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Admission Policy of

Yellow Furze National School

Beauparc, Navan, Co. Meath

Roll No: 17741N

School Patron: Most Rev. Bishop Tom Deenihan, Bishop of Meath

  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 in June 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 Yellow Furze NS 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.

  1. Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school

Yellow Furze NS is a Catholic co-educational primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Meath, Most Rev. Tom Deenihan.

“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, including the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects; and

(b) 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

(c) 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 Yellow Furze NS 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

Mission Statement

Yellow Furze National School seeks to promote the full potential achievement of all its pupils in all areas of the Curriculum while providing the children with the skills for continued learning and living. We would, as far as possible, promote this taking fully into account the Christian values of the Community. We welcome the support and participation of all the members of the school community (e.g. parents, teachers, church leaders etc.) in helping us to achieve this objective. Finally we would hope that all children would have happy memories of their journey to adulthood in Yellow Furze National School.

General objectives of the school.

Yellow Furze N.S. aims at promoting the full harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil – intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual, including a living relationship with God and other people. The school models and promotes a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our school provides religious education for pupils in accordance with the doctrines, practices and traditions of the Catholic Church and promotes the formation of pupils in the Catholic faith. Non Catholic pupils attending our school are respectfully given the freedom to adhere to their own beliefs and practices.

We seek to develop in the child a positive self-image and a respectful caring attitude towards others.

We encourage each child to take an active part in her/his own development on all levels so that she/he can:

  • enjoy being at school and contribute to making school life a good experience for all.

  • be ready and able to benefit from second level education.

  • go on to take her/his place in society as a happy fulfilled and responsible adult.

Since teaching/learning is a collaborative effort we involve parents, teachers, pupils and the wider community.

We endeavour to challenge the gifted child and to give special support, care and attention to children with any level of additional needs.

  1. Admission Statement

Yellow Furze NS will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:

  1. the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  2. the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  3. the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  4. the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  5. the religious ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  6. the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  7. the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
  8. the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or
  9. 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.

  1. Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class

Yellow Furze NS is not categorized as a special school and it does not currently have a SEN class attached to it.

We welcome children with special needs and we endeavour to cater for all special needs children and strive to have sufficient structures in place to enable SEN children and all other children to access the curriculum.

The principal/relevant staff will meet with the parents/guardians of the special needs child to discuss the school’s suitability for the child. If necessary, a full case conference may be called including parents/guardians, NEPS, SET and/or social workers as appropriate. The Board of Management will endeavour to have all resources and supports in place before the child is admitted to the school, however his/her place will not be deferred or delayed in the absence of same. Supports may include Special Ed. Team intervention, visiting teacher service, specialised equipment or furniture, transport services etc. If the assistance of an SNA is necessary then this should be sanctioned prior to the start of the school year. The following 3 requirements (with parental / guardian consent) will ease integration into our classroom environment:

  1. Copies of the child’s medical/ psychological report(s) or other relevant information
  2. Early assessment in order to assist the school in establishing the educational needs of the child and to profile the support services required.
  3. Relevant resources from the Department of Education & Skills.

  1. Admission of Students

This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –

  1. the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)
  1. a parent/guardian 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

  • Yellow Furze NS admits boys and girls who have reached their fourth birthday by 30th April prior to starting school in September.

  • Yellow Furze NS is a Catholic school and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not Catholic where it has been proven that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

  • Yellow Furze NS is not a special school.

  • Yellow Furze NS does not have a SEN class.

Information Meeting:

An Information Meeting shall be held for the parent(s)/guardian(s) in the last school term preceding the August / September school enrolment. At this meeting, the school ethos will be explained in detail and the parent(s)/guardian(s) will be provided with a current Prospective outlining the School’s History, Charter, Vision, Mission Statement, Contact details, School Calendar, Curricular subjects, overviews of policies on Illness, School trips, Communications, the Enrolment Application Process and tips and hints for easing the transition to primary school. The School Policy Booklet is also issued at this meeting containing copies of all school policies including Admission, Code of Behaviour and Restorative Practices.

  1. 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:

Selection Criteria:

1: Siblings of children already enrolled in Yellow Furze NS

2: Applicants who reside within the parish boundary.

3: All other applicants

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:

  • (a) Where the number of applicants within any one of the criteria categories listed above exceeds the number of school places available, the applicants within that category will be prioritised on the grounds of age, beginning with the eldest and proceeding in descending order of age until all remaining places have been allocated. 
  • (b) Where two or more pupils are tied for the last remaining available school place (on grounds of shared date of birth), that place will be awarded to the applicant who is oldest by virtue of the time of birth recorded on their birth certificate. In the event that multiple-birth siblings (e.g. twins) remain tied for the last available place both/all will be admitted by way of exception.

  1. 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:

Points (a) to (g) must be included here by all schools. There are limited exceptions to some of these (highlighted in red below) and schools must retain the exceptions that apply to them and delete those that do not:

  1. a student’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service.
  1. the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;
  1. a student’s academic ability, skills or aptitude;
  1. the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s parents;
  1. a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or other meeting as a condition of admission;
  1. a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his or her family attending or having previously attended the school, to a maximum of 25% of available places
  1. 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).

  1. Decisions on applications

All decisions on applications for admission to Yellow Furze NS 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.

  1. 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 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).

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

In accepting an offer of admission from Yellow Furze 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.

  1. 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 Yellow Furze NS where—

  1. it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.
  2. 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.
  3. 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
  4. an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10 above.

  1. 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).

  1. 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 Yellow Furze 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 Yellow Furze 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.

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.

  1. 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.

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

In addition to our Selection Criteria being met the following will be considered. 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:

  • Availability of space in specified class (to a total of 250 in the school).
  • Enrolment form completed and Code of Behaviour accepted.

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

The board of Yellow Furze NS or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-

  1. An application for admission of a student to the school, or

  2. The admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.

  1. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction

The following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parents request 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:

A written request should be made to the Principal of the school. A meeting will then be arranged with the parent(s) or the student, as the case may be, to discuss how the request may be accommodated by the school.

  1. 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.

Right of appeal

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 to 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.

Signed _________________________________

Principal

Date ___________________________

Signed _________________________________

Chairman

Date ___________________________