St. Kevin's National School, Greystones

St. Kevin’s National School, Greystones, Co. Wicklow.
Enrolment/Admissions Policy 2009-2010

The Enrolment/Admissions policy of St. Kevin’s N.S., Greystones, is set out in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. The Board of Management trusts that this policy will assist parents in relation to enrolment matters. Majella Lynch, Chairperson of St. Kevin’s N.S. Board of Management and Noreen Lawlor, School Principal will be happy to clarify any further matters arising from this policy.

General Information

School Details: Name: St. Kevin’s N.S.
Address: Rathdown Road
Greystones
Co. Wicklow.
Telephone: 01 – 2876660
e-mail: stkevin.ias@eircom.net

St. Kevin’s N.S. is a Catholic Co-Educational Primary School under the Patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin. The Board of Management of St. Kevin’s manages the school on behalf of the Patron, and in accordance with the Rules for National Schools (Department of Education and Science). As such, the Board of Management is charged with the direct governance of the school.

The school caters for pupils from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. Currently (2009/2010), there are 18 mainstream class teachers, five full-time Special Education teachers, and an Administrative Principal. The school also has five Special Needs Assistants.

Funding:
St. Kevin’s N.S. depends on grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education & Science and it operates within the regulations laid down by this Department. All policies prescribed by St. Kevin’s N.S. Board of Management are subject to the resources and funding made available to it by the Department of Education & Science.

Curriculum:
St. Kevin’s N.S. follows the curricular programmes prescribed by the Department of Education & Science, in accordance with Sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act 1998.

Enrolment Procedures

Application for enrolment on behalf of Junior Infants 2010 should be made between November 2 and 13 (inclusive). During this time, parents and guardians are invited to call to the school office for an application form. Application forms should be completed and returned to the school before 5 p.m. on Friday 13 November 2009. Copies of the child’s Birth and Baptismal Certificates should accompany the application. Two original utility bills are also required at this time as proof of address.

In accordance with Department of Education and Science’s Rules for National Schools, only pupils who have reached the age of 4 years will be enrolled in St. Kevin’s N.S.

Criteria for Enrolment:

Please note: Available places will be offered to children in the following order. In the event of over-subscription in any of the categories listed, priority will be given to the eldest of the applicants in that category.


A Children, who were born on or before 30 April 2006, who had a sibling enrolled in St. Kevin’s during the 2009 calendar year.


B Catholic Children, who were born on or before 30 April 2006, resident in the Parish at the time of application and who continue to be resident in the Parish at the time of official enrolment.


C Children, who were born after 30 April 2006, who would otherwise qualify under either A or B.


If there are remaining places after the above process has been completed,
places will then be offered firstly to


D Catholic Children resident outside the Parish.


E Non-Catholic Children resident in the Parish.


F Non-Catholic Children resident outside the Parish.







Note:
“Parish” refers to the area as advised by the Parish office of St. Kilian and Holy Rosary (see attached list)
“Application for enrolment” refers to a written enrolment request on an official application form. It does not constitute an offer of a place in the school.
“Official enrolment” refers to the placing of a child on the official school roll on the first day of the school year, providing that the appropriate enrolment criteria have been satisfied & verified.
“Siblings” refers to children who share a common parent, foster parent or guardian.


The Board of Management reserves the right to exercise its discretion in applying these criteria.

Initial offers for places in Junior Infants will be made by post before Friday 4 December 2009. Offers should be accepted in writing before 11/12/2009.

Enrolment of Children with Special Needs

St. Kevin’s N.S. supports the principles of inclusiveness and equality of access and participation, within the context of Department of Education and Science regulations and programmes, and within the funding and resources that are available.

The Board of Management requests that medical/psychological assessments be made available to assist the school in establishing the educational and training needs of the child relevant to his/her special needs and to profile the support services required.

Following receipt of such reports, the Board of Management will assess how the school could meet the needs specified in the report. Where the Board deems that further resources are required, it will request the Department of Education & Science and/or The National Council for Special Education, prior to enrolment, to provide the resources required to meet the needs of the child as outlined in the psychological and/or medical report.

The Board of Management reserves the right to refuse to enrol a pupil who would otherwise be entitled to a place, where there are exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances would include situations where a pupil has special needs such that, even with additional resources provided by the Department of Education & Science, the school is not in a position to provide the pupil with an “appropriate education”.







Transfer of Pupils

Pupils who move into the Greystones area after the official enrolment period, or during their primary education, may be enrolled in St. Kevin’s, subject to enrolment criteria qualification, available space and in some cases, the approval of the Minister of Education and Science. Information concerning attendance and the child’s educational progress from the child’s previous school should be furnished on transfer.


Code of Behaviour and Discipline

St. Kevin’s N.S. Code of Behaviour and Discipline is appended to this Admissions Policy.



Ratification

This policy was ratified by the Board of Management on 9 September 2009.