Made
26th January 2010
Coming into operation
1st March 2010
The Department of Education, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Article 16 A (4), (5) and (6) of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997(1), makes the following Regulations:
1. These Regulations may be cited as the School Admissions (Exceptional Circumstances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and shall come into operation on 1st March 2010.
2. In these Regulations–
"the body" means the Exceptional Circumstances body constituted in accordance with regulation 3;
"exceptional circumstances" means circumstances which are both exceptional and personal to the child in question and relate to admission to a specified school only;
"panel" means three persons selected by or on behalf of the Department from amongst the members of the body.
3.–(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (5), the Exceptional Circumstances body shall be appointed by the Department from amongst persons appearing to it to have relevant experience in the education or welfare of children.
(2) In addition to the persons mentioned in paragraph (1) the Department may appoint persons who are solicitors or barristers entitled to practice in Northern Ireland to be members of the Exceptional Circumstances body.
(3) A member of the body shall be appointed for a period of 2 years and shall unless he is disqualified under paragraph (5), be eligible for re-appointment.
(4) A member of the body may resign by giving notice in writing to the Department.
(5) A person shall be disqualified from being a member of the body if–
(a) he is employed by the Department;
(b) he has been adjudged bankrupt or has made composition or arrangement with his creditors; or
(c) he has within the five years immediately preceding the day of his appointment or at any time thereafter been convicted by a court in Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the British Islands of any offence and has been ordered to be imprisoned for a period of not less than three months without the option for a fine.
4. The Schedule shall have effect in relation to the procedure for applications to the body.
5. Examples of circumstances which may be regarded as exceptional circumstances requiring the admission of a child to a particular school are–
(a) circumstances where in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner the child has been subjected to sexual abuse;
(b) circumstances where a child is looked after by an authority (as defined in Article 25 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995)(2).
6. The following circumstances may not be regarded as exceptional circumstances requiring the admission of a child to a particular school–
(a) circumstances related wholly or mainly to the kind of education provided at that school;
(b) circumstances related to a child´s academic ability;
(c) circumstances related wholly or mainly to the availability of transport to that school.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Education on 26th January 2010
Dorothy Angus
A senior officer of the
Department of Education
Regulation 4
1. Each application shall be determined by a panel.
2. A panel shall not issue a direction for a child to be admitted to a specified school unless that school has refused to grant a request for that child to be so admitted.
3. An application shall be made by notice in writing to the body setting out the grounds in which it is made.
4. On receipt of an application to the body, a panel may require a parent to provide relevant documents within a specified time.
5. A panel shall give the parent an opportunity to make written representations or appear before it to make oral representations.
6. A panel shall give the Board of Governors an opportunity to make written representations or appear before it to make oral representations.
7. A panel may have regard to any views expressed by the child concerned.
8. A panel may request the parent, the Board of Governors and any other person to supply further information which appears to it to be relevant to the determination of the application.
9. The application for a direction shall be decided upon by simple majority of a panel.
10. The hearing of the application shall take place within a period of four weeks beginning with the date on which the application is sent to the body, or as soon as possible thereafter.
11. A panel shall issue its decision within a period of three weeks beginning with the final date of the hearing, or as soon as possible thereafter.
12. A panel shall sit in private unless the parent requests otherwise in writing.
13. Two or more panels may sit at the same time.
14. In this schedule–
"Board of Governors" means the Board of Governors of the grant aided secondary school specified in the application;
"parent" means the parent applying for a direction under Article 16A of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations establish the Exceptional Circumstances body and provide for panels to be selected from amongst its members.
Members of the body are appointed by the Department in accordance with Regulation 3. That regulation also provides for the length of the appointment, resignation and disqualification.
The function of the body is to decide whether there are exceptional circumstances requiring the admission of a child to a particular secondary school.
Regulation 5 sets out examples of circumstances which may be regarded as exceptional.
Regulation 6 sets out examples of circumstances which may not be regarded as exceptional.
The Schedule provides for the procedure in relation to applications to the body, and the conduct of hearings.
SI 1997/866 (NI5); Article 16A was inserted by Article 29 of SI 2006/1915 (NIII) Back [1]