Untitled Document

St. Canice’s Co-Educational National School,
Granges Road,
Kilkenny

St. Canice’s Co-Educational National School is a Catholic school under the patronage of the Bishop of Ossory. As such it expresses its Spirit and Ethos through practices, beliefs and attitudes which are rooted in this tradition. Notwithstanding our Ethos we welcome children of every tradition while respecting the rights of the existing school community and the children already enrolled.

The present school staff includes: Twenty nine teachers on the staff, including the Principal, 8 Special Needs Assistants, 2 part time Resource teachers, Secretary, Caretaker and three members of cleaning staff.

There are twenty mainstream classes, 1 Special A.S.D. class, 6 fulltime resource teachers and 1 Language support teacher for International pupils.

The school is opened in the morning at 8.40 a.m.
Class starts at 8.50am. Children arriving between 8.40am and 8.50am will be supervised in the school building until the official starting time.

Junior and Senior Infants finish at 1.45 p.m.
All other classes at 2.45pm.
Morning break is at: 10.50 a.m. to 11.05 a.m.

Lunch break is at: 12.35 p.m. to 1.15 p.m. children are supervised while eating lunch
in the classrooms. 12.35 p.m. to 12.45 p.m.
Children are supervised during playtime, outside when the weather permits and inside on wet days.

All staff participate in a supervision rota which is on display in the staffroom.

The school funding is provided by the Department of Education & Science. It operates within the regulations laid down from time to time by the Department. School policy has regard to the funding available.

The school follows curricular programmes prescribed by the Department of Education
and Science which may be amended from time to time in accordance with sections 9 and
13 of the Education Act 1998.

The school respects the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages and ways of life
in our Society.

Inclusiveness, with regard to disability and or other specific education needs, provided that suitable accommodation and resources are in place prior to admission.

Equality of access and participation. No child will be refused admission for reasons of religion, ethnicity, special education needs, disability, traveller status, asylum seeker/refugee status, family or social status.
Parental choice in enrolment

Application Procedures:
Applications must be made in writing on the official application form which can be obtained from the school office.

The Board will communicate generally to the school community through the parish bulletin, Parents’ Council newsletters and through notes to the pupils attending our school. Application must be made before a set closing date: (February 26th 2009).

Junior Infants are only admitted to the school on the first school day of each
year.

Children who wish to apply to transfer to the school from another Primary School either
within the State or abroad may do so at any time during the school year on the official
transfer form. However, information regarding educational progress and previous
attendance will be requested.

Notification of acceptance/rejection will be sent out within 21 days of final date for
receipt of applications. In the case of Junior Infant applicants, once the existing places have been allocated, unsuccessful applicants will be informed of their status on the waiting list. Any places then becoming available will be filled from this list.

A parent of a pupil who is not accepted into the school, following the conclusion of any appeal procedures at school level, has a statutory entitlement under Section 29 of the Education Act (as amended by Section 4 of the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2007 to appeal that decision to the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science. Details on appealing decisions are available on the Department website www.education.ie.

Acceptance or rejection of applications will be determined by the following factors:

The physical space available in each classroom unit.

Department of Education Pupil-Teacher ratio

The requirement that Junior Infants must be at least four years of age by June 30th prior to the commencement of the school year.

Rule 64(1)

Primary Education is not compulsory before the age of six.

Educational needs of children of a particular age: Principal and parents will assess
readiness for school for those children reaching age 4 in the months of March to June prior to enrolment.

The presence of children with specific educational needs.

Children residing within the Parish boundaries including children of Staff members
Siblings of children already enrolled in the school
Children of past pupils of our school living locally.
Outsiders on a first come first served basis.(based on date of receipt of applications)
.Five per cent (5%) of new entry places to be reserved up until February 7th of
            previous school year for children of ethnic minorities, Travellers, Refugees,
            Asylum seekers.

In relation to applications for enrolment of children with special needs the Board of
Management will request copies of medical and/or psychological reports. Where such
reports are not available; a request will be made that the child/children be assessed
immediately and reports furnished. The purpose of this is to assist the school in
determining the educational, training and staffing needs of the child/children and to

profile the support services required. On receipt of the reports the Board will then assess
the school in terms of the specified needs. If the Board deems that further resources are
required then a request will be made to the Department of Education and Science for
provision of same prior to the enrolment of the child/children. Enrolment will be
deferred until the needs of the child/children have been met.

The same care and attention will be given to the needs of children of ethnic groups.