Enrolment Policy
The policy of the school is that we offer a full and comprehensive education to all children in our catchment area.
Generally speaking, children should be enrolled at the start of the school year in their relevant class. However, this is not always a feasible option, so, given that the circumstances are satisfactory, we would have no problem in enrolling any pupils who might wish to come to our school.
ENROLLING JUNIOR INFANTS
Junior Infants are enrolled in the June prior to coming to school in September. They and their parents are invited in to the school to meet the Infant teacher and Principal, and to be introduced to the Junior classroom. The parents are given book lists for the following September, and have an opportunity to ask any questions they might have regarding the school day, or school practices and procedures, as well as a timetable for their children.
The children themselves come in for a half day to become more familiar with the school and the other children, and the teachers, without their parents being present.
ENROLMENT PROCEDURE
Each child who is enrolled in our school must fill in an Enrolment Form. The form will include personal details, such as: name, date of birth, address and the child’s PPS No. There will also be a section regarding details which may be relevant to their participation in the school, and setting out any information the teachers should know, e.g. any health problems the child may have, allergies, asthma, etc.
This also gives the teachers a contact number for the parents in the event of an emergency, as well as providing information for the Clár, such as parents’ names and occupations, and the religious denomination of the family.
A copy of the enrolment form is given below. This is signed by the parents and kept in the school.
Parents of any children who are transferring from another school, will be requested to supply contact details of the school they previously attended, and furnish reports from that school. These will be used to build a profile of each child, and help the teachers know how best to accommodate them in the life of the school.
It should be noted that the form below is an “Application for Enrolment” only, and the board may reserve the right to refuse the application of any children on the grounds of overcrowding. The total enrolment of our school should not exceed 114 children for 4 teachers.
While the Dept. regulations state that the Pupil/Teacher ratio is 29:1, in certain circumstances, it may not be possible to adhere strictly to this ratio, so local discretion will be used in the allocation/division of classes, following consultation between the relevant parties. Therefore, a classroom may have more than 29 children in it, as long as total enrolment does not exceed 114.
Categories for splitting classes may include:
- Ages of the children involved, – either oldest, or youngest go in a specific direction;
- Attainment of the children involved on their standardized tests,
- Alphabetical order,
- Random selection;
Where a decision is made that the parents may have some concerns about, efforts will be made to try and sort things out, but the opinion of the teaching staff will have a large say in the final decision. No promises will be made to parents that they will get their own way.