Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1997 No. 438

EDUCATION
Primary Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Made
2nd October 1997

Coming into operation
2nd October 1997

The Department of Education, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Article 16(9) of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997(1) and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Primary Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 2nd October 1997.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 1997 Order” means the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997;

“the criteria” means the criteria to be drawn up under Article 16(1) of the 1997 Order.

Application

3.  These Regulations shall apply in relation to the admission of children to grant-aided primary schools commencing with admissions in the school year ending on 31st July 1999.

Matters to be included in the criteria

4.  The criteria to be applied in selecting children for admission to a school shall include the following matters—

(a)the order of priority in which children in the relevant age group shall be admitted to the school at the beginning of the school year, where the number of applications for admission exceeds the school’s admissions number for that school year;

(b)the order of priority in which children in the relevant age group shall be admitted to the school at any later time in the school year, where the number of applications for admission exceeds the number of vacant places;

(c)the order of priority in which children not in the relevant age group shall be admitted to the school, where the number of applications for admission exceeds the number of vacant places;

(d)provision to give priority to children who will have attained the lower limit of compulsory school age at the time of their proposed admission over those who will not have attained the lower limit of compulsory school age at the time of their proposed admission.

Matters not to be included in the criteria

5.  The criteria to be applied in selecting children for admission to a school shall not include provision for such selection of children by reference to ability or aptitude, or the performance of any child in a test or examination held by, or on behalf of, the Board of Governors.

Revocation and transitional provision

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Primary Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991(2) are hereby revoked

(2) The Primary Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 shall continue to apply in relation to the admission of pupils to grant-aided primary schools in the school year ending on 31st July 1998 as if these Regulations had not been made.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Education on

L.S.
J. S. Smith
Assistant Secretary
2nd October 1997.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
Article 16 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 requires the Board of Governors of each grant-aided school to draw up the criteria to be applied in selecting children for admission to the school. It also enables the Department of Education to make Regulations requiring the criteria to include, or not to include, such matters or matters of such description as are specified in the Regulations.
These Regulations specify matters to be included, and matters not to be included, in the criteria for the admission of children to grant-aided primary schools in the 1998/99 and subsequent school years.
Regulation 4 specifies matters which the criteria shall include.
Regulation 5 specifies matters which the criteria shall not include.
Regulation 6 contains a revocation and transitional provision.
These Regulations revoke the Primary Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991, but those Regulations continue to apply in relation to admissions to grant-aided primary schools in the 1997/98 school year


(1)
S.I. 1997/866 (N.I. 5)

(2)
S.R. 1991 No. 392