School entry barriers to be outlawed

Schools will no longer be allowed charge enrolment fees, open admissions years before students arrive, or give priority to children of past pupils under radical Government plans.

The regulations on school admissions will be published today by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn.

They will end the practice of parents being asked for fees, often non-refundable, just to put their child’s name on an application list.

In many schools, parents have been given preference if they register their interest in enrolment years before children start school, but these first-come first-served practices will be banned. The draft regulations will be backed by changes to existing law governing schools.

Following more than two years of consultation and preparatory work, other plans include:

* A ban on parents or students being interviewed to decide on admissions;

* The outlawing of entrance tests;

* A ban on schools asking about a child’s special need or disability before deciding on admission.

Explaining the move, Mr Quinn said: “While I don’t want to overly intrude in day-to-day school management the proposed new regulatory framework strikes a balance between school autonomy and fairness in our education system and would require schools to provide a better service for parents.”

However, the removal of a role for the department in enrolment appeals will save Mr Quinn around €300,000 a year. Principals will be responsible for deciding all applications, with parents having a right to appeal to the school board for a final decision.

The number of appeals to the department where a child is refused enrolment has fallen from 318 in 2009 to 244 last year, but the system has been criticised as long and cumbersome.

The new rules will have most impact in cases where there are not enough places in a school for all applicants, an issue at around one fifth of schools each year.

However, the National Council for Special Education and the National Educational Welfare Board will be given power to decide which school should admit a pupil left with no place.

Mr Quinn will be given power to tell schools to run a common admissions process, meaning applications are open for the same time at all schools in the locality.

If a school patron believes a school’s admissions policy, or how it is operated, is not in accordance with the law, an independent person can be put in place to operate it. This provides an alternative to dissolving the school board but Mr Quinn would be entitled to remove admissions powers from the school and the patron in extreme cases.