During the admissions procedure punctual applications will be considered before late applications are considered.
Year 1 Intake
The following criteria will be applied in the order set down, 1 to 3, by the Board of Governors of
Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School in selecting children for admission to Y1 in September 2025.
1 Children who have a sibling1, half-sibling, step-sibling in attendance at Ballycarrickmaddy Primary
School.
2 The eldest2 eligible child of the family1.
3 Children whose parents/guardians are employed in the school.
4 Children who live closest to the school, as the ‘crow flies’ from the centre of their home to the front gate of the school as measured by the online OSNI Map Shop “Linear Distance Measurement Tool” will be given priority.
See below for definitions of above terminology:
1 SIBLING/CHILD OF THE FAMILY
The phrase ‘child of the family’ is a well-established concept of family law. To provide a definition from Article
2(2) of the Domestic Proceedings (NI) Order 1980: ‘child of the family’ in relation to the parties to a marriage
or parties living together in the same household means:
– a child of both of them; and
– any other child who has been treated by both of those parties as a ‘child of their family’.
Thus this definition of ‘child of the family’ covers:
– a child born to a married couple;
– a child born to a co-habiting couple;
– a child of either of those people by a previous marriage or relationship;
– a child living with same sex partners whether there is a civil partnership under the Civil Partnership
Act 2004 or not;
– an adopted or fostered child;
– a situation where, for example, a cousin is being brought up with a family.
2 ELDEST CHILD
This criterion to be 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’. This wording covers only children and is also intended to
treat twins (or other multiples) as joint eldest.
Eldest child covers circumstances where a family has not, in the opinion of the Board of Governors, had the
opportunity to have an elder child already and currently enrolled e.g. cases where a child is more than 7 years
younger than their next eldest sibling; cases where the eldest sibling is not eligible to attend mainstream
school (for example they may attend a special school).
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.
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.
Waiting List Policy
Should a vacancy arise after 9 April 2025 all applications for Admission to Year 1 which were initially refused,
priority will be given to those children of parents who made application prior to the closing date before any
new or later applications. If a vacancy is still available, new applications, late applications and applications
where new information has been provided will be treated equally and the published criteria applied. This
waiting list will be in place until 31st August 2025.
The school will contact you in writing if your child gains a place in the school by this method.
Your child’s name will be automatically added to the list. Please contact the school if you wish for your child’s
name to be removed from the list.
The school is situated in a rural setting approximately 4 miles north-west of Lisburn. It draws on a wide area from Lisburn to Stoneyford, and across to Glenavy and Upper Ballinderry. The pupils are mainly from a rural background. The present enrolment is approximately 182 pupils.
In addition to the Principal the school staff comprises of a Vice Principal, 4 full-time assistant teachers, Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and 4 part-time teachers. Their wide range of experience and expertise is put to effective use by subject co-ordinators and the Senior Leadership Team who contribute to the efficient running of the school. The Special Needs co- ordinator provides support for children who need learning support. Learning support assistants, secretarial staff, caretaker, cleaner, lunchtime supervisory staff and school meals staff complete the team dedicated to the education and welfare of children entrusted to their care.
Ballycarrickmaddy’s Christian ethos of child centred education encourages optimum personal achievement for every child and the development of mutual respect. We aim to promote a caring, supportive and safe environment in which children feel secure, are valued and are encouraged in their learning, growth and social development.
The school has 7 fully equipped classrooms, integral toilets and cloakroom areas. Adjoining the classrooms are large resource areas. Other rooms include a multi-purpose assembly hall, computer suite, learning support accommodation, administrative rooms and servery. We are surrounded by landscaped gardens, an exciting playground and a large sports field. In March 2014 a soft area playground was installed and an Outdoor Classroom constructed.
Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School offers a wrap-around care facility which provides a breakfast club from 7:30am and full afternoon care from 2pm to 6:00pm. This also incorporates a waiting club from 2pm – 3pm to facilitate children whose siblings finish school at a later time. The facility is registered with South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust and the specialist staff employed are all highly qualified in the field of play, work and childcare.
At Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School we believe in the concept of ‘Lifelong Learning’ and the idea that both adults and children learn new things every day. Through our teaching we aim to equip children with the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to be able to make informed choices in their lives. Our Teaching, Learning and Assessment policy is at the heart of all we are doing and lays the foundation for the child’s whole school experience.
A teacher is employed in the school to teach P1 – P4 Spanish and A level students from Friends School in Lisburn teach Spanish from P5 – P7. Using ICT is integrated into learning in this school. We work with CCEA to complete the UICT Accreditation Scheme. Interactive White Boards enhance learning throughout the school. Our Computer provision is currently at 19 PC’s, 15 laptops and 56 ipads.
Educational visits form an integral part of the school life. Children have the opportunity to attend a class residential in their Primary 7 year. Class visits are arranged to venues such as W5, National Trust properties, Christmas Pantomime and Greenmount College. A wide range of extra- curricular and enrichment activities are offered. These include football, cricket, tennis, netball, hockey, athletics, swimming, knitting, guitar, speech & drama lessons, art, Spanish, environmental studies, Little Green Fingers, Good News Club and Cycling Proficiency. Our range of after school clubs is extended throughout the year with the help of outside agencies.
We employ specialist music teachers who teach violin, clarinet, flute, piano, singing and guitar. Our award winning choir and instrumental group perform at various musical events throughout the year both in school and in the wider community, including the Key Stage 1 Nativity Carol Service. We produce a major performance once a year.
We aim to establish a school community, in which children, teachers, parents and support staff enjoy a sense of belonging. We establish early parent-teacher-child relations through our induction programme and parent and family members really enjoy taking part in our Super Learning Days. Parents are always welcome and they are very supportive in attending school functions, open evenings and parental interviews. Throughout the year the Parent Teacher and Friends of Ballycarrickmaddy Association runs a number of events which are both social and raise important funds for the school. Parents are contacted regularly by email, and by using our text message service.
We raise money for different charities each year. These are always generously supported by parents and the local community.
The Board of Governors at Ballycarrickmaddy Primary takes a keen interest in all aspects of school life and is very supportive towards members of our school community.