Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2017
265. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position in relation to a national school (details supplied) not being listed as a designated feeder school by his Department for a new secondary school in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39800/17]
View answerFor school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 geographic areas known as school planning areas which facilitates the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs. In identifying the requirement for additional school places, my Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide.
When it is decided that a new school is required to meet demographic needs in a school planning area, a patronage process is conducted to decide who will operate the school. Parental preferences for each patron from parents of children who reside in the school planning area are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of this process.
All new schools established since 2011 to meet demographic demand are required to prioritise pupil applications from within the designated school planning area(s) which the school was established to serve. This does not preclude schools from enrolling pupils from outside of the designated school planning area, rather it reflects the need to accommodate in the first instance the demographic for which the school was established.
It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to prioritise enrolment of children from particular areas or particular age groups or on the basis of some other criterion. For example, some schools give priority to applicants who have attended a particular primary school (known as a feeder school). The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a matter for the schools themselves. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, it may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in their school of first choice.
My Department’s priority is ensuring all pupils have access to a school place which unfortunately may not always result in a school place that is their first choice. A range of other factors including parental choice, school location and ease of access and commuting patterns can contribute to oversubscription of certain schools within an area.
