• Criteria used in decision making the by BOM in relation to excess enrolment are:
• Siblings of pupils already in the school
• Past Pupils children
• Ages of children
• Children of Staff Members
• Guidelines from the DES in relation to class size, staffing provision and accommodation.
• Physical space
• Health and Welfare of the children

In accordance with the Education Welfare Act 2000, the BOM will notify parents of their decision with twenty-one days of receiving the information as prescribed by the Minister of Education and Skills under this ACT.

Admission Day

Junior Infants pupils are encouraged to attend school from 1^st September of the new school year. Children who are four on or before 30^th April will be admitted to the Junior Infant class the following school year. Admission to the Junior Infant class takes place once a year, this being the month of August/September, except when a child is transferring from another school.

Enrolment of Children with Special Needs

In relation to the enrolment of children with special needs, the Board of Management of Killashee School may request a copy of the child’s medical and/or psychological report. If this is not available, the Board will request that the child be assessed immediately. This report is requested to assist the school in establishing the education and training needs of the child relevant to his/her disability or special education needs and to profile the support services required. Following the receipt of the report, the Board will assess how the school could meet the needs specified in the report. Where the Boards deems that further resources are required, it should, prior to enrolment, request the DES to provide the resources required to meet the needs of the child as outlined in the psychological or medical report. These resources may include, for example, access to or the provision of any or a combination of the follow: teacher for special needs, special needs assistant, specialised equipment for furniture, transport services or other.

The school will meet the parents of the child to discuss the child’s needs and the school’s suitability or capability in meeting those needs. If necessary, a full case conference involving all parties may be held. The Board may decide to defer enrolment of a particular child pending:

• The receipt of an assessment report and/or
• The provision of appropriate resources by the DES to meet the needs specified in the                                                     psychological and/or medical report. 
  

Pupils Transferring

In keeping with the Education Welfare Act 2000, a parent may transfer his/her child from one national school to another, at any time of the year, either with the consent of the Minister or when the transfer is made because of a change in the ordinary residence of the child. This is also subject to school policy and available space. When the application is made, the Principal shall ascertain from the parent whether the pupil was previously enrolled in another national school which the pupil previously attended.

An enrolment form is completed etc. and procedures outlined above are then followed. Information concerning the pupil’s attendance and the child’s educational progress should be communicated between the schools.

Code of Behaviour

The school code of Behaviour contains the procedures for suspension and expulsion of pupils and parents can request a copy of this from the school secretary.

Medication

Parents are asked to inform the school in writing if their child suffers from any long term or short term illness and if their child is on medication. No teacher can be required to administer medicine or drugs to a pupil. A teacher who, with the consent of the BOM, does take on the responsibility of administering medicines takes on a heavy duty care to discharge the responsibility correctly. Parents contact the BOM in writing in relation to the administration of medication (Appendix B). Children who need to use inhalers or other devices during school time need written confirmation from a parent for this and they then may use their inhaler as long as they can do so without assistance from the teacher.

Review

This policy will be reviewed and updated each February by the Board of Management.

RETENTION POLICY

The provision of a Special Needs team and a range of other resources in the school provide considerable support for pupils with learning difficulties from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. The level of provision available should enable pupils to make progress in keeping with their needs and abilities and to move consecutively through the different class levels in our school in keeping with peers.

Regulations governing the retention of pupils in Primary Schools is outlined in the Department of Education Circular 11/01.

• The Primary School Curriculum is designed as an eight year course, including a two year infant cycle followed by six years in standards from first to sixth, with children progressing to the next grade at the end of each school year.
• As a rule, a pupil should not be retained in an infants class beyond the 30^th June next following the date on which he/she has:
• Been enrolled in the school for one and a half years
• Reached the age of six and a half years, whichever is earlier.
• The promotion of pupils to the next standard will normally take place at the beginning of the school The Principal may, following consultation with the class teacher, Special Education Teachers and parents of the pupil conclude that a pupil would benefit educationally by being retained for a second year in a class. A record outlining the educational basis for the decision to retain a child in class for a second year will be kept for any pupil so retained (Appendix C).
• No pupil will be held back for longer than one year throughout his/her national school career.
• Pupils who completed sixth class in another primary school are not accepted for enrolment in our school.