School Website Compliance for Irish Schools: What to Publish

A school website is often the first place a family looks for essential information. It is also a useful public record of safeguarding, admissions and governance arrangements. A regular school website compliance Ireland review helps the principal and Board of Management (BOM) identify an out-of-date document, an unclear contact route or a possible publication gap.

Requirements develop through legislation, Department of Education circulars and school-specific direction from the patron or trust body. Use this guide as a governance self-check, then confirm the current requirement that applies to the school. Keep a dated evidence record of the pages and documents reviewed.

Put the Child Safeguarding Statement first

The Child Safeguarding Statement (CSS) should be prominent and easy to find. It should include the current risk assessment and reflect the school's arrangements under the Children First Act 2015 and Department of Education procedures. The webpage should also make the DLP contact route clear and explain how a concern can be raised.

Do not hide the CSS inside a large policy library. Link to it from a safeguarding page and consider a direct route from the main navigation. The CSS, the risk assessment and the named DLP should agree with the school's current records; check the Deputy DLP (DDLP) arrangements are also accurate where applicable.

The BOM should retain the annual review record and the required notification of that review. Publish the appropriate notice on the website when required. A safeguarding subgroup or designated BOM member can test the public page, record any issue and report back on the completion of actions.

Keep admissions information complete and timely

The school's admission policy should be published on its website after the approval process with the patron is complete. It should be easy to locate alongside the application form or a clear explanation of how to obtain one. Check that the policy reflects the school's current intake arrangements and any relevant Department of Education circulars.

Every school should publish an Annual Admission Notice each year. The notice needs key dates and information for applicants, and it must be published at least one week before the admissions process begins. Do not reuse last year's notice without checking the dates, capacity and application route.

Create a simple annual reminder for the principal, school secretary and BOM. The reminder should cover the policy, the Annual Admission Notice, application form, web link check and approval record. This creates a useful audit trail if an applicant or patron later needs to see how the process was communicated.

Explain the school's governance and contact routes

Families should be able to identify the school's main contact details, the principal and the route for general queries. Add the name of the chairperson and an appropriate BOM contact route where this can be shared safely. Make the patron or trust body relationship clear, particularly where families need to understand the school's ethos or governance structure.

A short "About our school" page can link to the school's mission, patron information, policies and key contacts. It does not need to publish personal contact details for every BOM member. The goal is a clear route for questions and a public description of the school's governance arrangements.

Review the page after a change of principal, chairperson, patron or school secretary. Keep an internal record of who approved the update and when it went live. That version history supports a stronger governance record and avoids a website retaining a former office-holder's details.

Publish policies and a clear complaints route

Build a policy library that separates current documents from archived versions. The complaints procedure should be easy to find and explain the correct local process. It should reflect the school sector, patron or ETB arrangements, rather than copying a procedure intended for a different setting.

Include relevant policies that families regularly need, such as the code of behaviour, anti-bullying policy, data protection information, acceptable-use or online safety policy, and relevant special education information. This is not a fixed substitute for current Department of Education requirements. Review policy publication against the school's own obligations and current circulars each year.

Use consistent document titles and include an approval or review date where appropriate. A policy that is current but unnamed or undated can be difficult for visitors to trust. The common school policy publication gaps guide can help the BOM shape a simple annual review list.

Share planning, SSE and inclusion information

Consider which school planning and School Self-Evaluation (SSE) information should be public. A short, family-friendly update can explain the school's improvement priorities and progress without exposing sensitive internal evaluation. Keep the detailed evidence and BOM discussion records within the school's governance files.

Where the school participates in DEIS, make the relevant public plan or summary easy to locate and keep it current. Explain contact routes for support services carefully and only publish information that is appropriate for a public audience. The same approach applies to accessibility information: state how a visitor can request information in an accessible format and who will respond.

Check that the website does not leave behind old plans that conflict with current priorities. An archive can be helpful if it is labelled clearly. The evidence record should show what was reviewed, what changed and who confirmed the public version.

Use an annual BOM review to keep pages current

Schedule a website review at least once a year, with a short check before the admissions period and after major policy or role changes. Assign page owners: safeguarding to the DLP, admissions to the principal and school secretary, policies to the relevant lead, and governance pages to the chairperson or a nominated BOM member. One person should coordinate the overall record.

The review record can be simple: page or document, live link, version date, owner, status, evidence and next action. Bring a brief summary to the BOM, including any overdue items or decisions needed. Inspectors may ask whether key governance and safeguarding documents are publicly accessible during a Whole School Evaluation (WSE), so retain the report, evidence and BOM minute.

Connect the timetable to an Irish school governance calendar and keep the results in a governance evidence log. This makes the website part of a wider review cycle rather than a once-a-year rush.

Edvance helps Boards of Management track governance records, evidence completion, and stay WSE-ready throughout the year. Explore Edvance for Irish schools.