St. Joseph’s N.S. Admission Policy

School Patron: Bishop of Ferns

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 September 2020. It will be 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 St. Joseph’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

St. Joseph’s N.S. is a Catholic co-educational Primary School with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Ferns.

“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:

the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, including the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects; and
a living relationship with God and with other people; and
a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; and
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 St. Joseph’s N.S. 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.

3. Admission Statement

St. Joseph’s N.S. will not discriminate in its admission of a pupil to the school on any of the following:

the gender ground of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned,
the civil status ground of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned,
the family status ground of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned,
the sexual orientation ground of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned,
the religion ground of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned,
the disability ground of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned,
the ground of race of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned,
the Traveller community ground of the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil concerned, or
the ground that the pupil or the applicant in respect of the pupil 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.

St. Joseph’s NS. 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 Roman Catholic and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

St. Joseph’s NS is a school which has established two classes, with the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills, which provide 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 class

St. Joseph’s N.S. with the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills, has established two classes to provide an education exclusively for students with Autism.

5. Admission of Pupils

This school shall admit each pupil seeking admission except where –

the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)
a parent of a pupil, 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

St. Joseph’s N.S. is a Roman Catholic school and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not Roman Catholic where it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

The special classes attached to St. Joseph’s N.S. provides an education exclusively for pupils with Autism and the school may refuse admission to these classes, where the pupil concerned does not have the specified category of special educational needs provided for in this class.

To gain admission to the Special Classes, parents must provide a diagnostic report prepared by a Psychologist, Psychiatrist or Multi-Disciplinary team, within 2 years of application that has assessed and classified the child as having autism or autism spectrum disorder using the DSM-V or ICD 10. The report must include a recommendation that a special class placement in a mainstream school is both necessary and suitable for the child, due to the presence of complex learning needs. The school/SENO may refuse admission to this class, where the student concerned does not have the specified category of special educational needs provided for in this class

6a. Oversubscription in Mainstream Classes

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:

Siblings of current pupils
Children living in the curacy of Ballymitty
All others

6b. Oversubscription in the Special Classes

In the event that the special class 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:

Pupils already enrolled in a mainstream class in St. Joseph’s NS where it has been demonstrated that the pupil needs to transfer to an Autism class and requires the support of an Autism Class because he/she is unable to learn effectively in a mainstream class for most or all of the school day even with appropriate supports and where the pupil meets the enrolment criteria.
Siblings of current pupils
Children living in the curacy of Ballymitty
All others

In the event that there are two or more pupils tied for a place or places in any of the selection criteria categories above (the number of applicants exceeds the number of remaining places), the following arrangements will apply:

In criteria 1 above where there are pupils in mainstream classes wishing to transfer to the special class the Admission Team in the school (made up of the Principal, a SET teacher and a Special Class teacher) will allocate places based on the complex needs of the pupils.

In criteria 2 to 4 above places will be allocated on the basis of age, starting with the oldest applicant, until all places are allocated.

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 pupil on a waiting list for admission to the school:

a pupil’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service, including naíonraí other than in relation to a pupil’s prior attendance at an early intervention class?
the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;
a pupil’s academic ability, skills or aptitude other than in relation to admission to a special class insofar as it is necessary in order to ascertain whether or not the pupil has been diagnosed in the category of Autism
the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a pupil’s parents;
a requirement that a pupil, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or other meeting as a condition of admission;
a pupil’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 pupil attending or having attended the school.
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.

8. Decisions on applications

All decisions on applications for admission to St. Joseph’s N.S. will be based on the following:

Our school’s Admission Policy
The school’s annual Admission Notice (where applicable)
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 decisions

Applicants will be informed in writing as to the decision of the school, within the timeline outlined in the annual admissions notice.

If a pupil 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 pupil’s ranking against the selection criteria and details of the pupil’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 St. Joseph’s N.S. 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 St. Joseph’s N.S. where—

it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.
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.
the parent of a pupil, 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 pupil; or
an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10

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 pupils.

Section 66(6) allows a school to provide a patron or another board of management with a list of the pupils 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 pupil’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 pupils whose applications for admission to St. Joseph’s N.S. were unsuccessful due to the school being oversubscribed will be compiled and will remain valid for the school year only in which admission is being sought.

Placement on the waiting list of St. Joseph’s N.S. is in the order of priority assigned to the pupils’ 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 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 pupils to other years and during the school year

The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of pupils who are not already admitted to the school to classes or years other than the school’s intake group are as follows:

Parents are required to submit a completed Admission Application Form for each child

The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of pupils who are not already admitted to the school, after the commencement of the school year in which admission is sought, are as follows:

Parents are required to submit a completed Admission Application Form for each child.

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

This rule applies to all schools.

The Board of Management of St. Joseph’s N.S. or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-

an application for admission of a pupil to the school, or
the admission or continued enrolment of a pupil in the school.

17. Arrangements regarding pupils not attending religious instruction

The following are the school’s arrangements for pupils, where the parents have requested that the pupil attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school. These arrangements will not result in a reduction in the school day of such pupils:

A written request should be made to the Principal of the school.

A meeting will then be arranged with the parents 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, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, 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 and must be received by the board not later than 21 days after the applicant has been informed in writing as to the decision of the school in accordance with Section 9 of this policy.

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. This request must be received by the board not later than 21 days after the applicant has been informed in writing as to the decision of the school in accordance with Section 9 of this policy.

Right of appeal

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, 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 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). This request must be received by the board not later than 21 days after the applicant has been informed in writing as to the decision of the school in accordance with Section 9 of this policy.

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. (see Review of decisions by the Board of Management). This request must be received by the board not later than 21 days after the applicant has been informed in writing as to the decision of the school in accordance with Section 9 of this policy.

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.

Note:

This policy was made available to the school community on our website www.ballymittyns.ie on Tues. April 21^st 2020. Parents and Staff were informed by text that it was on the website and comments/suggestions were welcomed by email to ballymittyteachers@gmail.com before 6pm on Tues. April 28^th 2020.

This draft policy was emailed from the Chairperson of the Board of Management to all Board members on Tues. April 21^st 2020. Comments/Suggestions were welcomed by email before 6pm on Tues. April 28^th 2020.

This document was ratified by the Board of Management as its proposal to the Patron for approval as St Joseph’s NS Ballymitty Admission Policy.

Following direction from the Education Secretariat of the Diocese, this policy was ratified by the Board of Management at their meeting on 29^th September 2020.

Following a directive from the Patron in Nov. 2022 the following information was added to our Admission Policy and was notified to all of the school community in the Annual Admission Notice:

St. Joseph’s NS will co-operate with the NCSE in the performance by the Council of its functions under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 in relation to the provision of education to children with special educational needs, including in particular by the provision and operation of a special class or classes when requested to do so by the Council.

St. Joseph’s NS will comply with any direction served on the board or the patron under Section 37A and 67(4)(b).

Signed: Mrs. Mary Hayward Ms. Audrey McCarthy
Chairperson of BOM Principal