Admissions & Enrolment Policy

Date Ratified:

Signed: ______

Fr. Richard Sheehy

Chairperson Board of Management

Mission Statement

St. Brigid’s is a Roman Catholic all-girls school in the parish of Glasnevin founded by the Holy Faith Sisters and under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.

The Catholic ethos of the school prioritises the creation of a school climate of love, trust, respect and tolerance and which recognises the need for the cooperation and involvement of the whole school community in order to establish the school as a centre of excellence where all pupils are treated fairly and equally.

Children of all faiths or no faith are welcomed and embraced but religious instruction is based on Catholic faith formation. It is not possible to provide religious instruction in other faiths. Unless parents wish to make alternative arrangements for their children during religious instruction times, children will remain in class for the duration of the instruction, but will engage in other activities under the supervision of the class teacher.

The school provides a caring, supportive and inclusive educational environment for students and families of all social, cultural and religious backgrounds, where differences in values, beliefs and traditions are acknowledged and respected and, with particular reference to the enrolment of a child with a disability or other special educational needs, where these needs can be met through mainstream education. This spirit of the school is encapsulated in the dedication, commitment and hard work of the pupils and staff and as enshrined in the school motto;

Le ChéileFaoíBhratBhríde.

1. General Information

The school depends upon, and has regard to the grants and resources provided by Department of Education and Skills (DES) and follows the curricular programmes prescribed, which may be amended from time to time, in accordance with Sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act (1998).

School Name: St. Brigid’s. Girls National School (GNS)

Roll Number:16577v

School Address: Old Finglas Road., Glasnevin, Dublin 11

Telephone: (01) 8376652

E-mail:

Web Address:

Denomination: Roman Catholic

Name of Patron: Catholic Archbishop of Dublin

Type of School:Girls

Category: Vertical School

Number of Teachers: 22, including the Principal:

  • 17 Class Teachers,
  • 2 learning Support Teachers
  • 1 English as an Additional Language (EAL) Teacher
  • 1 Part-Time Resource Teacher

Number of students:464

Class Times:08.50 – 1.30 (Junior Day)

08.50 – 2.30 (Senior Day)

Class Size

The Board of Management respects the rights of the existing school community and the pupils already enrolled. Consequently the BOM reserves the right to determine the maximum number of children in each class, giving due regard to the following:

-Health and Safety Concerns regarding staff and pupils

-Available classroom space

-Educational needs of the pupils

-Presence of pupils presenting with special educational needs

-Department of Education and Skills class size directives

-Appropriate supports and resources

-Legislative requirements and the capacity of the school in terms of resources available, to properly cater for the needs of all pupils

-Time of school year

2. Rationale

As part of the school’s on-going policies review programme, and to incorporate emerging legislative changes, this Admissions & Enrolment Policy, which supersedes all previously issued versions, was reviewed and ratified by the BOM, in consultation with the whole school community and with the agreement of the Patron, in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998.

3. Aims

The purpose of this Admissions & Enrolment Policy is to:-

  • Establish clear lines of communications between the school and parents/guardians of pupils and prospective pupils to assist them in relation to admissions/enrolment.
  • Ensure that all decisions regarding admissions/enrolments are made in a fair, open and transparent manner consistent with the Catholic ethos of the school.
  • To ensure proper consideration is given to the capacity of the school to best cater for pupils in light of available resources.

4. Enrolment Procedure

Junior Infants

  • Parents/Guardians seeking admission for their child must complete and return AnApplication for Enrolment Form. This form is available from the school or can be downloaded from the school website together with the thispolicy and Behaviour & Discipline Policy.
  • Children for enrolment in any school year must be at least four years of age on or before May 31st of that year.
  • Completed forms should be returned to the school with prescribed documentary information, including a Birth Certificate and a Baptism Certificate (as applicable) before the 1st of October of the year preceding that for which admission is sought. A reminder of this date will be published atleast one month in advanceon the school website and in the Parish Newsletter.
  • Applications received after this date will be put on a waiting list. The date of return of the form may be taken into account if the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available, having regard to any particular circumstances of those parents/guardians, who were unable to make early application e.g. adopted or foster children.
  • Return of a completed form is not a guarantee of a place in the school.
  • Decisions on applications will be notified to applicants, by the end of October, by way of Letters of Offer for Junior Infants. Remaining applicants are placed on the waiting list and are considered at a later stage should vacancies arise.
  • Letters of Offer will request confirmation of acceptance within 21 days of the date of the Letter of Offer. Failure to reply will result in the loss of the place. This confirmation must also include an acceptance and commitment to the school’s Behaviour and Discipline Policy.
  • Where a definite place has been offered for Junior Infants and a parent/guardian requests deferral to the following year, the child will be placed on a list for that year, in accordance with the original date of return of the form. Requests for such deferral may only be made up date specified in the Letter of Offer, requests after this date may result in the child’s name being placed at the end of the list.
  • Junior Infants may only be admitted in September during the first week of the new school year, except when transferring from another school.

Note 1: A child must be toilet trained before stating attendance at school. While it is accepted that a pupil may have an accident, for which procedures are in place, the school is not equipped to provide on-going intimate care for students.

Note 2: On acceptance of a place, a payment of €85 is required. This payment (to cover specialist classes, art and craft materials, photocopying costs and personal accident insurance) is payable by the Junior Infant Open Day, which takes places annually in mid-June.

Senior Infants to Sixth Class

Application for enrolment in Senior Infants to Sixth Class can be made at any time during the school year subject to this Policy and the availability of places.

Pupil Transfer

Transfer of pupils from another school may occur at any time, subject to this policy, available space and relevant legislative provisions.

5. Enrolment Criteria

In the event that the number of applicants seeking admission exceeds the number of places available the following ordered criteria shall be applied in the determination of place allocation.

  1. Roman Catholic girls from the parish of Our Lady of Dolours, Glasnevin,
  1. Sisters/daughters of current or former pupils of St. Brigid’s GNS Glasnevin. (Foster/stepchildren are regarded as siblings),
  1. All girls resident within the parish boundaries who are not Roman Catholic
  1. Daughters of staff members
  1. All Roman Catholic girls who are not resident within the parish boundaries
  1. All girls not resident within the parish boundaries, who are not Roman Catholic

In the event that there are more applicants within any of the above criteria, priority will be given to applicants in chronological order of date of application.

6. Enrolment of Children with Special Needs

  • The school supports the principle of inclusiveness particularly, with reference to the enrolment of a child with a disability or other special needs, where the needs of the child can be met through mainstream education.
  • Children with special educational needs, seeking enrolment in St. Brigid’s will be resourced in accordance with the level of resources determined and provided by The Department of Education and Skills and by the assigned Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
  • In relation to applications for admission/enrolment of children with special educational needs, the school, as part of the application process, will request, as indicated on the Enrolment Application Form copies of the child’s professional medical and/or psychological report. The purpose of such professional reports is to assist the school in establishing the educational /social/emotional needs of the child in order to profile the support services required.
  • Where such reports are not immediately available the school will request that parents/guardians seek their provision as soon as possible and not later than the application closing date of October 1st.
  • Following receipt of requested reports the school will do everything within its power to put in place the resources necessary to meet the special educational needs of the child, as determined by the reports, and in consultation with the parents/guardians, the DES, the local SENO.
  • The school, through the Principal and SENO will meet with the parents/guardians of the child to discuss the school’s suitability for the child and will outline the resources and facilities available in the school to meet her needs. Where this is not possible, the BOM may recommend that the parent/guardians seek another school where the child’s needs can be better met.
  • As a general principle, and to allow for prompt decision making, enrolment of girls with special educational needs will not normally be postponed until additional resources have been allocated or approved by the DES or SENO. However, enrolment may be deferred pending completion of an assessment and/or provision of the necessary resources.
  • As with all pupils, the progress of those presenting with special educational needs will be subject to on-going and regular review. The BOM reserves the right, having notified the Education and Welfare Officer, to advise placement in another school, where it is deemed that:

-A pupil is not benefitting from a place in the school, for example, her educational, emotional and/or behavioural needs are not being met due to lack of specialised teaching resources, funding or facilities, or

-The presence of the student in a class causes a situation where the educational needs of other students are not being fully met

7. Exceptional Circumstances

The BOM reserves the right to refuse enrolment to any pupil for good and sufficient reason, in exceptional circumstances. Such an exceptional case could arise where either:

  • The child has special needs such that, even with additional resources available through the SENO from the NCSE and DES, the school cannot meet such needs and/or provide her with an appropriate education, or
  • In the opinion of the BOM, the pupil poses an unacceptable risk to; other school pupils, school staff or school property.

8. Right of Appeal

Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998, provides parents/guardians with a right of appeal against a refusal to enrol their child.

The appeal should first be addressed in writing to the Chairperson of the BOM, clearly stating the grounds for appeal.

If the parent/guardian remains dissatisfied with the decision of the BOM, they have a statutory right to appeal to the DES under Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 (as amended by Section 4 of the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2007.

9. Implementation and Review

This Admissions & Enrolment Policy was reviewed by the Board of Management during 2016 and ratified by the Board of Management on September 12th 2016.

The BOM will monitor its implementation and will review the policy again on, or before September 2017, or as the need arises and in line with legislative requirements.

Last amendment 12/09/2016