7.1 Enrolment of Students
The Education Act of 1998 Section 15(2)(d) requires the Board of Management to publish the policy of the school concerning the admission to and the participation by students in the school. This policy is subject to conditions laid down in the Education (Welfare) Act of 2000 as interpreted and administered by the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB). It is open to the parents of a student who has been refused enrolment to appeal such decision to the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills under Section 29 of the Education Act of 1998.
The admissions policy must take account of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 which sets out the rights of students with special educational needs and the duty of schools to provide for those rights. Care must be taken also to ensure that the admissions policy conforms to equality legislation and does not discriminate unfairly against any student or category of student.
ACCS Guidelines for the Development of a School Admissions Policy is available for the assistance of Boards.
Attendance
The Education Welfare Act, 2000 obliges Boards of Management:
· to establish and to maintain a register of all the students attending the school
· to maintain a record of the attendance or non-attendance on each school day and
· to report to the NEWB on student attendance on certain circumstances.
NEWB has published Guidelines for Reporting Student Absences and Expulsions to assist and advise schools on their responsibilities in these matters.
Under the Act the school is particularly obliged to report to the NEWB if;
- A student has reached 20 days absence cumulatively during the course of a year.
- A Principal is concerned about a pupil’s attendance.
- The Board of Management decides to expel a student.
- A student has been suspended for 6 days or more cumulatively during the year.
- A student’s name is to be removed from the school register for whatever reason.
The Education Welfare Act Section 22 obliges the Board of Management to adopt a statement of strategies or policy “for the purposes of fostering an appreciation of learning among students attending that school and encouraging regular attendance at school on the part of such students”.
ACCS Guidelines on School Pupil Attendance Policy is available for the assistance of Boards.
Removal of a Student from the Register
A student’s name may only be removed from the register where;
(a) A student has been expelled and all appeal procedures have been exhausted.
(b) The school has received confirmation that the student is registered in another school.
(c) A student has been registered with the NEWB and is in receipt of an education in a place other than a recognised school.
The school’s attendance policy should outline procedures to be followed if and when such circumstances arise.
The following suggestions may be helpful to Boards of Management and Principals when formulating this policy:
a) If there has been continuous absence for a period of days without explanation, or a failure to attend at the beginning of the school year, the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student should be written to, seeking an explanation, and advising them that, unless confirmation is received from them that s/he intends to return to school, the matter will be referred to the NEWB and the removal of the student from the roll will be considered. If there is no response, the intention to remove the student from the roll and the reason should be notified in writing to the parent(s)/guardian(s) by registered post, if necessary. The parent(s)/guardian(s) should be given an opportunity to make representations on the student’s behalf within a specified period and the NEWB should be notified.
b) If a student, with the knowledge of the school, moves to another school, s/he should be removed from the roll only in accordance with the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, Section 20(4), (6).
c) The removal of any student from the roll should be confirmed in writing to the parents/guardians of the student.
The re-enrolment of a student who has been removed from the roll is a decision for the Principal and the Board of Management to be taken in accordance with the school’s published admissions policy. In considering such decision Boards of Management must have due regard to the provisions of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 and of the appeal procedures provided for in Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998.
Repeat of a School Year
The standard maximum period of second-level education for all students is six years. However, authority is delegated to Boards of Management to permit a student to repeat a year in any one of the following circumstances.
a) If there has been prolonged absence through illness - either eight weeks continuously, or intermittent absences over a period of at least sixteen weeks, and for an average of two and a half days per week during that period, in the previous school year.
b) The absence and the reason for it must be certified by the Board of Management. If the reason is related to health, that reason must also be certified by a doctor.
c) If there is medical certification that a serious illness or injury, although not requiring eight week’s absence, has been so traumatic as to affect adversely the student’s academic performance.
d) If there has been serious family trauma (death of a parent, separation, violence, etc.) which, in the opinion of school management, has had a seriously damaging effect on the student’s academic performance.
e) If the academic record of the student is very poor and s/he requires regular remedial teaching and there is sufficient evidence to establish that (i) the student’s academic record is very poor, (ii) that the student is in need of regular remedial teaching and (iii) that the pupil can benefit from the extra year.
f) If, because of change of domicile or for other reasons, a student transfers to another school and, as a result, must change subjects.
For full details of all the requirements relating to the repeat of a year, Boards and Principals are advised to consult DES Circular Letter 02/95