Admission Policy

Please note this policy does not effect pupils who are already enrolled in Scoil Mhuire

Admission Policy of Scoil Mhuire 

School Address: Woodview Hts / Airlie Hts, Lucan, Co. Dublin 

Roll number: 19817H 

School Patron: Archbishop of Dublin 

  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 on [date]. 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 Scoil Mhuire’s 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 forms 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 

Scoil Mhuire is a primary co-educational Catholic school serving a catchment area within the parish of Esker. (see appendix 1)

Scoil Mhuire is under the patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin. It is a vertical school providing primary education for pupils from age 4 – 12 years i.e. Junior Infants to Sixth Class. 

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; 

  1. 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 

  1. b) A living relationship with God and with other people; and 
  2. c) A philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection 

of Jesus; and 

  1. d) The formation of the pupils in the Catholic faith, 

And which the 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 Scoil Mhuire 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. 

Scoil Mhuire’s Mission Statement; Our school aims to provide a happy, secure, friendly, learning environment, where children, parents, teachers, support staff and Board of Management work in partnership, where each individual is valued, encouraged and respected for his / her uniqueness and facilitated to reach his / her full potential in a positive, supportive and Christian atmosphere. 

Scoil Mhuire operates under the Rules for National Schools and Department of Education and Skills guidelines. The school is staffed in accordance with the schedule laid out each school year by the Department of Education & Skills. The school is funded by annual grant aid from the Department of Education and Skills. 

Scoil Mhuire follows the curriculum prescribed by the Department of Education and Skills, which may be amended from time to time in accordance with Section 9 & 30 of the Education Act, 1998. All pupils enrolled in the school are expected to participate in all aspects of the curriculum which includes the following subjects: English, Gaeilge, Mathematics, History, Geography, Science, Visual Arts, Music, Drama, SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education) and Physical Education. 

The school provides Religious Education for Catholic pupils in accordance with the doctrines, practices and tradition of the Roman Catholic Church as outlined above. Non- Catholic pupils may be exempted from the religious education programme at the request of their parents. (see section 17 of this policy) 

  1. Admission Statement 

Scoil Mhuire will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following: 

(a) the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student 

concerned, 

(b) the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student 

concerned, 

(c) the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student 

concerned,

(d) the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student 

concerned, 

(e) the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student 

concerned, 

(f) the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student 

concerned, 

(g) the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, 

(h) the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the 

student concerned, or 

(i) 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. 

Scoil Mhuire is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate where it refuses to admit as a student a person who is not Catholic and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school. 

Scoil Mhuire is a school which has established a class, with the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills, which provides an education exclusively for students with a category or categories of special educational needs specified by the Minister and may refuse to admit to the class a student who does not have the category of needs specified. 

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

class 

Scoil Mhuire with the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills, has established a class to provide an education exclusively for students with ASD. Currently there are 2 classes of 6 children in each class. 

  1. Admission of Students 

This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where – 

  1. a) the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details) 
  2. b) a 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 

 

  1. c) Scoil Mhuire is a Catholic school and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of the Catholic faith where it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school. 
  2. d) The special classes attached to Scoil Mhuire provides an education exclusively for students with ASD and the school may refuse admission to this class, where the student concerned does not have the specified category of special educational needs provided for in this class. 
  3. 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: 

Category 1 

Siblings and stepsiblings of children already enrolled in the school. (the eldest children will have priority in this ranking, however the applicant must be 4 years of age before March 31st in the year of admission) 

Category 2 

Children resident in the catchment area (see appendix 1) and / or Children of current staff members (the eldest children will have priority, however the applicant must be 4 years of age before March 31st in the year of admission) 

Category 3 

  • Children of families who are not resident in the catchment area (the eldest children will have priority, however the applicant must be 4 years of age before March 31st in the year of admission)
  • Late applicants (the eldest children will have priority, however the applicant must be 4 years of age before March 31st in the year of admission)

 

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:

In the event of two or more students being tied for a place, the oldest student will be given priority.  If two applicants have the same date of birth, then a lottery will apply with an independent party present.  

 

  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: 

(a) a student’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service, including naíonraí, 

(b) the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school; 

(c) a student’s academic ability, skills or aptitude; 

other than in relation to: admission to the ASD special class insofar as it is necessary in order to ascertain whether or not the student has the category of special educational needs concerned

(d) the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s 

parents; 

(e) a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or 

other meeting as a condition of admission; 

(f) a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his or her family 

attending or having previously attended the school; (except in the case of siblings and children of staff members – see selection criteria above) 

(g) 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 Scoil Mhuire 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 forms 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 why they were not offered a place 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 Scoil Mhuire, 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 Scoil Mhuire where— 

(i) it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading. 

(ii) 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. 

(iii) 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 

(iv) 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 Scoil Mhuire 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 Scoil Mhuire 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. Applicants whose applications are received after the closing date, outlined in the Annual Admission Notice, will be placed at the end of the waiting list in order of the date of receipt of the application. 

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. 

Late applicants will be notified of the decision in respect of their application no later than three weeks after the date on which the school received the application. Late applicants will be offered a place if there is a place available. In the event that there is no place available, the name of the applicant will be added to the waiting list as set out in Section 13. 

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

year 

From time to time a new family may move into the catchment area and wish to transfer their child(ren) to Scoil Mhuire. In this situation, parents wishing to enrol their child(ren) in the school must apply to the Board of Management on the Application for Enrolment Form. Places will be given to such children depending on whether there is an available space, class size, available resources and where appropriate approval of the Department of Education and Skills. Where places are limited and more applications than places are received, places will be filled according to the previously cited Order of Priority in section 6.

The Board of Management will publish  the maximum number of pupils at each class level for that year. 

(See below: Appendix 2.)

Prior to making a determination on the enrolment of a child into any class from Senior Infants to Sixth class Scoil Mhuire will ask parents / guardians to fill in registration forms and request: 

  • utility bill (electricity, gas, waste collection) 
  • original birth certificate 

The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school, after the commencement of the school year in which admission is sought, are the same as for students who apply at the commencement of the year – see above. 

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

This rule applies to all schools. 

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

(a) an application for admission of a student to the school, or (b) the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school. 

Note: Exceptions apply only in relation to fee charging post primary schools, the boarding element in Boarding Schools and admission to post leaving cert or further education courses run by post-primary schools. 

  1. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction 

This section must be completed by schools that provide religious instruction to pupils. 

  • A written request should be made to the Principal of the school. A meeting will then be arranged with the parent(s) 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, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, 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, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, 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 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. 

Appendix 1

Catchment Area

Airlie Heights,

Dodsboro Cottages,

Dodsboro Rd (Sth of N4),

Hillcrest (including all roads named Hillcrest and Cherry Lawns, Meadowview Grove, Greenpark Road and Westbrook Park),

Woodview,

Woodview Heights,

Shackleton Park,

The Paddocks.

Appendix 2.

In respect of the 2023/2024 school year, the maximum number of children for each class level are as follows:
Junior Infants 75
Senior Infants 53
1st Class 52
2nd Class 68
3rd Class 54
4th Class 56
5th Class 73
6th Class 54
ASD Class 12

4 comments on “Admission Policy

  1. Nicole Concannon on said:

    to whom it may concern,
    I know im late in enrolling my son but im just enquiring if there is any possibility of registering him in your school. I had him enroled in 2 other schools but I have just moved back home to lucan and I would really like him to attend your school this coming September. His name is jack Byrne and his cousin Luke Concannon attends the school. his date of birth is 03/10/12 and he has been attending sunflowers preschool, ballyowen lane for the last 2 years. ive heard great reports about this school and would really appreaciate any help on this matter.
    Yours thankfully
    Nicole Concannon

  2. Guadalupe Reyes on said:

    Hi, we are moving from Mexico to Ireland by June 2018. I have two girls, 9 and 10 years old. I would like my kids to attend your school. Do you have places available? Is it possible you can provide the enrollment process to follow?
    Thank you.

    • Scoil Mhuire on said:

      Hi,

      Comments to the website do not go to the office but to the website manager. If you wish to contact the school office please use the Contact Form on the homepage or e-mail office@scoilmhuire.ie

      Thank you