St. Rynaghs National School

SCOIL NAOMH RAGHNACH

Main St., Banagher, Co. Offaly   -   Phone: 057 91 51419
email: strynaghs@strynaghsns.com

Enrolment Policy

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St. Rynagh's Primary School

 

Enrolment Policy

 

St. Rynagh's Primary School is a Catholic School under the patronage of the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois.

 

Our teaching staff includes an Administrative Principal, 10 Mainstream Class Teachers and 4 Support Teachers based in our school.

 

St. Rynagh's is a mixed vertical school.  In St. Rynagh's Primary School we depend on the grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Science which may be amended from time to time in accordance with Sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act (1998).

Within the context and parameters of Department regulations and programmes, the rights of the patron as set out in the Education Act and the funding and resources available, we support the principles of inclusiveness, equality of access and participation in the school, parental choice in relation to enrolment and respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages and ways of life in society.

 

General Information

 

The enrolment policy of St. Rynagh's Primary School has been formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998 and the Education Admission to Schools Act 2018 in order to assist parents in relation to enrolment matters.  The Chairperson of the Board of Management Fr. Pierre Pepper or the Principal Fergal McMahon will be happy to clarify any further matters arising from the policy.

 

Application Procedure

 

Parents seeking to enrol their child or children in the school are requested to return a completed Enrolment Application Form during the registration week in February or at least before the end of the month of February.

 

While recognising the right of parents to enrol their child in the School of their choice, the Board of Management is also responsible to respect the right of the existing school community and in particular the children already enrolled.  This requires balanced judgements which are guided by the principles of natural justice and acting in the best interest of the children.  Assisting the school in such circumstances the Board of Management with due regard for the parents’ wishes, reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each separate classroom, bearing in mind:-

  • Size of available space in classroom
  • Availability of grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Science.
  • Educational needs of children of a particular age
  • Multigrade classes
  • Presence of children with Special Needs
  • Department of Education and Science maximum class average directives.

 

In the event of the number of children seeking enrolment in any given class exceeding the number of places available preceding or during the school year, (due to the Board of Management being unable to provide suitable accommodation or recruit the required teaching staff) the following criteria will be used to prioritise children for enrolment:

  • Brothers and sisters of children already enrolled.
  • Children living within the parish boundary.
  • Children of current school staff.
  • Other children living outside the parish boundary.
  • In the event that there are more applicants within any category than there are available places priority will be given to the oldest.
  • Ethos considerations (Equal Status Act 2000/section 7 as amended by Education (Admission to schools) Act 2018). As we are a Catholic school and this is not a minority religion in our catchment area there shall be no discrimination on religious grounds in our enrolment policy.

 

 

 

The Board of Management reserves the right to consider the preservations of the characteristic spirit of the school including the upholding of the Code of Behaviour and the constitutional rights of all in the school when considering an application of a pupil for enrolment.

 

Children enrolled in our school are required to cooperate with and support the B.O.M.’s  Code of Behaviour as well as other policies on curriculum organisation and management.  The B.O.M. places parents or guardians responsible for ensuring that their child/children cooperate with said policies in an age appropriate way.   These policies may be revised and updated from time to time.

Parents or Guardians will be asked when enrolling their child to confirm in writing that the Code of Behaviour is acceptable to them.

 

 

 

Procedure for Enrolment

 

There will be a registration week during February of each year.  Details of same will be available on Parish Newsletter.

 

 

Pupils Transferring

 

Pupils may transfer to the school at any time subject to school policy as above, available space and in some instances the approval of the D.E.S. under the terms of the Education Welfare Act (2000) information concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress are to be provided by the school from which the child is transferring.