Polasaí Iontrála,
Gaelscoil Faithleann
Admissions Policy
An Pháirc, Cill Airne, Co. Chiarraí
School Website: www.gaelscoilfaithleann.com
Roll number:19941i
School Patron: Easpag Chiarraí
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 22nd 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 relevant
dates and timelines for Gaelscoil Faithleann 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
Gaelscoil Faithleann is a Catholic co-educational
primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Kerry.
“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:
(a)
the
full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, a
living relationship with God and with other people; and
(b)
including
the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects; and
(c)
a
philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus; and
(d)
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 Gaelscoil Faithleann 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.
“Aoibhinn beatha an
scoláire, “Lovely the
life of the scholar;
‘bhíos ag déanamh a
léighinn
Diligently learning,
Is follas díbh, a dhaoine
“ You know
well, good people
Gurab dó is aoibhne in
Éirinn.” His is the sweetest lot in Erin.”
Is mian linn gur áit í an
scoil seo ina mbeadh an fócus ar fhorbairt mhórálta,spioradálta, fhisiciúil ,
acadúil , aestéiticiúil agus chultúrtha gach páiste. Is mian linn é seo a
fheiscint ag tárlú in atmasféar chomh -chomaoineach ina mbeadh na daltaí , na
múinteoirí, na tuismitheoirí agus baill an bhoird bainistíochta ag obair le
chéile go sásta agus go sabháilte I spiorad mhisniúil dhíograiseach agus iad ag
céiliúradh agus ag glacadh le h-ilghnéitheacht. Tá súil againn go mbeidh na
daltaí in ann a rá go raibh spórt agus scléip acu agus iad ar scoil. Tá sé mar
aidhm I nGaelscoil Faithleann a bhfuil de mhaitheas I ngach páiste a chothú
agus a thabhairt chun foirfeachta agus gach páiste a chur ar thóir na maitheasa
sa tsaol atá thart air / uirthi.
We wish for this school to
be a place where the focus remains on developing the moral, spiritual,
physical, academic, aesthetic and cultural aspects of each individual pupil.
This we envisage occurring in an atmosphere of mutual respect where all members
of the school 4 Gaelscoil Faithleann community; pupils, staff, parents and
members of the Board of Management feel happy and secure working in a spirit of
encouragement and enthusiasm while recognising and celebrating diversity. As
adults we hope that the children will remember their days at school with happy
memories where learning was fun. Our educational objective at Gaelscoil
Faithleann is to foster and bring to perfection what is best in the individual
child and to inspire him to pursue what is excellent in the world around him.
SÍTEANGA BHINN ÁR SINSEAR
Í,AN CHAINT IS MILSE GLÓR” Toisc gur Gaelscoil í, tá sé mar pholasaí go mbeadh
an Ghaeilge I gcónaí I dtimpeallacht an pháiste, go mbeadh sí mar mhodh múinte
sa scoil agus mar mheán macnaimh agus cumarsáide. Ins na h-ardranganna ba chóir
go mbeadh sé chomh nadúrtha dos na daltaí an Ghaeilge a úsáid agus atá sé
béarla a úsáid I dtimpeallacht na scoile.
3.
Admission
Statement
Gaelscoil
Faithleann will not
discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the
following:
(a) the gender ground of the student or the
applicant in respect of the student concerned,
(b) the civil status ground of the student
or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
(c) the family status ground of the student
or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
(d) the sexual orientation ground of the
student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
(e) the religion ground of the student or
the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
(f) the disability ground of the student or
the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
(g) the ground of race of the student or the
applicant in respect of the student concerned,
(h) the Traveller community ground of the
student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or
(i) 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.
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Gaelscoil Faithleann 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 of the Catholic faith and
it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the
school.
Note
for Parents: the inclusion of the above wording was mandated by the Education
(Admission to Schools) Act 2018.
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4.
Categories
of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class
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At present Gaelscoil Faithleann does not have a SEN class
and is not a Special School
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5.
Admission
of Students
This
school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –
a) the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6
below for further details)
b)
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
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Gaelscoil Faithleann is
a Catholic school and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of
the Catholic faith where it is proved that the refusal is essential to
maintain the ethos of the school.
Note for Parents: the
inclusion of the above wording was mandated by the Education (Admission to
Schools) Act 2018.
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6. 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:
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Insert selection criteria here:
1. Applicants
with siblings currently enrolled in the school (including stepsiblings,
resident at the same address), priority eldest
- Applicants of siblings
of past pupils, priority eldest.
- Applicants of siblings
of school staff, priority eldest.
- Children who have a level of fluency that one would
expect of a child, who uses Irish as a means of communication in a
non-educational setting taking into consideration any special needs of
the child and their age and the expectation that the level of
fluency would regress should the child not be afforded a place in an
all-Irish educational setting, priority eldest. It is at the discretion of the
parent/guardian to present evidence of fluency to the Board of
Management with their application
The Board
of Management strongly recommends that a child will have reached their 4th
birthday by June 30th of the year they wish to be enrolled.
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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:
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1.Priority to eldest in
accordance with the above criteria- AGE and time of birth if two children
2.By lottery, independently
verified and taking place in the school. This lottery will be done by
Principal and Deputy Principal with a Peace Commissioner or a member of An
Garda Síochána present.
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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 student
on a waiting list for admission to the school:
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(a) a student’s prior attendance at a
pre-school or pre-school service, including naíonraí,
(b)
the
payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;
(c)
a
student’s academic ability, skills or aptitude;
(other than in relation
to:
-
admission to an Irish language school, in accordance with the
provisions of section 62(9) of the act which applies to Gaelscoil Faithleann.
(d)
the
occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a
student’s parents;
(e)
a
requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open
day or other meeting as a condition of admission;
(f)
a
student’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 applicants with siblings currently enrolled,
as per criteria)
(g)
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 31st January 2025 only).
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8.
Decisions
on applications
All decisions on
applications for admission to Gaelscoil Faithleann 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 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 18 below for
further details).
In accepting an offer of admission from Gaelscoil
Faithleann 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 Gaelscoil Faithleann where—
(i)
it
is established that information contained in the application is false or
misleading.
(ii) 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.
(iii) 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
(iv) an applicant has failed to comply with
the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10 above.
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 students.
Section
66(6) allows a school to provide a patron or another board of management 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).
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 students whose applications
for admission to Gaelscoil Faithleann 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 Gaelscoil
Faithleann 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.
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 students to other years and during the school year
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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 are as
follows:
Applications for enrolment
during the school year will be considered subject to school policy, available
space and the provision of information
concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress.
Such applications will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Applications for classes
other than infants
(a) Newly registered children may be accepted in classes other
than junior infants:
i. If there is a space available in the class and the
provision of information concerning attendance and the child’s educational
progress.
ii. And if, in the opinion of The Principal, the child’s
fluency in Irish is sufficient to let her/him take part in the class and
learn and let other pupils communicate with her/him in Irish.
(b) Applications for places in classes other than Naíonáin Bheaga
must be submitted in writing to The Principal. The decision to accept a child in any other
class other than Junior Infants is made by the Principal.
All further applications
will be dealt with by the principal.
The school reserves the right to contact the
present school of the applicant to discuss the application and the level of
fluency in Irish in particular upon offer of enrolment.
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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:
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 Gaelscoil Faithleann 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 Gaelscoil Faithleann 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.
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Junior Infants, with the exception of students
transferring from another school, may only be admitted to the school prior to September 10th of the year of enrolment.
16. Declaration
in relation to the non-charging of fees
This rule
applies to all schools.
The board of Gaelscoil
Faithleann or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for
or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-
(a)
an
application for admission of a student to the school, or
(b)
the
admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.
17. Arrangements regarding students not
attending religious instruction
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Our school is of a Catholic ethos and,
in keeping with that ethos, children of all or no other faith are welcome to
apply to this school.
We respect the decision of parents to
withdraw their child/children from taking part in the religious education
curriculum, religious ceremonies, school Masses, etc.
The following are the school’s
arrangements for students, where the parent(s)/guardian(s) have requested
that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction
(etc.) in the school. These arrangements will not result in a reduction in
the school day of such students:
A written request should be made to the
Principal of the school. A meeting will then be arranged with the parent(s)/guardian(s)
of the student, to discuss how the request may be accommodated by the school.
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18. Reviews/appeals
Review of decisions by the board of
Management
The parents/guardians 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.
Right of
appeal
Under Section 29 of the Education Act
1998, the parents/guardians 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)
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)
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.
The policy was ratified by the Board of
Management of Gaelscoil Faithleann on May 20th
2020.
Signed:
Seán Ó
Luanaigh
Chairperson,
Board of Management.
The contents of this policy have been
approved by St. Senan’s Education Office, acting on behalf of the Patron on
January 6th 2021.
DOWNLOAD HERE
Gaelscoil Faithleann 19941I
FÓGRA IONTRÁLA /ANNUAL ADMISSION
NOTICE
Le haghaidh an scoil bhliain
2021-2022
in respect of admissions to the 2021/2022
school year
Polasaí Iontrála agus Foirm iarratais / Admission
Policy and Application Form
Admissions to the 2021-2022
school year
Application and
Decision Dates for admission to 2021-2022 school year
The following are the dates
applicable for admission to Junior Infants.
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The school will commence accepting
applications for admission on
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October 1st
2020
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The school shall cease accepting
applications for admission on
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February 26th
2021
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The date by which applicants will be
notified of the decision on their application is
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March 9th
2021
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The period within which applicants
must confirm acceptance of an offer of admission is
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March 19th
2021
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Note: the school will consider and issue
decisions on late applications in accordance with the school’s admission
policy.
Táimid ag glacadh le
50 Naíonáin Bheaga don scoil bhliain 2021/2022.
Number of places being
made available in Junior Infants for the 2021 / 2022 school year is 50