Paul Murphy
Question:305. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she will intervene and request that a pupil (details supplied) is accepted for enrolment in September 2024. [22661/24]
View answerTuesday, 21 May 2024
Questions (305)
Written answers
In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998 and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. All schools have admissions policies, which were approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. 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.
All schools must publish an annual admissions notice on the schools website prior to the commencement of the admissions process for the following September. This notice must state the start date and end date for acceptance of applications for admission. Applications made within this period are then accessed by the Board of Management as per the schools admissions policy, and all applicants must be notified within 3 weeks of the closing date if they have received an offer of a school place or if they are placed on a waiting list. Applications received after the closing date are added to the school’s waiting list as required by the admissions act.
Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal where a board of management, or a person acting on behalf of the board of management (normally the school principal) refuses to admit a student to a school. Where the decision to refuse admission is due to the school being oversubscribed, a review of the decision by the board of management must be sought in the first instance. Following a review it is open to the parent to appeal to the independent appeals committee.
Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is the agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. TESS can be contacted at 01-7718500 (tessinfo@tusla.ie) for assistance. More information is available on their website on the following link: www.tusla.ie/tess/tess-ews/