Dear Parents,
I attach our school's draft of the new Admission Policy - which would have previously been known as the Enrolment Policy. This policy is being reviewed by all schools at the moment. Here is some information about it:
- Certain parts of the Education Act have recently commenced. One of these is the Admission Policy.
- All Boards of Management are required to draft a new Admission Policy following consultation with the patron, the staff of the school and parents of current pupils. The new policy must contain a statement that the school will not discriminate against an applicant for admission on any of a number of grounds specified.
- The main sections of the Act which were commenced and which are of paramount importance are :
School Fees: That recognised schools are prohibited from charging fees or seeking payment or contributions for admission to or for continued enrolment in a school.
Religion as a Selection Criteria: That Since 3rd October 2018 primary schools are prohibited from using religion as a selection criterion in school admissions. However there are protections in this provision to ensure that a child of a minority faith, can still access a school of faith.
Special Classes: The Minister has a power to compel a school to make additional provision in respect of children with special educational needs, where the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has identified a need for such provision within an area.
Co-operation between Boards: Schools can share information in relation to school admissions to assist with the admission of pupils.
4. To review this policy a template was sent by the Dept. Of Education so many schools’ Admission Policies will look similar with small changes therein.
5. As advised by the CPSMA this Policy must be reviewed by our Board of Managment, Staff and Parents. We hereby inform you that the policy is available now on the website under Policies and Plans > Organisational Policies > Admission Policy.
We invite you to make comments/suggestions and send them by email to ballymittyschool@eircom.net before 6pm on Tues. April 28th 2020.
6. This Policy will then go to the Patron who will return the Policy to the school in Sept. 2020 when it will be implemented. Admissions for the school year 2020/2021 are not impacted by this Admissions Policy.
Thanking you,
Audrey