The Lucan Common Enrolment System (LCES)is the New Enrolment Policy for:
Adamstown Castle, Esker, Griffeen Valley and Lucan East Educate Together Schools
Dear Parents/Guardians,
The four Educate Together schools above are delighted to announce that we are introducing a centralised enrolment system for our schools, beginning February 1st, 2015. The Boards of Management and the principals of these four schools have been working closely together in recent years to devise a way to improve the enrolment process for parents, schools and communities. Our primary aim is to promote inclusive, local schools and to improve traffic management and mobility in Lucan. It is the considered view of the four schools that the Lucan Common Enrolment System (LCES) is the best way forward for parents, schools and communities.
Why have a Common Enrolment System?
The Common enrolment system promotes three central principles which we believe are in the best interests of schools, families and local communities.
Age: The system prioritises children according to their age, with older children given priority over younger children. The LCES Committee believes that when places are limited, older children in the community should be assigned school places before younger children. This system will ensure that a child who is nearly six will not be refused a place in favour of a four-year-old, as can be the case in the old first-come-first-served system.
Family: Siblings will be prioritised so that it will be more likely that children from the same family will be educated together in one school. Under the old system, some families find that their children are divided between two, and even three, local Educate Together schools. With the new LCES system, families are more likely to be educated together in one school.
Proximity to school: Under the LCES, children will be more likely to be assigned to their local participating Educate Together school. We believe that this will contribute to the development of sustainable, integrated local communities, where children can walk to school with their friends and neighbours, thereby contributing to the easing of traffic gridlock in the Lucan area. Current enrolment policies inhibit the fostering of local community friendships, with children crisscrossing all over Lucan to attend schools that are not in their local neighbourhood.
The principles of prioritisation of siblings and proximity of home to school are in line with best practice for mobility and traffic management, as well as for the promotion of strong, integrated local communities.
How will it work?
Parents who choose an Educate Together education for their children will apply to a central system, the Lucan Common Enrolment System, which will be run by a committee of representatives from the Boards of Management of each of the four schools. Parents will apply by filling out a common pre-enrolment form and bringing or posting it to any one of the four schools. All names received will be placed on the LCES database. Children on the list will be offered a place in order of age (oldest first), until all available places in the four schools are filled. Once a child has secured a place, the LCES will determine the school to which the child will be assigned. The placement of children in individual schools will be based on the agreed criteria of siblings and proximity.
Important points to note:
- Application forms for Junior Infants will only be available in each school from 1st October of the year prior to the year of entry.
- Applications will be accepted into the office of any of the four Educate Together schools involved in the Lucan Common Enrolment System (LCES). Only one application is required.
- Applications must be received in one of the four schools on/before 15th January in order to be considered for the first round of offers, which will take place later in January of the enrolment year.
- Any applications received after the first round of offers have been made will be added to the names on LCES Database. Second and subsequent rounds of offers will take place until all places are filled.
When will it come into effect?
The last date for a parent to enrol their child under the first-come-first-served system is Friday 30th January 2015. After that date no applications under first-come-first-served will be accepted, except for parents applying for September 2015. Applications for 2016 will be accepted through the LCES system from 1st October 2015.
What if I have already made an application under the first-come-first-served system?
The Boards of Managements of the four participating schools in the LCES will honour all applications made prior to the commencement of the LCES, provided such applications comply with the criteria set out in their respective enrolment policies. The schools will continue to honour all first-come-first-served applications for the coming years, and the LCES will assign places to children only after all the original applications have been honoured.
As with all pre-enrolment policies, receipt of the application does not guarantee that the child will be offered a place.
Where can I find out more information?
A detailed enrolment policy document will be available to read/download on individual school websites.
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Please note that Lucan Educate Together National School in Bewley Way, has a separate enrolment policy and if you wish to apply to that school, you need to make a separate application there.