Admissions to our school

Details: Category: About Monaghan Model Primary School; Created: 09 April 2018; Last Updated: 10 January 2024

Admission Policy of Monaghan Model School School Address: North Road, Monaghan Roll number: 07751K School Patron: Minister for Education & Skills

Annual Admission Notice 24/25

1. Introduction

This Admission Policy complies with the requirements of the Education Act 1998, the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 and the Equal Status Act 2000. In drafting this policy, the board of management of the school has consulted with school staff, the school patron and with parents of children attending the school.

The policy was approved by the school patron on 15th September 2020. It is published on the school’s website and will be made available in hardcopy, on request, to any person who requests it.

The relevant dates and timelines for Monaghan Model School admission process are set out in the school’s annual admission notice which is published annually on the school’s website at least one week before the commencement of the admission process for the school year concerned. This policy must be read in conjunction with the annual admission notice for the school year concerned.

The application form will be published on the school website and will be made available in hardcopy to any person who requests it by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , by post to Monaghan Model School, North Road, Monaghan or by telephone request.

2. Characteristic spirit and general objectives of the school

The Model School is a 6 teacher mainstream, co-educational school under the patronage of the Department of Education. Our school is essentially Christian in ethos catering mainly for children from Protestant denominations but children of other faiths or no faith are welcome. We encourage a Christian set of moral beliefs, attitudes and practices.

We endeavour to create a positive climate and atmosphere where each pupil feels valued and accepted; where the personal development, health and wellbeing of the individual is nurtured and maintained, thus enabling them to develop positive relationships and become active and responsible citizens of society.

Our vision is that each child should fulfil his/her potential intellectually, physically, socially and morally regardless of gender, race or creed.

We aspire to educate the school community towards openness, respect for diversity and inclusiveness where each individual is valued and accepted and holds responsibility for the creation of a fair and just multicultural society.

The school staff see it as their responsibility, through their professional interactions, to promote all aspects of the school ethos. Our school recognises also that the individual and collective professional and personal development of teachers is a duty of care and consideration.

In accordance with S.15 (2) (b) of the Education Act, 1998 the Board of Management of Monaghan Model School shall uphold, and be accountable to the patron for so upholding, the characteristic spirit of the school as determined by the cultural, educational, moral, religious, social, linguistic and spiritual values and traditions which inform and are characteristic of the objectives and conduct of the school.

Aims of Our School

to provide education within a Christian ethos.
to promote learning within a happy caring atmosphere.
to encourage each child to fulfil his/her potential regardless of gender, race or creed.
to acknowledge, appreciate and nurture the uniqueness of each individual child.
to assist all children to acquire the skill necessary to gather knowledge and to understand their environment e.g. listening, talking, reading, discussing, evaluating, researching, recording etc.
to stimulate and develop an enquiring mind by providing learning experiences suitable to each child's individual aptitude and ability.
to provide moral and aesthetic education suitable to the child's needs.
having regard to our Christian ethos, to provide spiritual guidance and teaching.
to encourage all children to play their part in the life of the school and in so doing to develop caring attitudes in their relationships with others.
to promote the health of the child and provide a foundation for healthy living in all its aspects.
to foster positive attitudes towards leisure activities and promote the development of an appreciation of personal safety and the safety of others while engaging in such pursuits.
to foster an appreciation of and respect for nature and the environment.
to develop good home school liaison which is an essential and integral part of the provision of appropriate education.

3. Admission Statement

Monaghan Model School will not discriminate in its admission of a student to the school on any of the following:

the gender ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the civil status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the family status ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the sexual orientation ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the religion ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the disability ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the ground of race of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the Traveller community ground of the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned,
the ground that the student or the applicant in respect of the student concerned has special educational needs

As per section 61 (3) of the Education Act 1998, ‘civil status ground’, ‘disability ground’, ‘discriminate’, ‘family status ground’, ‘gender ground’, ‘ground of race’, ‘religion ground’, ‘sexual orientation ground’ and ‘Traveller community ground’ shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of the Equal Status Act 2000.

Monaghan Model School is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment

which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate in relation to the admission of a student who has applied for a place in the school in accordance with section 7A of the Equal Status Act 2000.

Monaghan Model School is a school whose objective is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values and does not discriminate where it refuses to admit as a student a person who is not from a Protestant Christian tradition and it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school in accordance with section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act 2000.

4. Categories of Special Educational Needs catered for in the school

(there is no special class in the Model School)

Monaghan Model School will cooperate with the National Council for Special Education in the performance by the Council of its functions under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 relating to the provision of education to children with special educational needs, including in particular by the provision and operation of a special class or classes when requested to do so by the Council.

Monaghan Model School will comply with any direction served on the patron or the board, as the case may be, under section 37A and any direction served on the board under section 67(4B) of the Education Act.”

5. Admission of Students

This school shall admit each student seeking admission except where –

the school is oversubscribed (please see section 6 below for further details)
a parent of a student, when required by the principal in accordance with section 23(4) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, fails to confirm in writing that the code of behaviour of the school is acceptable to him or her and that he or she shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with such code by the student
Monaghan Model School is a Protestant Christian School and may refuse to admit as a student a person who is not of the Protestant Christian faith where it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

6. Oversubscription

In the event that the school is oversubscribed, the school will, when deciding on applications for admission, apply the following selection criteria in the order listed below to those applications that are received within the timeline for receipt of applications as set out in the school’s annual admission notice:

Monaghan Model School is a Protestant Christian school and may give priority in admission to a student applying for admission in accordance with section 7A of the Equal Status Act 2000.

The Applicant must provide the following documentation with the application form in order for the application to be complete, as the School must satisfy itself that the Applicant Student is a member of a minority religion and that it provides a programme of religious instruction or religious education which is of the same religious ethos as, or a similar religious ethos to, the religious ethos of the minority religion of the Applicant Student.

A statement from the Applicant confirming;

(i) that the Applicant Student is a member of a minority religion and that the Applicant wishes the Applicant Student to be educated in a school that provides a programme of religious instruction/education which is of the same religious ethos, or a similar religious ethos to, the religious ethos of the minority religion of the Applicant Student.

and

(ii) evidence from the Applicant to support the statement that the Applicant Student is a member of the minority religion. This evidence will consist of:-

• a letter from the relevant religious leader confirming, that the Applicant Student is a member of their church, giving contact details for the leader or

• the signature of the relevant Church leader on the application form confirming, that the Applicant Student is a member of the minority religion

In the event that the number of applications exceeds the number of available places, the priority categories below, which are listed in order of priority, are used to determine the priority given to applications in the descending order outlined below from (a) to (d) , as follows:

(a) An Applicant Student who has applied under section 7a of the Equal Status Act as stated above.

(b) An Applicant Student who lives within the geographical boundaries of the following Church of Ireland Parishes; Monaghan, Tydavnet, Kilmore, Clones, Currrin, Kileevan, Newbliss, Drumsnatt, Drumully, Ematris, Rockcorry, Clontibret and Aghabog

(d) All other Applicant Students who comply with the terms of this Policy

Where oversubscription occurs within any of the priority categories above the following selection criteria will apply:

1. children with siblings currently enrolled at the school

2. children of school staff

3. any remaining places will be allocated by drawing names out of a hat

Where the Applicant Students in a category are not successful in achieving a place, their names will be placed on a waiting list as set out at section 13 below.

In the event that there are two or more students tied for a place or places in any of the selection criteria categories above (the number of applicants exceeds the number of remaining places), the following arrangements will apply:

Name will be picked by random selection

7. What will not be considered or taken into account

In accordance with section 62(7)(e) of the Education Act, the school will not consider or take into account any of the following in deciding on applications for admission or when placing a student on a waiting list for admission to the school:

(a) a student’s prior attendance at a pre-school or pre-school service

(b) the payment of fees or contributions (howsoever described) to the school;

(d) the occupation, financial status, academic ability, skills or aptitude of a student’s parents;

(e) a requirement that a student, or his or her parents, attend an interview, open day or other meeting as a condition of admission;

(f) a student’s connection to the school by virtue of a member of his/her family attending or having previously attended the school, other than in the case of siblings of a student attending or having attended the school.

(g) the date and time on which an application for admission was received by the school,

This is subject to the application being received at any time during the period specified for receiving applications set out in the annual admission notice of the school for the school year concerned.

This is also subject to the school making offers based on existing waiting lists (up until 31^st January 2025 only).

8. Decisions on applications

All decisions on applications for admission to Monaghan Model School will be based on the following:

Our school’s admission policy
The school’s annual admission notice (where applicable)
The information provided by the applicant in the school’s official application form received during the period specified in our annual admission notice for receiving applications

(Please see section 15 below in relation to applications received outside of the admissions period and section 16 below in relation to applications for places in years other than the intake group.)

Selection criteria that are not included in our school admission policy will not be used to make a decision on an application for a place in our school.

9. Notifying applicants of decisions

Applicants will be informed in writing as to the decision of the school, within the timeline outlined in the annual admissions notice

If a student is not offered a place in our school, the reasons why they were not offered a place will be communicated in writing to the applicant, including, where applicable, details of the student’s ranking against the selection criteria and details of the student’s place on the waiting list for the school year concerned.

Applicants will be informed of the right to seek a review/right of appeal of the school’s decision (see section 18 below for further details).

10. Acceptance of an offer of a place by an applicant

In accepting an offer of admission from Monaghan Model School, you must indicate—

(i) whether or not you have accepted an offer of admission for another school or schools. If you have accepted such an offer, you must also provide details of the offer or offers concerned and

(ii) whether or not you have applied for and awaiting confirmation of an offer of admission from another school or schools, and if so, you must provide details of the other school or schools concerned.

11. Circumstances in which offers may not be made or may be withdrawn

An offer of admission may not be made or may be withdrawn by Monaghan Model School where—

it is established that information contained in the application is false or misleading.
an applicant fails to confirm acceptance of an offer of admission on or before the date set out in the annual admission notice of the school.
the parent of a student, when required by the principal in accordance with section 23(4) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, fails to confirm in writing that the code of behaviour of the school is acceptable to him or her and that he or she shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with such code by the student; or
an applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of ‘acceptance of an offer’ as set out in section 10

12. Sharing of Data with other schools

Applicants should be aware that section 66(6) of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 allows for the sharing of certain information between schools in order to facilitate the efficient admission of students.

13. Waiting list in the event of oversubscriptio

In the event of there being more applications to the school year concerned than places available, a waiting list of students whose applications for admission to Monaghan Model School were unsuccessful due to the school being oversubscribed will be compiled and will remain valid for the school year in which admission is being sought.

Placement on the waiting list of Monaghan Model School is in the order of priority assigned to the students’ applications after the school has applied the selection criteria in accordance with this admission policy.

Offers of any subsequent places that become available for and during the school year in relation to which admission is being sought will be made to those students on the waiting list, in accordance with the order of priority in relation to which the students have been placed on the list.

14. Late Application

All applications for admission received after the closing date as outlined in the annual admission notice will be considered and decided upon in accordance with our school’s admissions policy, the Education Admissions to School Act 2018 and any regulations made under that Act.

Late applicants will be notified of the decision in respect of their application no later than three weeks after the date on which the school received the application. Applicant students will be offered a place if a place is available. In the event that there is no place available, the name of the applicant student will be added to the waiting list in accordance with Section 13 of this policy.

15. Procedures for admission of students to other years and during the school year

The procedures of the school in relation to the admission of students who are not already admitted to the school to classes or years other than the school’s intake group are as follows:

Applicants will be notified of the decision in respect of their application no later than three weeks after the date on which the school received the application. Applicant students will be offered a place in the relevant class if a place is available. In the event that the number of applications exceeds the number of available places in the relevant class, the school will apply the selection criteria set out in Section 6 of this policy to those applications. In the event that there is no place available, the name of the applicant student will be added to the waiting list in accordance with Section 13 of this policy

16. Declaration in relation to the non-charging of fees

The board of management of Monaghan Model School or any persons acting on its behalf will not charge fees for or seek payment or contributions (howsoever described) as a condition of-

an application for admission of a student to the school, or
the admission or continued enrolment of a student in the school.

17. Arrangements regarding students not attending religious instruction

The following are the school’s arrangements for students, where the parents have requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school.

Parents must write to the Board of Management requesting that the child/children be allowed to withdraw from formal Religious Education classes in school. This will be facilitated by allowing the pupil to engage in an alternative activity or assignment during Religious Education time while remaining under supervision of the class teacher in the classroom. Alternative arrangements will be made when other pupils are attending church related events or practices.

During whole school fortnightly Assembly (where there is religious content) pupils who have been withdrawn from attending assembly as well as formal Religious Education, will engage in alternative activity in resources area with open door to General Purpose room in view of staff members and join school group for celebration of birthdays and Golden Book nominations.

18. Reviews /Appeals

Review of decisions by the board of Management

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 and Skills.

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.

Right of appeal

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may appeal a decision of this school to refuse admission.

An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(i) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due to the school being oversubscribed.

An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(ii) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due a reason other than the school being oversubscribed.

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. (see Review of decisions by the Board of Management)

Appeals under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 will be considered and determined by an independent appeals committee appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills.

The timeline within which such an appeal must be made and the other requirements applicable to such appeals 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 and Skills.

Ratified by the Patron (Minister for Education & Skills) & Board of Management in September 2020

Amended December 2022