MONEYSTOWN NATIONAL SCHOOL
Moneystown, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow. +35340445477
[email protected]
www.moneystownns.ie
ENROLMENT/ADMISSION POLICY
Moneystown National School
Roll No. 13246 G
Date: January 2008.
Participants:
The school Board of Management.
The school Principal.
The teaching staff.
The parents of the school-going children.
GENERAL INFORMATION.
The Board of Management of Moneystown National School (Roll Number 13246G) states that its
Enrolment/Admission Policy shall be in accordance with the Provisions of the Education Act 1998.
B.O.M. hopes that the Policy will assist all parents in relation to enrolment matters.
The Chairman (Mr. Joe McKenna., Lickeen, Roundwood) and the school Principal (Maeve Tierney,
Moneystown National School) will always be ready to clarify any further matters which may
concern any parent or guardian regarding the enrolment of his/her child at the above mentioned
school.
Name of School
Moneystown National School,
Moneystown,
Roundwood,
Bray,
Co. Wicklow.
Phone Number
0404-45477
Fax Number
0404 45249
Email address:
[email protected]
Website
www.moneystownns.ie
Roll Number
13246 G
School’s Denominational
Character
Roman Catholic
Patron’s Name
Teachers
Range of classes
taught at
Moneystown N.S.:
Dr. Diarmaid Martin
Archbishop of Dublin
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Mainstream Teachers: 4
Learning Support teacher;1
Resource Teacher ;1
Special Needs Assistants: 1
Junior Infants to 6th Class.
Resource class for children who have been assessed and deemed
to have a low-incidence special need and therefore entitled to a
specific amount of resource teaching.
Learning support teacher for pupils in the high incidence of
special needs and those experiencing difficulties with literacy
and mathematics.
Category of school
A mixed gender primary school…
School Funding
Moneystown National School is totally dependent on grants
and teacher resources provided by theDepartment of Education
& Skills and operates within the regulation laid down by the
Department.
Curricular & Teaching/Learning Programmed:
Moneystown National School follows all curricular programmes prescribed by the Department of
Education and Skills in accordance with sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act (1998).
Moneystown National School shall act within the context and parameters of the D.E.S. regulations
and programmes; the rights of the patron as set out in the Education Act; and the funding
available.
The school supports the principles of:
1) Inclusiveness, particularly with reference to the enrolment of children with a disability or other
special need.
2) Equality of Access and participation in the school.
3) Parental Choice in relation to enrolment.
4) Respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, tradition, languages and ways of life in Irish society.
5) Parents and Guardians shall be made aware of the opening and closing times of the school,
regulations regarding holidays and special school closing days, safety and tradition of the
school and the Code of Behaviour currently operating in the school. Parents will be familiar
with the school as a centre for learning and development within the community of
Moneystown prior to the enrolment of the children.
Enrolment/Admission Procedures:
1) Parents who wish to have their children enrolled in Moneystown National School may contact
the Principal at any time stating their intention of enrolling their children in the school.
2) The parent will be informed that for first entrants the 1st of the following September will be the
latest enrolment date for all new applicants.
3) The parent will be issued with an application/information form, which the parent will be asked
to complete and return to the Principal.
4) Depending on the information contained in the application form the parent shall be informed as
to whether their child can be admitted to the school on the following September.
5) Parents are informed of the availability of a place in the school. This is done in February of
each year and parents are given 10 days to confirm acceptance of a place.
Provision of Key Information to Parents:
1) The Board of Management – through the school – will indicate to parents that certain
information (strictly confidential) will be required when children are being enrolled.
2) A special application form will be provided by the Board to ascertain such relevant information
for the board from the parent.
3) Such information should include:
 Pupil’s name, age and address
 Names and addresses of pupil’s parents/guardians
 Contact telephone numbers
 Contact telephone numbers in case of emergency





Details of any medical conditions which the school should be aware of
Religion
A copy of the child’s Baptismal Certificate, if applicable
Previous schools attended, if any, and reason for transfer, if applicable.
Any other information that would be relevant including any such as may be prescribed
under the Education Welfare Act 2000
Decision-Making by the Board of Management
1) All decisions made by the Moneystown Board of Management regarding the enrolment of
individual children will be in accordance with school policy and the Education Welfare
Act/2000.
2) The Board will, under the terms of the Act, notify parents of their decision within 21 days of
receiving such information as will be prescribed by the minister under the Act.
3) Should the applications for enrolment exceed the number of classroom spaces (places)
available, the Board having regard to the relevant D.E.S. guidelines in relation to class size,
floor space required (15 square feet of floor space per pupil….Rule 31 Rules for National School
1965), physical space or welfare of children shall make its decision on the number of new pupils
it can reasonably allow enrol on the official enrolment date. No child will be refused admission
except for the lack of classroom space or information received that does not comply with the
Education Act 1998 or the Education Welfare Act 2000.
4) The Board shall explain to parents who wish to enroll their child in the school that the Board is
bound by the rules of the Department of Education and Science, which provide that pupils may
only be enrolled from the age of four years and upwards, though compulsory attendance does
not apply until the age of 6 years.
Decision Criteria:

The ages of the children wishing to be enrolled. The child must be 4 by September 1st.

Children from within the Parish boundaries and the traditional catchment area of
Moneystown receive first priority and consideration in the event that enrolment numbers
exceed the availability of class spaces in the school.

Enrolment/admission criteria shall give preference to siblings of the proposed new entrant
already attending the school.

Since Moneystown School operates under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin, the
regulations of the archdiocese regarding enrolment policies must be followed.

Additional places in the school will be allocated on ‘first come, first served’ basis to those
outside the catchment area, having first catered for siblings and those within the catchment
area.

Equality of access is the key value that determines the enrolment of children to our school.
No child is refused admission for reasons ethnicity, special education needs, disability,
language/accent, gender, traveller status, asylum-seeker/refugee status, religious/political
beliefs and values, family or social status.

It should be stressed that school will always respect the ethos and culture of all minority
and ethnic pupils attending Moneystown School; these families shall also respect the ethos,
culture and rules of the school.
Admission Day/Date:
All Junior Infant children will be admitted to the school at the start of the new school year, either at
the end of August or the beginning of September.
While recognizing the right of parents to enrol their child in the school of their choice, the Board of
Management of Moneystown N.S. also has the responsibility to respect the rights of the existing
school community and in particular, the children already enrolled. This requires balanced
judgments, which are guided by the principles of natural justice and acting in the best interest of all
children. Assisting the school in such circumstances, the BOM reserve the right to determine the
maximum number of children in each separate classroom bearing in mind:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Size of/available space in classrooms
Educational need of children of a particular age
Multi-grade classes
Presence of children with special educational/behavioral needs.
DES maximum class average directives (currently a maximum average of 28 children).
No child will be admitted during the remainder of the academic year other than being transferred
from another National School within the state or arriving to live in the catchment area from a
country outside of Ireland and having attended a recognised primary school in that jurisdiction.
(Documentation necessary in this case).
An annual open day is held in June for prospective pupils and their parents.
Children enrolled in our school are required to co-operate with and support the School Board of
management’s Code of Behaviour as well as all other policies on curriculum, organisation and
management. The BOM requests Parents/Guardians to be responsible for ensuring that their
child(ren) co-operate with said policies in an age-appropriate way. These policies may be added to
and revised from time to time.
Enrolment of children with special needs:
At present Moneystown National school operates with four main-stream teachers, one resource
teacher for children who have been assessed by a psychologist and deemed to have special
educational needs, one learning support teacher for children who have learning problems in
English literacy and reading difficulties and difficulties with mathematics, one special needs
assistants for pupils who need special help. These are the special needs provisions currently
operating at Moneystown National School. (2011).
Board’s Criteria for enrolment of children with special needs:
1) To ensure that the school can meet the physical and academic needs of such a child with special
needs, the board requires and requests a copy of the child’s medical and/or psychological report
before that child can be enrolled in the school.
2) Where such a report is not available the Board will insist that the child be
medically/psychologically assessed immediately. The purpose of the assessment report is to
assist the school in establishing the educational needs of the child relevant to his/her disability
or special needs and to provide the support services required.
3) Following receipt of the report, the Board will assess how the school can meet the needs
specified in the report.
4) Where the Board deems that further resources are required, it will, prior to enrolment, request
the Department of Education and Science, to provide the necessary resources required to meet
the needs of the child as outlined in the psychological or medical report.
5) These resources may include access into the school, classrooms, toilets, hall, library, school
grounds and play areas etc.
6) Provision of any of a combination of visiting teacher services; resource teacher for special
needs, special needs assistant, specialised equipment or furniture, transport services or other.
7) The Principal shall meet with the parents of the child to discuss the child’s needs and the
school’s suitability or capability in meeting those needs.
8) It may be necessary that a full case conference involving all parties be held, which may include
parents, principal, class teacher, learning support teacher, resource teacher for special needs or
psychologist as appropriate.
9) It may be necessary for the Board of Management to decide to defer enrolment of a particular
child pending:
-
The receipt of an assessment report and/or
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The provision of appropriate resources by the Department of Education and Science to meet
the needs specified in the psychological/or medical report(s).
Pupils transferring:
The Board of Management of Moneystown National School shall act in accordance with Section 6
and Section 15 of the School Attendance Act 1926 – A parent of a child to whom the act applies (i.e.,
between the age of 6 and 15 years) may transfer the child from one National School to another at
any time with the consent of the Minister or on the change of ordinary residence.
Where a child is transferred, the Principal shall on demand, give to the parents of the child, a
certificate of transfer form, stating the class in which the child was enrolled, the attendances of the
child and any academic assessment date or progress records concerning the child.
The Board will comply with all the provisions contained in the Education Welfare Act, which
contains specific provisions in relation to the transfer of pupils from one national school to another.
Ratified by the Board of Management on 11th March 2008 and will be reviewed in September 2011.