Admisions
Learn about enrolling your child at Castletara National School, including available spaces, induction visits, our mentoring programme, and the support we provide to ensure every child feels welcome, settled, and confident.
Enrolment Information
Unfortunately, our 3 Autism classes are full for the 2025/2026 academic year.
We do have spaces available in all mainstream classes and all families are welcome to our school. Please complete pre-enrolment link below and then contact office@castletarans.ie to inform Ms. Brady the principal that you are interested in enrolling your child.
We will offer you a tour of the school and your child/ren will have a chance to meet their peers in a child friendly way before joining formally.
We have had experience of children moving schools in the middle of their primary school years and children immigrating from other countries. We are happy to say that all the children felt very welcome here, and they settled in very quickly making lots of friends and new memories.
Introduction to School
We believe it is important to create strong links with parents and children before the children formally start school in September. Therefore, we offer the children and their parents 4 induction visits across 4 Fridays in the Month of May. This has proven to be very successful as the children are eased into school life at Castletara N.S in a very friendly and fun way.
By the end of the 4 visits the children are much more familiar with their new school environment. They will also have had the opportunity to make new friends before they officially start in September and get to know their new teacher.
We also like to get to know our new parents and give them time to talk about their child over the 4 visits. Of course we know families are busy, so the 4 visits are not compulsory, parents can choose how many they want to access. The visits are very informal and friendly.
If as a parent you want to further discuss your child’s needs before starting school, you are welcome to make an appointment with the principal. We feel that the less anxious parents and children feel about the big start day, the easier it will be for all.
It is also a good idea to let us know if you have any concerns about your child’s emotional, social, behavioural, cognitive or physical development before starting school. We are happy to help and support you and your child in any way we can. The more information we know, the easier it will be to offer support and guidance.
Mentoring Programme
We operate a mentoring programme whereby the new 6th class are assigned to be mentors to the new infants throughout the school year. The first point of contact will be a card from the mentors in June before the infant children start school. The card will have a picture of the mentor and a nice little message. The mentors will then meet with the new infants in early September and play games with them and answer any questions they have about school.
Throughout the year the mentors will provide support to the infants through play, baking, art, aistear, reading programmes and more. The mentoring programme has proven to be a great success as we notice the 6th class developing their caring and nurturing sides and they also act as good role models for the young infants. The infants love that they have a big buddy in school and regularly seek them out on yard and look forward to the visits to their classroom.
Pre-Enrolment Form
Click below to complete a pre-enrolment form.
Enrollment
Find answers to common questions about the enrollment process.
To enroll your child, click here to complete a pre-enrolment form.
You will need to provide your child's birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of address.
Enrollment is open throughout the year, but we recommend submitting your application as early as possible to secure a spot.
Yes, we encourage parents to schedule a visit to our school to learn more about our facilities and programs.