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Enrolment at North Bay

General Information

Download pre-enrolment form in 'Word' format

In accordance with the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, the Board of Management of North Bay Educate Together National School, has developed this Enrolment Policy document to assist parents in relation to enrolment matters. The school Principal (Frieda McGovern) and the school Enrolment Secretary (Anne Hickey) can be contacted to clarify any matters arising from the policy.

Contact details for North Bay are as follows: 

North Bay Educate Together National School,
Greendale Avenue,
Kilbarrack,
Dublin 5.
Tel.: 01 832 5536
Fax.: 01 832 5064
email: northbay@eircom.net
Hours of opening: 8.40am - 2.20pm

The ethos of North Bay is multi-denominational, single stream, democratic, co-educational and child-centred. The school values and supports the principles of inclusiveness, equality of access and participation in the school, parental choice, and respect for diversity of values, beliefs and traditions. The management structures of the school involve i) a Patron, in the form of an Executive Committee, whose principle function is to protect the ethos of the school; and ii) a Board of Management, responsible for day-to-day running of the school. The school Patron (Executive Committee) is drawn from the parent body of the school, with significant representation from the parent body on the Board of Management also. The school Executive Committee is registered as a limited company with charitable status.

North Bay has the following staff: the school Principal, one Deputy Principal and one Assistant Principal, resource teachers for children with disability, a learning support teacher, a home-school community liaison teacher and class teachers. Additional support, when sanctioned by the Department of Education and Science, is available as the need arises, including resource teaching hours and classroom assistants. The school teaches classes at all levels from Junior Infants to 6th Class.

North Bay depends on grants and teacher resources provided by the Department of Education and Science and operates within the regulations laid down, from time to time, by the Department. The policy of the school, therefore, must have regard to resources and funding available. The school follows the curricular programmes prescribed by the Department of Education and Science, which may be amended from time to time in accordance with Sections 9 and 30 of the Education Act (1998). The school has developed its own "Ethical Core Curriculum" to support the ethos and core values of the school.

Admission Procedures

  1. Application Procedures: Parents (including parents of children currently in the school) are advised to put their children's names on the pre-enrolment list as soon as possible after the child is born (or placed in your care). Parents seeking to enrol their child(ren) are requested to return a pre-enrolment form with an original birth/adoption certificate. Enrolment is by way of written application only, using the school pre-enrolment application form. Each form received by the school will be acknowledged in writing.
  2. Admission: Children are offered a place in the school in accordance with the school admission policies, detailed above. The number of places offered is in accordance with the Department of Education and Science guidelines in relation to class size. The Board of Management is bound by the Department of Education and Science Rules for National Schools which provide that pupils may only be admitted to the school from the age of 4 years and upwards.
  3. Confirmation: A child must be 4 years of age by the 1st of September of the year they are to enter the school to be eligible for intake to the school. In October/November of the year prior to the child being eligible for entry to the school, parents are sent an offer of a place in respect of all eligible children. This form offers 3 options:
    1. confirmation that you will accept a place in the following September;
    2. a request that your child's name be held on the pre-enrolment list (deferral - see "Deferral Policy" below).
    3. a request that your child's name be removed from the pre-enrolment list. Should parents later change their minds, they must re-apply to have their child placed on the pre-enrolment list, the date of re-application now determining priority on the list.
    If a confirmation form is not returned within the dates specified on the offer of a place, the child's name is removed from the list. No further forms will be sent out. For parents accepting the offer of a place in the school, an Information Evening for parents and Open Day for parents and children will be held during the last school term.
  4. Waiting List: If a child has not been offered a place because the Junior Infants class for the following school year is full, parents will be offered the option of staying on a waiting list for Junior Infants for that school year, in the event that a place might become available.
  5. Children transferring from another school: Procedures are as detailed above. When completing the pre-enrolment form, parents also complete the appropriate section of the application form. Children may transfer to the school at any time, subject to available space, although intake to the school usually takes place in September. The Education Welfare Act (2000) contains specific provisions in relation to transfer of pupils, including the requirement that information concerning attendance and the child's educational progress is communicated between schools.
  6. Special Needs: Should it become apparent that a child has special educational and/or health needs, it is very important that these are discussed with the school Principal as soon as the needs become apparent, in order to best facilitate the child in the school. It is open to the Board of Management to request a copy of a child's medical and/or psychological report or, where such a report is not available, to request that the child be assessed immediately. The purpose of the assessment report is to assist the school in establishing the educational and training needs of the child relevant to his/her special needs and to profile the support services required. This enables the Principal to have in place necessary resources when the child starts in the school. Otherwise, there may be lengthy delays in accessing these resources, through no fault of the school. Occasionally, it may be necessary for Boards of Management to decide to defer enrolment of a particular child pending a) the receipt of an assessment report; and/or b) the provision of appropriate resources by the Department of Education and Science to meet the needs specified in the psychological and/or medical report.
  7. Change of Address: It is very important that any change of address is notified to the school in writing, along with the names and dates of birth of all children on the pre-enrolment list.

Deferral Policy

When a Junior Infant place is offered to a child, a request for deferral is considered in consultation with the Principal. Deferrals can only be considered on the grounds of age or special needs. When a deferral is agreed, the child is placed at the top of the list for the next school year. If a family is moving (for example, for reasons of employment) for a fixed period of time and it is necessary for a child to be taken out of the school for this period, the time-frame for return must be agreed with the Principal. A place will not be held open for a child for more than one year. It is not possible to defer return under these circumstances

Code of Behaviour

Children enrolled in North Bay are required to co-operate with and support the Code of Behaviour (see attached) and ethos of the school, as well as all other policies on curriculum, organisation and management.

© North Bay Educate Together National School 2004-10-28