The Central School of English requires all students to attend their classes, arrive on time, and not leave the class until the class is finished.
This is out of respect for your teacher/s and your classmates and to ensure you make satisfactory progress on your course.
If you have been granted immigration permission to study in Ireland (you are a non-EU/EEA students on our Academic Year Programme), satisfactory attendance is a condition of your immigration permission.
If you do not attend your classes, you may ultimately lose your permission to stay in Ireland.
Note: The Central School of English is obliged to inform GNIB (Garda National Immigration Bureau) and ISD (Immigration Service Delivery) if the attendance of a student who has been granted immigration permission to study in Ireland falls below certain levels.
What is unsatisfactory attendance?
Unsatisfactory attendance is defined as when your attendance rate falls below a minimum rate of 85%.
If your attendance falls below this requirement, disciplinary action will be taken, which may result in your having your enrolment at the school terminated, which will, in turn, put your permission to stay in Ireland at risk.
Opportunities will be given for you to improve your attendance rate in the manner described below; but it should be noted that if any of the following circumstances arise, unsatisfactory attendance will be immediately reported to GNIB/ISD:
Note: It is not possible to ‘make up’ attendance by attending additional classes outside your scheduled hours or after the end of your course.
When are warnings issued?
The School Manager, Nikola Byrtusova, is the member of staff responsible for ensuring attendance records are kept.
Every Friday, she issues a report to the Director of Studies showing any students whose attendance has fallen below 85%.
For any such students, The Director of Studies, Mark Ledsome, will initiate disciplinary measures in the following manner:
Written warnings will be communicated to you by text or email and a letter will be sent to the address we have on file for you.
When a student who has been granted immigration permission to study in Ireland is expelled, notification of the expulsion will be sent to the GNIB and (ISD) Immigration Service Delivery.
In such cases, your attendance record and/or expulsion may also, in some circumstances, be communicated to your agent, if you have employed one, or the embassy of your country of origin.
Can I appeal?
Students may appeal any stage of this procedure, including expulsion, by contacting Nikola – in person at reception or by email.
Any appeal must be made within 5 working days of the warning being issued to you.
You should send or bring with you any documentation that you feel justifies your absence or proves extenuating circumstances. (Possible extenuating circumstances are outlined below.)
Appeals will be considered at a meeting between the School Manager and the Director of Studies. You will be offered a chance to meet in person with these members of staff to explain your circumstances. You can bring a friend to this meeting.
After this meeting, you will be informed, in writing, of management’s decision on your case.
The result of your appeal will be communicated to you within 5 working days of this meeting.
If you do not accept this decision, the matter will be referred to the Director of the school, who will make a final decision on the matter.
Legitimate reasons for absence from lessons
We understand that sometimes, students have problems and are unable to attend class.
There are certain legitimate reasons for absence, including, but not limited to, illness, serious illness of a family member/partner, or death of a close relative.
A requirement to attend a legal proceeding (a court attendance) will also be considered a legitimate reason for absence but a meeting with the PPS office, a doctor’s appointment etc, will not – as these can be arranged outside of your class time.
Requesting absence due to Illness
If you are ill, we understand that you can’t come to class. On the first day you are ill, you must email reception at [email protected] If you do not have access to email, you may text our emergency phone on 086 178 1687 to inform us that you are ill and that you can’t come to school.
If you are ill for more than 2 days, you must provide a doctor’s certificate to prove the reason for your absence. In this situation, your attendance will not be affected.
Requesting absence due to serious illness of a family member
In the case of serious illness of a close family member (mother, father, brother, or sister), the following procedure must be followed:
Email the school reception ([email protected]) If you are unable to access email, you may text the emergency phone number 086 178 1687. you can also speak to the School Manager directly in the school.
You must provide some evidence of the family member’s illness
The School Manager will take the situation into consideration and respond to your request as soon as possible, depending on the nature and seriousness of the illness.
Please note that requests must be made by the student in question and not by a third party. Requests made to staff members other than the School Manager will not be considered.
Asking to ‘freeze’ your course
If it is necessary for you to return home due to the illness of a family member, the following procedure must be followed:
Requesting absence due to the death of a close family member
In the event of the death of a close family member, we understand that you will not be able to attend school.
You should email reception ([email protected]) or text the emergency phone on 086 1781 687 to inform us of your bereavement and that you can’t come to school.
In the case of an immediate family member’s death (a spouse, parent, child, a person in a relationship of domestic dependency including same-sex partners, brother or sister, a person who acted in loco parentis or was a guardian) 3 days’ bereavement leave will be allowed.
In the event of an extended family member’s death (a grandparent, parent-in-law, spouse-inlaw) 1 day’s leave will be allowed.
If you do not provide a legitimate reason for your absence and evidence of the reason for your absence, the disciplinary procedures for unauthorized absence from class, described above, will be followed.
Also, please note: