School admissions/enrolment

It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an admissions policy in accordance with the Education Acts, 1998–2018 and the relevant departmental policy and circulars.

This Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. Parents can choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary.

The selection process must be non-discriminatory, and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.

Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools are required to have drafted admissions policies in line with the provisions of the act. These policies have been approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. The school’s admissions policy is published on the school’s website. It is a key requirement of the act that all school admission policies are fair and transparent.

All schools must publish an admissions notice outlining the timelines of the admissions process on an annual basis, this must be published a minimum of one week prior to the admissions process taking place. The admissions application form should also be published on the school’s website. Schools cannot start the admissions process until 1 October at the earliest in the year preceding the school year applied for. Schools must specify when they will make a decision on an application and this must be conveyed in writing within the specified period as set out on their Admission Notice. Schools have discretion in relation to the timing of their admission processes.

The Act creates greater confidence for parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools and the procedures used by them are visible, legitimate, reasonable and fair.

Since October 2018, the Equal Status Act 2000 has been amended to remove, in the case of recognised denominational primary schools, the existing provision in section 7(3)(c) of that Act that permits such schools to use religion as a selection criterion in school admissions. Under this provision, there is a protection to ensure that a child of a minority faith, can still access a school of their faith. The provision provides that a recognised denominational primary school does not discriminate where it admits as a priority a student from a minority religion who is seeking admission to a school that provides religious instruction or religious education which is the same religious ethos or similar religious ethos to the student seeking admission. This ensures greater fairness in school admissions. While recognising the right of all schools to have their distinctive ethos, the removal of religion as a criteria for admission to school seeks to be fair to all parents including non-religious families that will now find that in virtually all publicly funded primary schools they will be treated the same as all other families in school admissions.

There are a number of further sections within the act, including provisions which have been commenced :

• prohibiting schools from the charging of fees or seeking payment or contributions for an application for admission to a school or for the enrolment or continued enrolment of a student in a school;
• amending the Equal Status Act 2000 to prohibit the use of religion as a selection criterion in all recognised primary school admissions;
• allowing Irish medium schools to give priority in admission to students who have a level of oral fluency in the Irish language, where such fluency would be at risk of regressing if the student were not admitted to an Irish medium school;
• that in schools where there are places available the school must admit each student applying;
• in the case of an oversubscribed school, the criteria that a school can and cannot apply;
• that every policy must include an Admissions Statement which will outline that the school will not discriminate in school admissions under any of the grounds stated in the act.
• that a school may not give priority based on the date and time on which an application for admission was received by the school, thereby prohibiting waiting lists which will ensure that parents who move in to a new area are not disadvantaged;
• require schools to prepare and publish an Annual Admission Notice which will contain important information for parents regarding the application process, including key dates and the number of places available, which will ensure a consistent and transparent approach to school admission processes.

• Circular 0007/2020 – Commencement of certain Sections of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018
• Commencement of Certain Sections of the Education (Admission to Schools Act) 2018–FAQ
• Annual Admissions Notice (Word doc)
• Annual Admissions Notice (PDF)
• Template Admission Policy November 2022 (Word doc)
• Template Admissions Policy November 2022(PDF)
• Changes required to schools admissions policies (November 2022)
• Find a School

The parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, 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.

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.

Appeal against permanent Exclusion, Suspension or Refusal to Enrol

TUSLA Education Support Service (TESS) is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. TESS can be contacted 01-7718500.

Further information provided for by the act:

In accordance with section 64(2) (a) and (b) of the Act a list of fee charging post primary schools and a list of boarding schools, have been published on the Department’s website and can be found at the following links respectively:

• Post Primary Fee Paying Schools
• Post Primary Boarding Schools

In accordance with section 62(7)(e)(i) of the Act a list of Early Intervention classes and Early Start Pre-schools Units have been included below:

• Early Intervention Units
• Early Start Units