School Policy Review Calendar for Irish Schools (2026/27)
A policy review calendar is a month-by-month plan that maps each policy’s review, consultation, Board ratification and website publication onto the school year and Board of Management meetings. Plan two or three substantive policies per meeting, while prioritising fixed deadlines and allowing time for community input and advance reading.
Download the two-page PDF · Add to calendar (.ics)
Dates that are fixed this year
2026 priority: adopt the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025 at your last Board meeting before 31 December 2026.
Adoption countdown: 90 days until 31 December 2026 (as of 2026-10-02). Adoption is due at your last Board meeting before that date; your meeting deadline may be sooner.
- Every Board meeting: The principal presents a Child Protection Oversight Report under the procedures the school has adopted. Child Protection Procedures, chapter 12
- Last Board meeting before 31 December 2026: Formally adopt the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025 and review the safeguarding documents using the appropriate templates. Child Protection Procedures 2025 / Circular 0041/2025
- Each calendar year: Review the Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment; complete the required review communications to the patron, personnel, parents association and parents/carers. Child Protection FAQ, June 2026, pp. 5-7
- Each calendar year: Review the Bí Cineálta policy and implementation with the school community using Appendix E; notify the community afterwards. Bí Cineálta, sections 4 and 7.2, Appendix E
- Before admissions open: Publish the annual admission notice on the school website at least one week before opening. Applications for the following school year cannot start before 1 October. Admissions FAQ, pp. 1 and 4
- School year 2026/27: Use Circular 0018/2026 for standard Christmas, Easter and mid-term breaks. Confirm local start/end dates and contingency arrangements. Department school holiday dates / Circular 0018/2026
Month-by-month calendar
This is an example five-meeting cycle, not a set of booked meetings. Primary-school Boards must meet at least once per term and at least five times in a school year (Governance Manual 2023-2027, s.13.1, section 13.1). Add meetings if work requires them. Aim for two or three substantive policy decisions per meeting.
| Period | Board meeting focus | Policies to review | Consultation to start or close | Ratify at this meeting | Publish or update on website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep/Oct 2026 | Set plan; check 2026 annual reviews and admissions | Attendance strategy; Bí Cineálta; Admissions | Close Bí Cineálta input; start safeguarding adoption review | Bí Cineálta review; attendance changes; admission notice | Bí Cineálta review notice; admissions notice before opening |
| Nov/Dec 2026 | Adopt 2025 procedures at last Board meeting before 31 December | Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment; Safety Statement | Close safeguarding consultation; start spring Code of Behaviour/RSE input | Child Protection Procedures 2025 and reviewed safeguarding documents; Safety Statement | Safeguarding statement, risk assessment and review notification |
| Jan/Feb 2027 | Approve consulted spring policies; check admissions | Code of Behaviour; RSE; Data Protection | Close Code of Behaviour/RSE input; start internet safety/inclusion input | Code of Behaviour; RSE; data protection changes | Current code/RSE; updated privacy information where needed |
| Mar/Apr 2027 | Review mid-cycle risks before summer | Acceptable Use / Internet Safety; Special Education / Inclusion; Critical Incident | Close internet safety/inclusion input; start medication and supervision checks | Completed internet safety, inclusion and critical incident changes | Approved public versions; keep sensitive response detail internal |
| May/Jun 2027 | Approve prepared summer policies; set next year owners | Administration of Medication; Supervision; Parental complaints | Close summer input; schedule Dignity at Work if risk requires | Medication; supervision; complaints updates after consultation | Relevant public policies; schedule 2027 annual reviews before year-end |
The annual safeguarding and Bí Cineálta reviews are calendar-year obligations. Check whether the 2026 reviews are complete; a January 2027 review cannot replace a missed 2026 review. The January/February meeting checks safeguarding follow-up and admissions rather than postponing the 2026 review. Plan the 2027 annual reviews before the end of that calendar year. Dignity at Work stays in the risk-based register and may need an extra meeting. Use Circular 0018/2026 to place autumn, spring and summer boundaries around standard breaks; confirm local dates rather than treating these windows as closure dates.
Policy-by-policy schedule (primary schools)
“Required” identifies an explicit policy, statement or strategy duty in the linked source. It does not make a school-set review interval a statutory annual rule. “Recommended (risk-based)” describes this planning schedule; separate curriculum, employment, equality and data-protection duties still apply. Website recommendations are distinguished from required publication or circulation.
| Policy | Review cycle | Required or recommended | Consultation needed | Board ratification | Publish on website | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment | Each calendar year; on adoption and material change | Required | Personnel, parents/carers and pupils | Board adopts and records review | Statement, risk assessment and review notice; or on request if no website | Child Protection FAQ, June 2026, pp. 5-7 |
| Bí Cineálta (anti-bullying) policy | Each calendar year; sooner if warranted | Required | Whole school community; Appendix E | Board reviews policy and implementation | Policy, pupil-friendly version and annual review notification | Bí Cineálta, sections 4 and 7.2, Appendix E |
| Code of Behaviour | School-set cycle; sooner if needed | Required (policy); risk-based review cycle | Principal, teachers, parents and welfare officer | Board prepares/adopts after consultation | Give to parents before registration; website recommended | Education (Welfare) Act 2000, s.23 |
| Admissions Policy and annual admission notice | Notice annually; policy when amended | Required | Policy: staff and parents; patron approval | Board; patron approval for policy | Policy and annual notice; notice at least 1 week before opening | Admissions FAQ, pp. 1 and 4 |
| Data Protection | Annual assurance check; update for processing changes | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff; data protection advice | Board approval recommended | Privacy information as required; policy website optional | GDPR, articles 5, 24 and 32 |
| Safety Statement | Annual check per HSA; review when circumstances change | Required (statement); HSA annual check | Staff and safety representatives | Board/ETB authorises | Make available to staff; website optional | HSA Safety Statement checklist |
| Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) | School-set cycle; curriculum or guidance change | Recommended (risk-based) | Parents and teachers; pupils as appropriate | School authorities approve | Circulate to parents and teachers; website recommended | PDST RSE policy guidelines, steps 4-6 |
| Attendance strategy | Annual review/update recommended by Tusla; ongoing monitoring | Required (strategy); annual review in Tusla guidance | Principal, staff, parents and welfare officer | Board signs off; submit to Tusla and resubmit changes | Communicate strategy; website recommended | Tusla attendance strategy guidelines |
| Acceptable Use / Internet Safety | Annual risk check; technology changes | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff, parents and pupils | Board approval recommended | Website recommended; communicate user rules | Webwise acceptable use policy guidance |
| Critical Incident | Annual readiness check; after an incident | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff; relevant support services | Board approval recommended | Share suitable contact information; keep sensitive detail internal | NEPS critical incident resources |
| Administration of Medication | Annual operational check; pupil needs change | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff and relevant parents; clinical advice | Board approval recommended | Website optional; keep pupil plans private | Governance Manual 2023-2027, s.13.1 |
| Supervision | Annual operational check; staffing or layout change | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff; relevant pupil and parent input | Board approval recommended | Website optional; circulate arrangements | HSA Safety Statement checklist |
| Special Education / Inclusion | Annual operational check; provision changes | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff, parents and pupils as appropriate | Board approval recommended | Website recommended; keep pupil records private | Department special education provision |
| Parental complaints | School-set cycle; patron procedure changes | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff, parents and patron guidance | Board approval recommended | Website recommended; make procedure accessible | Governance Manual 2023-2027, s.13.1 |
| Dignity at Work | School-set cycle; incident or guidance changes | Recommended (risk-based) | Staff and representatives | Board approval recommended | Staff access; website optional | Governance Manual 2023-2027, s.13.1 |
The HSA checklist asks whether the Safety Statement was reviewed in the last year. Use an annual check as HSA guidance, and review whenever significant circumstances change or the assessment is no longer valid; this is not a claim of a universal statutory annual policy-review interval (Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, s.20). RSE consultation follows the PDST partnership guidance; this risk-based review cycle is not a new legal deadline.
How to adapt this calendar to your Board's dates
- Enter your confirmed meeting dates and your school's admissions opening date. Check the 2026 annual reviews now.
- Reserve the last meeting before 31 December 2026 for adoption if it has not already happened; use current templates and confirm training arrangements.
- Work backwards from each ratification date to set consultation start and close dates. Allow several weeks as a planning choice, adjusted to the policy.
- Name the policy owner and give Board members papers in advance so consultation feedback and changes can be read before the decision.
- After each meeting, record the version, decision, minute reference and next review; publish or communicate approved documents as required.
- Move the example calendar reminders to your actual dates. Add 2027 calendar-year reviews and any incident, guidance or risk-driven updates that need an extra meeting.
Related planning guides
- How often should Irish school policies be reviewed? explains frequency.
- Reduce last-minute policy reviews explains the workflow.
- School policy review checklist and policy tracker fields help prepare the register.
- Safeguarding annual review checklist and anti-bullying annual review checklist support the annual work.
- School policy publication and Department circulars explain follow-up.
Track this calendar in Edvance: manage review dates, owners and approval evidence with school-led decisions.
Downloads
Download the two-page PDF · Add to calendar (.ics)
The .ics uses two-month all-day meeting windows. It also includes a 3 December adoption reminder, 2026 and 2027 annual-review planning reminders, and an example 24 September admission-notice reminder for a 1 October opening. These reminder dates are planning choices; change them for your own meetings and admissions process. Each window ends on an exclusive end date. No email is required.
Planning guide. Check requirements against current Department guidance and your patron's guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should Irish schools review their policies?
Plan reviews around Board meetings, consultation time and policy-specific requirements. Use two or three substantive policies per meeting as a planning rule of thumb. Required dates take priority; incidents, changed circumstances or new guidance may require an earlier review.
Which school policies must be reviewed every year in Ireland?
The Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment and the Bí Cineálta policy and implementation must be reviewed each calendar year. The annual admission notice is published annually. Other cycles depend on the source and school context; the HSA checklist asks whether the Safety Statement was reviewed in the last year.
When must boards adopt the Child Protection Procedures 2025?
Circular 0041/2025 requires adoption no later than the Board’s last meeting before 31 December 2026. Schools may adopt earlier. Plan the adoption review, consultation, current safeguarding templates and required communications before that meeting.
Which policies need Board of Management ratification?
Safeguarding and Bí Cineálta procedures place review and adoption responsibilities on the Board. The Code of Behaviour is prepared by the Board after statutory consultation. Admissions policies require Board and patron approval. For other policies, confirm the approval route in official and patron guidance and record the agreed decision.