St. Oliver Plunkett's National School

Enrolment Policy

St. Oliver Plunkett School is a Catholic Primary School, in the parish of Balbriggan, Balrothery and Balscadden, under the patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.

The Board of Management reserves the right to alter this enrolment policy at any stage due to changes in, for example, demographics, available resources or any other change deemed relevant by the Board of Management in pursuance of its purpose. At any time, the currently active enrolment policy will be available either on the school website (www.balrotheryns.com) or in the school office, and it is the responsibility of each parent/guardian to view the active enrolment policy from time to time.

The Board of Management reserves the right to cap pupil numbers.

Children who will be four years of age on or before 1 May prior to commencement of the school year will be deemed eligible for invitation to enrol according to the following criteria, sequentially, in the order 1 to 3 (i.e. if all places available are not filled by children defined in criterion 1, the children defined in criterion 2 will be next to be considered, etc.).

1. Brothers and sisters of children currently in the school and children of school staff.
2. Children who live within the area as defined (roughly) by the black outline on the attached map*
3. In the event of places still being available, having exhausted the above 2 criteria, an invitation to enrol will be extended to other children of the parish who have placed their name on the office list.

Within each of the above criteria, invitations to enrol will be extended strictly on a ‘first come, first served’ basis until all available places have been allocated.

Signed: Sheila M. Macken (Chairman, BoM)

P.J. Keary (Principal)

Date: 1 November 2008

* A detailed map, showing the precise limits of the catchment area for the school, can be consulted at any stage in the school office.

Guidelines to Enrolment in St. Oliver Plunkett’s N.S., Balrothery, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin

Parents/guardians may indicate their interest in enrolling their child in the school at any time by placing their child’s name on the ‘office list’. This is not a waiting list in any form and it is acknowledged and agreed that it shall not be construed as such.
Placing a child’s name on the ‘office list’ must be done by presenting at the school office and communication by email will not be accepted.
In any given year, 1 March will be deemed to be the closing date for the ‘office list’ which will be used in respect of the intake for the following calendar year (i.e. 1 March 2010 will be the closing date for September 2011 intake)(1).
At some stage (currently approx. 18 months before the child would be due to commence school), after the closing date for the ‘office list’ has passed(2), the Board of Management consult the ‘office list’ and, strictly in accordance with the school’s active enrolment policy, identifies those children who are eligible to be invited to enrol in our school.
A letter, inviting enrolment, and application form is sent to the parents/guardians of each eligible child. At that stage, the offer to enrol must be accepted or rejected, within the time period specified in the communication from the school.
In the case where a parent/guardian chooses not to accept the invitation to enrol, this place is offered to the next eligible child on the list, again strictly according to the enrolment policy.
It is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to make themselves aware of the enrolment policy which is active at the time when the invitations to enrol are extended by the school, as the enrolment policy is likely to change over time in response to the changing demographics and/or resources.
The Board of Management accepts no responsibility for informing parents/guardians of any changes to the enrolment policy.
At any time, the currently active enrolment policy will be available either on the school website (www.balrotheryns.com) or in the school office. Where a substantive change is made which affects those on the existing ‘office list’, they will be informed of that change in writing by the school(3).
Parents/guardians will be asked to sign to acknowledge and agree to the Enrolment Policy, with the attached ‘Guidelines to Enrolment’ and maps.

Signed: Sheila M. Macken (Chairman, BoM) P.J. Keary (Principal)

Date: 1 November 2008 and updated (effective from 9 December 2009)

(1)(2)(3) Varied, amended and updated (effective from 9 December 2009)

Signed: Sheila M. Macken (Chairman, BoM) P.J. Keary (Principal)

Date: 9 December 2009