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Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Changes to school enrolment procedures proposed

The Minister for Education has published a discussion document containing proposals that would ban school administration practices that disadvantage some children.

THE MINISTER FOR Education has proposed changes in schools’ enrollment systems, which he says could eliminate unfair practices.

Minsiter for Education Ruairi Quinn presented a discussion document today, which he said was intended to “provoke debate on enrolment policies”.

Among the points raised in the document was the suggestion that schools should not operate lengthy waiting lists, as this poses a disadvantage to families that are new to an area. Similarly, it was suggested that schools should not preference children whose siblings have attend the same school, or who are related members of staff.

In addition, the department said it was unfair for a school to decide on the enrollment of a child based on a parent’s linguistic ability – including Gaelscoils. The minister also condemned free schools demanding deposits to secure places.

The Irish Times reports that appeals by parents whose children have been refused places have risen by 750 per cent since the appeals process was introduced in 2002.

Read the Department of Education’s Discussion Paper >

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10 Comments
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    Mute Barry
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    Jun 13th 2011, 5:32 PM

    What about schools giving preference to Catholics over non-catholcs, in most of the country parents often don’t have viable choices to send their kids to non-religious (non catholic mainly) schools

    So when they try to enroll them in the so called “local” school they are not treated equaly

    Educate together schools are great and all but it would be unrealistic to expect a kid to travel say 90min on a bus each way just to attend one.

    Until the availabilty improves there needs to be equality

    38
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    Mute Fiachra Maolmordha Ó Raghallaigh
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    Jun 13th 2011, 5:44 PM

    How about the government stops funding fee-paying schools? Either they stop charging fees, or float completely on the market.

    37
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    Mute John Phelan
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    Jun 13th 2011, 7:51 PM

    Imagine the strain on our education system and the hugh cost to the taxpayer if there were no private schools.

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    Mute James Bashford
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    Jun 13th 2011, 8:03 PM

    Since fee paying schools that receive funding have to teach the same course as non-fee paying schools, they deserve just as much funding as any non-paying school. And also if you actually looked into it you would find that there are many fee paying schools that receive NO funding from the government (and also, ironically, are the best. What does that tell you about our education system?)

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    Mute David Conroy
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    Jun 13th 2011, 10:37 PM

    Most schools are asking for a “voluntary contribution”, to cover materials and facilities that are not covered by the department. Should they be considered “private” for the purposes of this proposal?

    6
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    Mute Julia Smith
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    Jun 13th 2011, 11:07 PM

    Waiting lists also discriminate against children born later in the school year. For example, given that a lot children are placed on school lists after birth, a child born in Feb will end up lower on the list than a child born in September.

    9
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    Mute Barry O'Sullivan
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    Jun 14th 2011, 12:13 AM

    Ruairi seems to be on an idealogical mission when it comes to schools. No religious schools, no private schools , no choice for parents.

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    Mute John Mullee
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    Jun 13th 2011, 6:04 PM

    Something like a CAO for primary and secondary schools would be great also, as it’s bananas bring school-age kids into ireland, even trying to find a list of local schools isn’t obvious. Many schools don’t even have email, etc etc.

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    Mute angryzes
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    Jun 14th 2011, 9:31 AM

    Here you go, your typical enrolment policy, true face of discrimination, we face it daily:

    Priority Criterion
    1 Catholic children of the parish and brothers and sisters of children in
    the school

    2 Children of teachers and staff of the school

    3 Catholic children who live outside the parish and do not
    have a Catholic school in their parish

    4 All children who live within the parish boundaries but are
    not Catholic applying for placement are entitled to a place if there are
    vacancies after groups 1 to 3 have been allocated places

    5 All children who apply to the school and are not Catholics and not
    residents within the parish boundaries are entitled to a place in the school if
    there are vacancies in the school after the groups 1 to 4 have allocated
    places.

    Source: http://www.saintbrigids.net/enrolment-policy.html

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    Mute John Mullee
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    Jun 14th 2011, 10:02 AM

    It’s similar for protestant schools, oddly, with their even-smaller catchment sets of feeder schools etc.

    1
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