Admission Policy

Admission Policy of Scoil Íosagáin

Saint Mary’s Road

Buncrana

County Donegal

F93 CA 39

Roll number: 19967D

School Patron: The Bishop of Derry

Please note: The enrolment process for the school year 2024/2025 will begin in November. Our Admissions Notice will be published on this website in October.

1. 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 in December 2020. 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 Scoil Íosagáin’s 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

2. Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school

Scoil Íosagáin is a Catholic co-educational primary school (with additional classes for children with Special Educational Needs) with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Derry.

“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:

(a) the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, including the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects; and

(b) a living relationship with God and with other people; and

(d) 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 Scoil Íosagáin 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.

Mission Statement and general objectives of Scoil Íosagáin:

Scoil Íosagáin is a happy school community and it is our privilege to provide an education for the boys and girls entrusted to our care. Providing a model of integration, all pupils can learn together, play together and grow together in a school community that supports inclusion and celebrates difference.

Our school motto “Mol an Óige” reflects the centrality and importance of the holistic development of the child in the philosophy of the school, and the importance of encouragement and support in the school’s teaching and learning processes.

Our mission at Scoil Íosagáin is to facilitate the right of every child to access and to participate in the education system according to their ability. Our pupils will spend most of their compulsory schooling at Scoil Íosagáin and it is our duty to ensure that they receive the best possible education.

We hope to nurture in our pupils a love of and for learning, a caring attitude and to arouse in them a curiosity in the world around them which will motivate them to learn in an enjoyable and meaningful way.

School staff and management strive to stay abreast of the ever changing learning environment in order to ensure that all of our children benefit from the most up to date developments in teaching and learning.

We aim to provide a happy, safe environment in which our pupils will learn and grow.

We aim to foster an interest and pride in our heritage and make use of our rich local environment as an educational resource.

We encourage responsible and caring attitudes towards our planet and towards all with whom we share life on the planet, animal, plant and human life in particular.

We encourage a spirit of friendliness and co-operation and work closely with other agencies and organisations involved in child care provisions and child centred activities.

We encourage responsible and caring attitudes towards the poor, deprived and disadvantaged, locally, nationally and internationally and encourage tolerance of others.

We recognise the role of parents as the first educators of their children and try to facilitate that role by encouraging active participation in their children’s school life.

Our school is the setting in which our faith is lived and shared with the children. Our Catholic faith inspires the Primary education we provide and Christian values are passed on to the children in prayer, in our programme of Religious Instruction and in our preparation for receiving the sacraments of First Penance, First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

The staff of Scoil Íosagáin is committed to effective teaching in all areas of the Primary School Curriculum in preparing, presenting and executing lessons to the highest of standards.

We endeavour to share new developments with parents and provide training opportunities accordingly.

We aspire to provide leadership opportunities for both staff and pupils.

In our school we will undertake to develop a good system of communication with the Partners in Education, namely the Principal and staff, Board of Management, pupils, parents, the Department of Education and Skills and its representatives.

We endeavour to work together as a friendly, supportive and co-operative team for the benefit of the entire school community.

The Board of Management and staff of Scoil Íosagáin support the principles of:

-Inclusiveness- the rights of children with special educational needs to be educated in our school

-Equality of access and participation in our school

-Parental choice in relation to enrolment

-Respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages and ways of life in society

3. Admission Statement

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

(a) the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,

(b) the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,

(d) the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,

(e) the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,

(f) the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,

(g) the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,

(h) the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or

(i) 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.

Scoil Íosagáin is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate in relation to the admission of a student who has applied for a place in the school in accordance with section 7A of the Equal Status Act 2000.

Scoil Íosagáin 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 Catholic and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

Scoil Íosagáin is a school which has established special classes, with the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills, which provides an education exclusively for students with a category or categories of special educational needs specified by the Minister, and may refuse to admit to the class a student who does not have the category of needs specified.

4. Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special classes

Scoil Íosagáin, with the approval of the Minister for Education, has established classes to provide an education exclusively for students with Autism, students with Multiple Disabilities and students with Severe/Profound General Learning Disability. This includes an Early Intervention or pre-school class for children with Autism.

5. Admission of Students

This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –

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

b) 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

Scoil Íosagáin is a school with 11 special education classes

The special classes in Scoil Íosagáin provide an education exclusively for students with Autism (one Early Intervention or pre-school class, 7 ASD classes), one class for pupils with Multiple Disabilities, Moderate General Learning Disability and one class for pupils with Severe/Profound General Learning Disability. The school may refuse admission to these classes, where the student concerned does not have the specified category of special educational needs provided for in these classes.

6. 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:

1. Age: older children will be prioritised.

2. Children who have siblings already attending the school.

3. Children who are living in the Parish of Lower Fahan and .Desertegney.

In the event of two or more pupils being tied for a place after the application of the above criteria then a lottery will apply. Names will “go into a hat” and the first name drawn out will be awarded the place. The remaining child/children will be placed on a waiting list. The child placed first on the waiting list will be the second child drawn from the hat, and so on.

7. 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:

(a) a student’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service, including naíonraí,

(b) the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;

admission to a special class insofar as it is necessary in order to ascertain whether or not the student has the category of special educational needs concerned

(d) the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s parents;

(e) a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or other meeting as a condition of admission;

(f) a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his or her family attending or having previously attended 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

(g) the date and time on which an application for admission was received by 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 31st January 2025 only).

8. Decisions on applications

All decisions on applications for admission to Scoil Íosagáin 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.

9. Notifying applicants of decision

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).

10. Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant

In accepting an offer of admission from Scoil Íosagáin, 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.

11. 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 Scoil Íosagáin where—

(i) it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.

(ii) 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.

(iii) 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

(iv) an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10 above.

12. 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).

13. 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 Scoil Íosagáin 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 Scoil Íosagáin 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.

14. 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 a 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.

15. 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:

Pupils may be enrolled in other year groups in the school provided that places and space are available. The Board reserves the right to consider the physical space available in some of our classrooms when applications to transfer are being considered.

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:

Pupils who are newly resident in the area may be enrolled after the commencement of the school year providing that there is a place and space available in the relevant class.

Pupils with a diagnosed Special Educational Need of Autism, Multiple Disability or Severe/Profound General Learning Disability may transfer after the commencement of the school year provided that a place is available in the relevant special class.

Pupils wishing to transfer from other schools will be enrolled subject to the Rules for National Schools, Education Welfare Act and the school’s Admission Policy, and provided that places and space are available. The Board reserves the right to consider the physical space available in some of our classrooms when applications to transfer are being considered. Transfers from other schools, in circumstances that don’t include a family that is newly resident in the area, will only be accepted at the beginning of a school term, where there is a place and space available

16. Declaration in relation to the non-charging of fees

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

(a) an application for admission of a student to the school, or

(b) the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.

17. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction

The following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parents have requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school: the student may engage in other activities within the classroom during religious instruction or may attend the School Library, where possible and if available, for the duration of instruction. If the child is availing of additional educational support in school, support sessions will be timetabled during religious instruction if possible.

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) or the student, as the case may be, to discuss how the request may be accommodated by the school.

18. Reviews/appeals

Review of decisions by the Board of Management

The parent 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 parent 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 to 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)

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.

Scoil Iosagain

Admission Policy