Rmds Pre-Enrolment Application Form (Page 3 of 4) in pdf

When an application form is received for an adopted child or a child in long term foster care, the

number of days between the date of adoption or fostering and the date of the application will be

calculated and the child will then be placed on the pre-enrolment list as if the application had been

received within that number of days after his or her date of birth. If, for example, a child born on 1st

November 2000 is adopted on 1 April 2002 and a pre enrolment application is made on 29th April

2002, the application will be treated as if it had been received on 29th November 2000.

In relation to vacancies that may arise up the school, places are offered in class order from Senior

Infants upwards to children on the waiting list for those classes with vacancies. In keeping with the

school’s sibling policy, once one sibling has been offered a place, their remaining siblings on the list

are also offered places (subject to vacancies being available in the relevant classes).

Shortly before or during the summer break, a statement as to what constitutes a full school for the

forthcoming school year is recorded in the RMDS Board of Management minutes. The concept of a

full school is not an exact science in that it is based on consideration of a wide range of factors in any

given year such as: Department of Education and Skills regulations regarding class size; maintaining

quality of education throughout the school; the school’s commitment to multi-denominational

education and the number of children in any class with English language education needs; the

school’s commitment to special education needs and the number of children in any class with special

educational needs; health and safety considerations; the overall physical size of the school, the size

of individual classrooms, the yard space available to the school.

While taking account of on-going demand for school places, the above factors are weighed each year

alongside the school’s on-going goal that class sizes should be maintained at as low a level as

possible, (i.e., at or below 30) in order to maintain an optimal pupil/teacher ratio and in the interests

of the whole school community. The Board of Management considers that the maximum number of

pupils in the school should be 240 in eight class years. Furthermore, although total numbers in

classes may vary throughout the school (due to attrition or for other reasons that may arise from

time to time), the Board of Management considers that the maximum number of pupils in any class

should not exceed 32.

This policy is kept under review by the Board of Management and the Patron and will be changed

where deemed necessary and appropriate.

July 2016

Rmds Pre-Enrolment Application Form Page 3