Amended Admission Policy
Divine Mercy JNS
Balgaddy
Lucan
Roll number: 19865S
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 1st February 2023. 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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.
2. Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school
Divine Mercy JNS is a Catholic co-educational primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Dublin
“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:
In accordance with S.15 (2) (b) of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management of Divine Mercy JNS 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
We would like to create an environment where children will acquire and develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become independent, confident learners, where they will develop their self-esteem to enable them to express and achieve their full potential. We will endeavour to broaden each child’s experience to help them become spiritual, well-balanced, and tolerant individuals with a respect for themselves and others.
3. Admission Statement
Divine Mercy JNS will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:
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.
Divine Mercy JNS 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.
Divine Mercy JNS will cooperate with the NCSE in the performance by the Council of its functions under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 in relation to the provision of education to children with special educational needs, including in particular by the provision and operation of a special class or classes when requested to do so by the Council. Divine Mercy JNS will comply with any direction served on the board or the patron under section 37A and 67(4)(b).
4. Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class
Divine Mercy JNS is not a special school or a mainstream school with a special class attached.
Divine Mercy JNS is an inclusive mainstream co-educational junior school. We welcome children with Special Educational Needs and we cater for the needs of all our pupils to the best of our ability and within the context of the resources available to us.
5. Admission of Students
This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –
6. 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:
The Board is bound by the Department of Education and Skills’ Rules for National Schools which provides that pupils may only be enrolled from the age of 4 years and upwards though compulsory attendance does not apply until the age of 6 years. Children applying to enrol in Divine Mercy JNS must have reached the age of 4 years by August 31 of the year they will commence school.
Children will be enrolled according to the following criteria:
In the event that more children enrol than can be accommodated having regard to Department of Education and Skills guidelines on maximum class size, staffing provisions, physical space available and provisions for the health and welfare of children, the Board of Management shall use the following conditions
Junior Infant enrolments – if there are more applicants than there are places available in any of the above categories’ places will be allocated in order of age. In order to accommodate groups 1 and 2 the Board may have to operate a cut-off in age of applicants.
7. 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:
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).
8. Decisions on applications
All decisions on applications for admission to Divine Mercy JNS will be based on the following:
(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.
9. 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).
10. Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant
In accepting an offer of admission from Divine Mercy JNS 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.
11. 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 Divine Mercy JNS where--
12. 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).
13. 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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.
14. 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 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.
15. Procedures for admission of students to other years and during the school year
Parents/Guardians of children wishing to enrol in Senior Infants, First or Second Class can enrol at any time subject to any regulations the Department of Education and Skills may lay down under the terms of the Education Welfare Act 2000 and subject to the availability of places. The number of available places will be determined by the Board in the Annual Admissions Notice. If the number of applications received exceed the number of available spaces in any class, then the enrolment categories in Section 6 of this policy apply. Children who cannot be accommodated will be added to a waiting list as per Section 13 of this policy.
Junior Infants will be accommodated in such circumstances only if they were aged four before the first of September of the year in which admission is sought and it is advisable that they have already attended Junior Infants in another school.
16. Declaration in relation to the non-charging of fees
The board of Divine Mercy JNS or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-
17. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instructionThe following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parents of the student have requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school:
18. 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 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.
This Admission Policy was discussed and approved for submission to the Patron, the Archbishop of Dublin at a Board of Management meeting on 29 April 2020.
This Admission Policy was approved by the Patron on 8 July 2020 and formally adopted by the Board of Management at a meeting held on 24 August 2020.
This Admission Policy was amended in accordance with Circular 0075/2022 and approved by the Patron, the Archbishop of Dublin on 1st February 2023.
Chairperson Principal
Date: 01-02-2023 Date: 01-02-2023
Divine Mercy JNS
Balgaddy
Lucan
Roll number: 19865S
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 1st February 2023. 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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.
2. Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school
Divine Mercy JNS is a Catholic co-educational primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Dublin
“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:
- the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, including the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects
- a living relationship with God and with other people
- a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
- the formation of the pupils in the Catholic faith,
In accordance with S.15 (2) (b) of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management of Divine Mercy JNS 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
We would like to create an environment where children will acquire and develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become independent, confident learners, where they will develop their self-esteem to enable them to express and achieve their full potential. We will endeavour to broaden each child’s experience to help them become spiritual, well-balanced, and tolerant individuals with a respect for themselves and others.
3. Admission Statement
Divine Mercy JNS will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:
- the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or
- 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.
Divine Mercy JNS 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.
Divine Mercy JNS will cooperate with the NCSE in the performance by the Council of its functions under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 in relation to the provision of education to children with special educational needs, including in particular by the provision and operation of a special class or classes when requested to do so by the Council. Divine Mercy JNS will comply with any direction served on the board or the patron under section 37A and 67(4)(b).
4. Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class
Divine Mercy JNS is not a special school or a mainstream school with a special class attached.
Divine Mercy JNS is an inclusive mainstream co-educational junior school. We welcome children with Special Educational Needs and we cater for the needs of all our pupils to the best of our ability and within the context of the resources available to us.
5. Admission of Students
This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –
- the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)
- 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
- Divine Mercy JNS, is a Catholic school and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not Catholic where it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.
6. 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:
The Board is bound by the Department of Education and Skills’ Rules for National Schools which provides that pupils may only be enrolled from the age of 4 years and upwards though compulsory attendance does not apply until the age of 6 years. Children applying to enrol in Divine Mercy JNS must have reached the age of 4 years by August 31 of the year they will commence school.
Children will be enrolled according to the following criteria:
- Siblings and stepsiblings of children already enrolled in Divine Mercy JNS & SNS and children resident in the parish ( see Appendix 1) - the eldest child will have priority in this ranking.
- Children of staff - the eldest child will have priority in this ranking.
- Children residing outside the parish - the eldest child will have priority in this ranking.
In the event that more children enrol than can be accommodated having regard to Department of Education and Skills guidelines on maximum class size, staffing provisions, physical space available and provisions for the health and welfare of children, the Board of Management shall use the following conditions
Junior Infant enrolments – if there are more applicants than there are places available in any of the above categories’ places will be allocated in order of age. In order to accommodate groups 1 and 2 the Board may have to operate a cut-off in age of applicants.
7. 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 student’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service, including naíonraí,
- the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;
- a student’s academic ability, skills or aptitude;
- the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s parents;
- a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or other meeting as a condition of admission;
- a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his or her family attending or having previously attended the school;
- 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).
8. Decisions on applications
All decisions on applications for admission to Divine Mercy JNS 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.
9. 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).
10. Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant
In accepting an offer of admission from Divine Mercy JNS 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.
11. 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 Divine Mercy JNS where--
- it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.
- 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.
- 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
- an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10 above.
12. 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).
13. 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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.
14. 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 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.
15. Procedures for admission of students to other years and during the school year
- 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:
Parents/Guardians of children wishing to enrol in Senior Infants, First or Second Class can enrol at any time subject to any regulations the Department of Education and Skills may lay down under the terms of the Education Welfare Act 2000 and subject to the availability of places. The number of available places will be determined by the Board in the Annual Admissions Notice. If the number of applications received exceed the number of available spaces in any class, then the enrolment categories in Section 6 of this policy apply. Children who cannot be accommodated will be added to a waiting list as per Section 13 of this policy.
- 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 is as above at 15 (1)
Junior Infants will be accommodated in such circumstances only if they were aged four before the first of September of the year in which admission is sought and it is advisable that they have already attended Junior Infants in another school.
16. Declaration in relation to the non-charging of fees
The board of Divine Mercy JNS or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-
- an application for admission of a student to the school, or
- the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school
17. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instructionThe following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parents of the student have requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school:
- 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 to discuss how the request may be accommodated by the school.
18. 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 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.
This Admission Policy was discussed and approved for submission to the Patron, the Archbishop of Dublin at a Board of Management meeting on 29 April 2020.
This Admission Policy was approved by the Patron on 8 July 2020 and formally adopted by the Board of Management at a meeting held on 24 August 2020.
This Admission Policy was amended in accordance with Circular 0075/2022 and approved by the Patron, the Archbishop of Dublin on 1st February 2023.
Chairperson Principal
Date: 01-02-2023 Date: 01-02-2023
Divine Mercy JNS
Balgaddy
Lucan
Roll number: 19865S
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 1st February 2023. 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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.
2. Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school
Divine Mercy JNS is a Catholic co-educational primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Dublin
“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:
- the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, including the intellectual, physical, cultural, moral and spiritual aspects
- a living relationship with God and with other people
- a philosophy of life inspired by belief in God and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
- the formation of the pupils in the Catholic faith,
In accordance with S.15 (2) (b) of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management of Divine Mercy JNS 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
We would like to create an environment where children will acquire and develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become independent, confident learners, where they will develop their self-esteem to enable them to express and achieve their full potential. We will endeavour to broaden each child’s experience to help them become spiritual, well-balanced, and tolerant individuals with a respect for themselves and others.
3. Admission Statement
Divine Mercy JNS will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:
- the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
- the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned, or
- 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.
Divine Mercy JNS 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.
Divine Mercy JNS will cooperate with the NCSE in the performance by the Council of its functions under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 in relation to the provision of education to children with special educational needs, including in particular by the provision and operation of a special class or classes when requested to do so by the Council. Divine Mercy JNS will comply with any direction served on the board or the patron under section 37A and 67(4)(b).
4. Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school/special class
Divine Mercy JNS is not a special school or a mainstream school with a special class attached.
Divine Mercy JNS is an inclusive mainstream co-educational junior school. We welcome children with Special Educational Needs and we cater for the needs of all our pupils to the best of our ability and within the context of the resources available to us.
5. Admission of Students
This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –
- the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)
- 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
- Divine Mercy JNS, is a Catholic school and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not Catholic where it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.
6. 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:
The Board is bound by the Department of Education and Skills’ Rules for National Schools which provides that pupils may only be enrolled from the age of 4 years and upwards though compulsory attendance does not apply until the age of 6 years. Children applying to enrol in Divine Mercy JNS must have reached the age of 4 years by August 31 of the year they will commence school.
Children will be enrolled according to the following criteria:
- Siblings and stepsiblings of children already enrolled in Divine Mercy JNS & SNS and children resident in the parish ( see Appendix 1) - the eldest child will have priority in this ranking.
- Children of staff - the eldest child will have priority in this ranking.
- Children residing outside the parish - the eldest child will have priority in this ranking.
In the event that more children enrol than can be accommodated having regard to Department of Education and Skills guidelines on maximum class size, staffing provisions, physical space available and provisions for the health and welfare of children, the Board of Management shall use the following conditions
Junior Infant enrolments – if there are more applicants than there are places available in any of the above categories’ places will be allocated in order of age. In order to accommodate groups 1 and 2 the Board may have to operate a cut-off in age of applicants.
7. 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 student’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service, including naíonraí,
- the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;
- a student’s academic ability, skills or aptitude;
- the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s parents;
- a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or other meeting as a condition of admission;
- a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his or her family attending or having previously attended the school;
- 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).
8. Decisions on applications
All decisions on applications for admission to Divine Mercy JNS 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.
9. 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).
10. Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant
In accepting an offer of admission from Divine Mercy JNS 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.
11. 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 Divine Mercy JNS where--
- it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.
- 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.
- 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
- an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10 above.
12. 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).
13. 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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 Divine Mercy JNS 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.
14. 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 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.
15. Procedures for admission of students to other years and during the school year
- 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:
Parents/Guardians of children wishing to enrol in Senior Infants, First or Second Class can enrol at any time subject to any regulations the Department of Education and Skills may lay down under the terms of the Education Welfare Act 2000 and subject to the availability of places. The number of available places will be determined by the Board in the Annual Admissions Notice. If the number of applications received exceed the number of available spaces in any class, then the enrolment categories in Section 6 of this policy apply. Children who cannot be accommodated will be added to a waiting list as per Section 13 of this policy.
- 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 is as above at 15 (1)
Junior Infants will be accommodated in such circumstances only if they were aged four before the first of September of the year in which admission is sought and it is advisable that they have already attended Junior Infants in another school.
16. Declaration in relation to the non-charging of fees
The board of Divine Mercy JNS or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-
- an application for admission of a student to the school, or
- the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school
17. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instructionThe following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parents of the student have requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school:
- 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 to discuss how the request may be accommodated by the school.
18. 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 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.
This Admission Policy was discussed and approved for submission to the Patron, the Archbishop of Dublin at a Board of Management meeting on 29 April 2020.
This Admission Policy was approved by the Patron on 8 July 2020 and formally adopted by the Board of Management at a meeting held on 24 August 2020.
This Admission Policy was amended in accordance with Circular 0075/2022 and approved by the Patron, the Archbishop of Dublin on 1st February 2023.
Chairperson Gordon Duffy Principal Marie Mullins
Date: 01-02-2023 Date: 01-02-2023