School Admissions Policy – St. Oliver Plunkett BNS

Admission Policy

St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S.

Lake Road, Moate, Co. Westmeath N37E303 Roll number:17167H Principal: Sinead White

School Patron: Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnois

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 on 12^th May 2020. It is published on the school’s website and will be made available in hardcopy, on request, to any person who requests it.

The Policy was updated in December 2023 to include the following:

St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. will cooperate with the NCSE in the performance by the Council of its function under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 in relation to the provision of education to children with special educational needs. However, given the current location and restrictions in terms of physical space, there is no capacity to accommodate a special classroom on the school site. The Board of Management have expressed interest in opening an ASD unit to NCSE but this is not currently feasible.

The relevant dates and timelines for St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.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. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S.. is a Roman Catholic primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnois, Bishop Paul Connell

“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. Oliver Plunkett B.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.

Our Mission Statement and general objectives of the school.

Our Mission Statement state that we aim to provide a caring, happy and secure environment:

Where the intellectual, spiritual, physical, moral and cultural needs of the pupils are identified and nurtured.
1. Where every individual child regardless of background, religious beliefs, ethnicity or academic ability has an equal opportunity to grow and develop as a person
1. Where respect for themselves, their peers, the staff of their school and their school itself is nurtured
1. Where high standards morally, behaviourally and academically are striven for
1. Where a sense of responsibility of pride and of achievement is experienced by every child
1. Where every pupil fosters a global awareness and a sense of responsibility for the long-term care of the environment.
1. Where the physical and mental health of each child is nurtured and cared for.
1. Deanfaimid iarracht Gaeilge a labhairt.

Above all the children will be educated within the Christian ethos where a spirit of true and continuous co-operation between the staff, the parents, the Board of Management & the Parish exists and is encouraged throughout the school.

3. Admission Statement

St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:

the gender of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the civil status of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the family status of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the sexual orientation of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the disability of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the Traveller community status of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or
the ground that the student or the applicant in respect of the student 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. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S.is an all-boys national school and does not discriminate where it refuses to admit a girl applying for admission to this school. St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate in relation to the admission of a student who has applied for a place in the school in accordance with section 7A of the Equal Status Act 2000. St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. 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 catholic, and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school:

St Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. Moate currently caters for Special Education Needs under the General Allocation Model. The school provides education exclusively for boys from 2^nd – 6^th class.Currently, there are no ASD classes in the school.

Children with Special Educational needs are catered for both through in-class support and withdrawal in small group setting or individual setting.

There are 3 SEN teachers within the school. One position is a shared post with 2 other schools.

5. Admission of Students

This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –

the school is oversubscribed (please see section 5(a) below for further details)

a parent of a student, 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. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. is a Catholic primary school that provides education for boys only, and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of the gender provided for by this school. St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. is a Catholic primary school, and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of Roman Catholic faith where it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

5(a):Oversubscription:

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:

Every effort will be made to accommodate all applicants. In the event of the number of children seeking enrolment exceeding the number of places available, the following criteria will be used to prioritise children for enrolment: Whether there are siblings of the proposed new entrant already attending or having attended the school Children living in close proximity to the school. All other children resident in the parish. Ages of children All other children who apply where there are vacancies in the school after the groups 1-4 have been allocated places.

In the event that there are two or more students 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:

Age based Lottery

5(b):

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 student on a waiting list for admission to the school:

the payment of fees or contributions to the school. a student’s academic ability, skills or aptitude. the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s parents. a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or other meeting as a condition of admission. a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his family attending or having previously attended the school, with the exception of: sibling(s) of a student attending or having attended the school and/or parent of student having attended the school. (Only applicable to a maximum of 25% of the available spaces as set out in the school’s annual admission notice) 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. This is also subject to the school making offers based on existing waiting lists (up until 31^st January 2025 only).

6. Decisions on applications

All decisions on applications for admission to St. Oliver Plunkett B.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 11 below in relation to applications received outside of the admissions period and section 12 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.

7. 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 student 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 student’s ranking against the selection criteria and details of the student’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 17 below for further details).

8. Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant

In accepting an offer of admission from St. Oliver Plunkett B.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.

9. 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. Oliver Plunkett B.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 student, 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; or
an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 8 above.

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 students.

Section 66(6) allows a school to provide a patron or another board of management member with a list of the students 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 student’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).

10. 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 students whose applications for admission to St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. were unsuccessful due to the school being oversubscribed will be compiled and will remain valid for the school year in which admission is being sought.

Placement on the waiting list of St. Oliver Plunkett B. N.S. is in the order of priority assigned to the students’ 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.

11. 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 completed application. The Board of Management reserves the right to make the decision on enrolment. In the event that there is no place available, the name of the applicant will be added to the waiting list.

12. Procedures for admission of students to other years and during the school year

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.

The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school to classes or years other than the school’s intake group and The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school, after the commencement of the school year in which admission is sought, are as follows: The Board of Management of St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S., Moate, Co. Westmeath in its policy respects the rights of the existing school community and the children already enrolled. Consequently, The Board of Management reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each class, bearing in mind: Health and Safety concerns for the children and staff who attend the school. Available classroom space. Multi-Grade classes. Educational needs of the children. Complex needs of the children. Department of Education and Skills class size directives. Appropriate supports and resources available to school. Time of school year- new pupils will only be accommodated during the school year under exceptional circumstances i.e. moving house. Any other matter that may be relevant at that time. If the Board of Management is satisfied with the above and decides a place is available the following procedures will follow: Application to Enrol forms and Admissions Notice with relevant dates are available to download from the school website. www.stoliverp.ie No child will be refused admission on the following grounds: the gender of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned. the civil status of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,the family status of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,the sexual orientation of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,the religion of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,the disability of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,the race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,the Traveller community status of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or the ground that the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned has special educational needs Pupils may transfer from other schools into all classes during the school year if newly resident in the area, subject to availability of places. Placement in classes will be at the discretion of the Principal. Transfer of pupils from schools outside the catchment area will be discouraged. Parents will be required to make every effort to resolve issues at original school before application for enrolment can be made to this school. The Board of Management reserves the right to follow up on these issues prior to enrolment. Enrolments are accepted under the rules governing National schools and the terms of St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. Admissions Policy. The Board of Management will give a decision in writing no later than 3 weeks of receiving a complete Enrolment form. Decisions in relation to application for enrolment are made by the Board of Management. St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S. reserves the right to delay admission in the event of an ongoing Section 29 appeal relating to the pupil and another school.

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

The Board of Management of St. Oliver Plunkett B.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 student to the school, or
the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.

14. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction

The following are the school’s arrangements for students, whose parents/guardians have requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school. These arrangements will not result in a reduction in the school day of such students: Religious Instruction will only be given in the Catholic Faith and no alternative arrangements are in place for the removal of pupils from different faiths during Religious Instruction.

15. Exceptional Circumstances:

The Board of Management of St. Oliver Plunkett B.N.S., Moate reserves the right to refuse enrolment to a pupil in these exceptional circumstances:
The pupil has additional complex needs such that, even with additional resources made available by the Department of Education and Skills, the school cannot meet the needs of the child.
In the opinion of the Board of Management, the pupil poses an unacceptable risk to himself, to other pupils, school staff and/or school property.

17 Reviews/appeals

Review of decisions by the Board of Management:

The parent of 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.

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.

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.

Review of Decisions by The Board of Management:

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parent of 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)

The timeline for such a review and the other requirements applicable for such a review are set out in the procedures determined by the Minister under Section 29(B) of The Education Act 1998 which are published on the Department of Education and Skills website.

The Board will conduct such reviews in accordance with the requirements of the procedures determined under Section 29(B) and with Section29(C) of the Education Act 1998.

Right of Appeal:

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.

Communication and Circulation of Policy:

This revised copy is available on the school website and in hard copy on request from parents/guardians.

Ratification:

This Policy was ratified by The Board of Management on ________________________.

Signed: _______________________________________

Date: ___________________________________

Next Review Date: ____________________________________________