Pádraig O'Sullivan
Question:19. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education if there are any plans to streamline enrolment nationally (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45062/23]
View answerTuesday, 17 October 2023
Questions (19)
Written answers
The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, is an important piece of legislation which has introduced a more parent-friendly, equitable and consistent approach to how school admissions policy operates for the almost 4,000 primary and post-primary schools.
The legislation is part of a suite of measures taken to take greater account of the needs of parents and students in the school system. The Act provides for schools to explicitly state in the school's admission policy that it will not discriminate against an applicant for admission on the grounds of disability, special educational needs, sexual orientation, family status, membership of the traveller community, race, civil status, gender or religion while including provision for single sex schools and denominational schools to reflect, in their admission policy, the exemptions applicable to such schools under equality legislation.
All school admissions policies, must be approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. The school’s admissions policy is published on the schools website. It is a key requirement of the act that all school admission policies are fair and transparent.
Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a selection process will be necessary. 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, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
The act requires schools to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in relation to their admission criteria and how they are applied. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves.
I am aware of the Common Application System (CAS) which has worked very effectively in Limerick City, and a similar process has been successfully implemented in Ennis. There are a lot of benefits to this system, particularly in terms of identifying capacity pressures at an early point and avoiding duplication on waiting lists etc.
However, there would be significant challenges in scaling this approach up to operate across the country. Scaling this approach up would require agreement with schools and parents on discrete areas that would be included in a common application system i.e. which areas are prioritised for admittance to specific schools, and it would also require agreement with all these schools that such a system could operate.
Nonetheless, my Department is committed to continuing to work with relevant school patrons and authorities to establish the true extent of school place requirements and any capacity issues. . This close engagement will allow the Department to put any required solutions in place – beyond those which are already in train - to ensure sufficient school places to meet the needs of students in each area. Such solutions may include the use of existing spare capacity, sanctioning of works to existing accommodation, and the accelerated provision of modular accommodation. The Department will review how the workings of the Common Application System in Limerick and Ennis can assist with this work
Where a board of management makes a decision to refuse admission, a parent/guardian can appeal that decision under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998, and an independent appeals committee will be appointed to consider the appeal. It is important to note that if a child has been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, and a parent/guardian wishes to appeal this decision they must firstly make a written request to the school seeking a review of the board of management’s decision.