Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1998 No. 449

EDUCATION
Pre-School Education in Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Made
17th December 1998

Coming into operation
1st January 1999

The Department of Education, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 32(6) and 90(3) of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(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 Pre-School Education in Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and shall come into operation on 1st January 1999.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations–

“children” means children after they have attained the age of 2 years and before they have attained the lower limit of compulsory school age;

“child from socially disadvantaged circumstances” means a child whose parent is in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance;

“final pre-school year” in relation to a child means the school year immediately prior to the school year in which that child is of compulsory school age;

“penultimate pre-school year” in relation to a child means the school year immediately prior to that child’s final pre-school year;

“income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the meaning given to it by Article 3(4) of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(2);

“income support” means income support under Part VII of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(3);

“the 1998 Order” means the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998; and

“the criteria” means the criteria to be drawn up under Article 32(1) of the 1998 Order.

Application

3.  These Regulations shall apply in relation to the admission of children to part-time and full-time pre-school education at schools commencing with admissions in the school year ending on 31st July 2000.

Matters to be included in the criteria

4.  The criteria to be applied in selecting children for admission to pre-school education at a school shall include the following matters–

(a)the order of priority in which children shall be admitted to full-time pre-school education at the beginning of the school year where the number of applications for such admission exceeds the full-time enrolment number determined by the Department under Article 25 of the 1998 Order for the school for that school year;

(b)the order of priority in which children shall be admitted to part-time pre-school education at the beginning of the school year where the number of applications for such admission exceeds the part-time enrolment number determined by the Department under Article 29 of the 1998 Order for the school for that school year;

(c)the order of priority in which children shall be admitted to full-time pre-school education at any time after the beginning of the school year where the number of applications for such admission exceeds the number of vacant full-time places for pre-school education for that school year;

(d)the order of priority in which children shall be admitted to part-time pre-school education at any time after the beginning of the school year where the number of applications for such admission exceeds the number of vacant part-time places for pre-school education for that school year;

(e)provision to give priority, in the following order of priority, to–

(i)children from socially disadvantaged circumstances who will be aged 4 before 1st September in their final pre-school year;

(ii)children from socially disadvantaged circumstances who will be aged 3 before 1st September in their final pre-school year;

(iii)children not falling within sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) who will be aged 4 before 1st September in their final pre-school year;

(iv)children not falling within sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) who will be aged 3 before 1st September in their final pre-school year;

(v)children from socially disadvantaged circumstances who will be aged 3 before 1st September in their penultimate pre-school year;

(vi)children from socially disadvantaged circumstances who will be aged 2 before 1st September in their penultimate pre-school year;

(vii)children not falling within sub-paragraph (v) or (vi) who will be aged 3 before 1st September in their penultimate pre-school year;

(viii)children not falling within sub-paragraph (v) or (vi) who will be aged 2 before 1st September in their penultimate pre-school year; and who at the time of their proposed admission will not have a pre-school education place whether full-time or part-time at another school or any other premises.

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.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland on

L.S.
Alan McVeigh
Assistant Secretary
17th December 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Article 32 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 requires the Board of Governors of each grant-aided nursery school and each grant-aided primary school with a nursery class to draw up the criteria to be applied in selecting children for admission to nursery education at 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 nursery schools and grant-aided primary schools with a nursery class commencing with the school year ending on 31st July 2000.
Regulation 4 specifies matters which the criteria shall include.
Regulation 5 specifies matters which the criteria shall not include.


(1)
S.I. 1998/1759 (N.I. 13).

(2)
S.I. 1995/2705 (N.I. 15).

(3)
1992 c. 7.