​​​​​​Key Dates:

Finalised Criteria published on EA Website : Tuesday 12th December 2023

Online Portal opens : Tuesday 9th January 2024 (12 noon)

Online Portal closes : Friday 26th January 2024 (12 noon)

Notification of places for Nursery & Primary 1 : Thursday 25th April 2024

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PRIMARY 1 / NURSERY ADMISSION IN SEPTEMBER 2024

If your child is starting pre-school or primary school in September 2024, you can apply online between 12.00 noon on Tuesday 9th January 2024 and 12.00 noon on Friday 26th January. Please note that places are not allocated on a first come, first served basis and applications will only be considered after the closing date. Further information is available on the EA website under the Admissions section at - https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions

"For us there was only one school we wanted them to attend and that was Dundonald Primary.

Why you might ask?

Firstly, as a past pupil myself I wanted our girls to experience a warm, caring and supportive school environment were the children always come first.

Secondly, my wife is Mexican and DPS excels in welcoming and celebrating the cultural diversity of its pupils and their families.

Lastly, but certainly not least having read the schools last full inspection report, when they received  Very Good, we knew our girls would receive an exceptional level of education and their individual needs would be met, and their full potential reached."

G.Woods

Criteria for Admission to Primary One 2024

PRIMARY 1 ADMISSIONS CRITERIA FOR SEPTEMBER 2024 

Year 1 Intake

Priority will be given to children who will have attained compulsory school age at the time of their proposed admission, including those children whose parents deferred their admission to primary school in September 2023 as defined by the new School Age (NI) Act (both groups to be treated equally).

Priority will be given to children resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission will be selected for admission to the school before any child not so resident.

In selecting children for admission, children resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission will be selected for admission to the school before any child not so resident.

The admissions criteria will be applied in the following order to children of compulsory school age.

1. Preference will be given to those children with a brother /sister * currently in attendance at Dundonald Primary. Please list name(s) and current class(es)
2. Preference will be given to children who are enrolled during the 2023/24 year at Dundonald Primary School Nursery Unit.
3. Preference will be given to children who are the eldest** child in the family.

*includes half-brother/sister, stepbrother/sister, foster brother/sister

*eldest child is defined as “children who, at the date of their application, are the eldest child of the family to be eligible to apply for admission to the school”

Sub Criteria

In the event of over-subscription in any of the above sub-criteria preference will be given, in the order set down, to children on the following basis:

1. Dundonald Primary School listed as first preference
2. Preference will be given to the child who lives closest to the main entrance of the school.

Distances will be measured electronically in a straight line from the child’s home address to the front door of the school using Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland co-ordinates.

When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on the application or provided directly to the school. Parents/Guardians should therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their child and relevant to the school’s admissions criteria is stated on the application or provided directly to the first preference school.  Examples of such information include whether the child has brothers/sisters attending the school or, is the eldest child in the family.

Criteria for admission to Nursery 2024

Nursery Admissions Criteria for September 2024 

Admissions Criteria

A timetable of pre-school admissions procedures setting out the dates by which an application is to be submitted is available at www.eani.org.uk/admissions under 'Pre-School Admissions'.  During the admissions procedure when applying the criteria punctual applications will be considered before late applications are considered.

The Board of Governors have determined that in the event of the number of applicants exceeding 52, the following criteria will be applied in the order set down to select children for the places available.

When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on the application form. Parents should therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their child and relevant to the school’s admissions criteria is stated on the application.

As the nursery unit offers a morning or afternoon class, parents must indicate in the “Reasons for Preference” on the online application their preference ie. AM or PM session. There is no guarantee that the preferred session will be allocated.

Statutory Criteria

1. Children from socially disadvantaged circumstances in their final pre-school year who were born:

• on or between 2 July 2020 and 1 July 2021 (inclusive) and whose parents have not exercised their right to defer their child’s entry to primary school; or, 
• on or between 1 April 2020 and 1 July 2020 (inclusive) or were due to be born on or between those dates but were born earlier; and,
•             have not attended or are not currently attending a funded pre-school setting under the Pre-School                Education Programme as a target aged child; and,
•             that child’s parent has completed a request to defer their child starting P1 until September 2025.

Note: Children from ‘socially disadvantaged circumstances’ means a child whose parent has an entitlement to (i) Income Support, or (ii) Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or (iii) Income related Employment and Support Allowance, or (iv) Universal Credit. When parents apply for places for their child on this basis they must provide Benefit Verification to confirm that they have an entitlement. The application procedure for Pre-School will outline how Benefit Verification can be submitted.

2. Children not from socially disadvantaged circumstances (as defined above) who are in their final pre-school year (as defined by Criterion 1).

Sub Criteria - In the event that the school is oversubscribed in criteria 1-2 preference shall be given in the order set out below:

a) Children with an older brother/sister* currently enrolled at Dundonald Primary School or Dundonald Nursery Unit.  Please list name(s) and current class(es).

b) Children who are the eldest* child in the family.

*includes half-brother/sister, stepbrother/sister, foster brother/sister

*eldest child is defined as “children who, at the date of their application, are the eldest child of the family to be eligible to apply for admission to the school”

Supplementary Criteria

In the event of oversubscription in any of the above sub-criteria preference will be given, in the order set down, to children on the following basis:

1. Dundonald Nursery Unit listed as first preference
2. Preference will be given to the child who lives closest to the main entrance of the school. Distances will be measured in a straight line from the child’s home address to the front door of the school using Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

Non-statutory criteria 

Note: Appliations falling under Criterion 3 are processed only during Stage 2 of the admissions process, after final pre-school year (Statutory 1 and 2) applications.

3. Children who were born:

• on or between 1 April 2020 - 1 July 2020 (inclusive), or were due to be born on or between those dates but were born earlier; and have attended or are currently attending a funded pre-school setting under the Pre-School Education Programme as a target aged (not penultimate aged) child; and that child's parent has completed a request to defer their child starting P1, or
• on or between 2 July 2021 and 1 July 2022 (inclusive); or,
• on or between 1 April 2021and 1 July 2021 (inclusive) or were due to be bron on or between those dates but were born earlier; and that child's parent has completed a request to defer their child starting P1 until September 2025.

Tie Breaker - Non Statutory Criterion 3

Children within criterion 3 will be selected in Chronological Order of Age - eldest child first.  Where two or more children have the same date of birth, preference will be given to the child who lives closest to the front gate of the school.  Distances will be measured in a straight line from the child's home address to the front door of the school using Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.  

When considering which children should be selected for admission, the Board of Governors will only take into account information which is detailed on, or provided with the application form.  Parents should therefore ensure that all information pertaining to their child and relevant to the school's admissions criteria is stated on the application form or provided with it.  For example, whether the child has brothers or sisters attending the school/is the eldest or only child in the family.

Address Verification - if applying in January these documents must be submitted by 4pm on 31 January 2024.

Applicants should note that information contained within an application qualifies it for admission, then that address will be verified.  To enable the Board of Governors to verify addresses, all applicants should provide any two of the three following documents with their application:

- a bank or building society statement which shows the address at which the child is resident;

- a utility bill (for instance, electricity, gas, Television License, telephone) which shows the address at which the child is resident;

- a letter awarding Child Benefit to the child or another letter relating to this benefit.

This is in addition to the standard requirement to provide a Birth Certificate in order to demonstrate whether or not a child is of the age stated.

Applications after 1 September 2024 

Criteria as above.

Duty to Verify

The Board of Governors reserves the right to require such supplementary evidence as it may determine to support or verify information on any application.

If the requested evidence is not provided to the Board of Governors by the deadline given, this will result in the withdrawal of an offer of a place.  Similarly, if information is supplied which appears to be false or misleading in any material way, the offer of a place will be withdrawn.

Click on the following link to get further information on the online application process - https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions

Criteria for admission P2-P7

Children can be admitted into these classes only if the total enrolment number has not been reached and if the number of each year group has not exceeded the Department of Education guidelines on permitted class sizes.

The criteria applicable for admission into Y2-Y7 classes will be in line with P1 criteria.