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Entrance Exams

Wednesday, 11 March 2009 13:43 Milos Salus
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Admissions Policy

Section 15(2)(d) of the Education Act, 1998 provides that boards of managements must publish the policy of their school concerning admission to and participation in the school. This Policy should include the policy concerning suspensions and expulsions and the admission and participation of students with disabilities or other special educational needs. A student may only be refused admission to a school based on the schools admissions policy.  Refusal of a school to admit a student may be appealed to the Department of Education and Science under section 29 of the Education Act 1998


‘Entrance Exam’

As schools cannot choose students on academic ability they are unable to have entrance exams.  The old 'entrance exam' has been replaced with an assessment test.  This allows schools to access each student’s ability to plan for their future education.  A school should have no reason to assess a student they do not have a place for.  According to the Department of Education and Science if your child has sat an assessment test in a school it would be reasonable to presume they have a place at that school.  If you do not receive a place then you can ask why and appeal the decision under section 29 or the Education Act 1998.


Registration fees and booking fees

Under the Education Welfare Act 2000 the principal of a recognised school must maintained a register of all students attending that school. The principal of a recognised school shall, on the day on which the child first attends that school, enter the child’s name, the date of his or her first so attending and such other particulars as may be prescribed by the Minister, in the register maintained under this section in respect of that school, and the child concerned shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed, as on and from that date, to be registered in that school.

There are very specific regulations to be followed before a students name can be removed from a school register.  Schools therefore cannot ask parents to re-register students and ask for a fee to do this. 

They can however ask for a booking fee.  A voluntary secondary school may inform parents through it’s policy documents that it will be necessary to confirm the return of a student for the following academic year.  They can ask for a booking fee to accompany this confirmation.  This booking fee is refundable when the student takes up his/her place.  The reasons given for this procedure is to facilitate the planning of class numbers and teaching requirements.



Code of Behaviour

Section 23 of the Education Welfare Act 2000 requires boards of management to prepare a Code of behaviour in respect of the students registered at the school.   The code of behaviour shall specify

a)     The standards of behaviour that shall be observed by each student attending the school;

b)     The measures that may be taken when a student fails or refused to observe those standards;

c)     The Procedures to be followed before a student may be suspended or expelled from the school concerned;

d)     The ground for removing a suspension imposed in relation to a student; and

e)     The procedures to be followed relation to notification of a child’s absence from school.

The parents of students registered at a school must be consulted before this code is produced.

Any student enrolling in a school must receive a copy of the code of behaviour before they are registered at the school. At the request of any registered student or parent the principal must provide a copy of the schools code of behaviour.


Drugs Policy

Section 43 of the National Drugs Strategy 2001 – 2008 requires the Department of Education and Science, in partnership with the Department of Health & Children

‘to develop guidelines in cooperation with the Health Boards, to assist schools in the formation of a drugs policy and to ensure that all schools have policies in place by September 2002’.

CSPA has published guidelines to help Parent Association be actively involved in the development of a Drugs Policy in their school. 

 Developing a school Drugs Policy

 

Newsflash

School Year 2010/11

 

February 2011 mid-term break
Post-Primary schools will close from 21st to 25th February 2011 inclusive. Primary schools will close from 21st to 22nd February 2011 inclusive or 24th to 25th inclusive. (Primary schools may use 3 discretionary days to extend this break to an alternative option of a 5 day break).

 

Easter 2011
All schools will close on 15th April 2011 which will be the final day of the school term.  All schools will re-open on 3rd May 2011. 
Religious Observance and standardisation 
The above arrangements are agreed without prejudice to closure on specific days, within the overall requirement of 167 days at post primary level and 183 days at primary level, dictated by religious observance that is required in schools under the patronage of different denominations or faiths. In the absence of an adequate number of discretionary days a school authority may choose to utilize a religious observance day for non-tuition purposes when planning the school year. 

Extent of flexibility

 It was not a requirement of this agreement that the commencement or end of the school year either at primary or post primary level should be standardised.  However while schools may use their discretionary days, where available, to determine the precise start and end of the school year, it is recognised the commencement of Certificate examinations will mean that post primary schools will not be open for tuition beyond the Friday preceding the June bank holiday in any year. The expectation is that in order to meet the overall requirement of a minimum of 167 at post primary level or 183 days at primary level the school year will normally commence in the week that 1st September falls.  The arrangements may provide some limited flexibility to schools on certain other days outside of the defined periods.  The scheduling of such days must not be used to extend or modify the periods set out above in respect of mid-term and Christmas and Easter breaks save where religious observance requirements of a school under a particular patronage make this necessary.  
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