Quick summary

Why sibling priority causes friction when it's undocumented

Most disputes about sibling priority don't come from families objecting to the principle itself, they come from families discovering, informally and after the fact, that a place they expected went to a sibling instead, with no clear policy they could have checked in advance. The fix isn't necessarily changing the policy; it's writing it down and making it visible before anyone joins the list.

Setting the policy out clearly

A written sibling priority policy should say, in plain terms, whether siblings of currently enrolled children get priority, whether that priority is automatic or capped, and how it interacts with other priority categories a service might use, for example, staff children, or children who've been on the list longest. The clearer this is upfront, the fewer awkward conversations happen later.

Consider capping sibling-priority places

An uncapped sibling priority policy can, over time, mean a service's places are effectively pre-allocated to existing families, leaving very little room for new enquiries, which isn't necessarily the intention, but can happen gradually without anyone deciding it deliberately. Setting a cap, even a generous one, on how many places per intake or per room can be filled via sibling priority keeps the policy intentional rather than accidental.

What else the waiting list policy should cover

Keeping a written record of how the waiting list is being applied, not just the policy itself, but a log of decisions, is useful if a family ever queries why they weren't offered a place. It also makes the policy far easier to apply consistently as staff turn over.

How Tot Tracker helps

Tot Tracker's waiting list feature includes sibling priority flagging, so priority is applied consistently against a documented policy rather than tracked informally across spreadsheets or memory.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, sibling priority is common and generally accepted practice in Irish childcare services, provided it's applied consistently and set out clearly in a written policy that's available to all families, not applied informally case by case.
Many services cap how many places in a given room or intake can be filled via sibling priority, so the policy doesn't unintentionally close off most or all places to families without an existing connection to the service.
A clear statement of how the list is ordered, what other priority categories exist (if any), how families are notified of an offer, how long they have to respond, and what happens if a place is declined.
In writing, before a family joins the waiting list, ideally as part of the same document that explains the wider waiting list policy, so expectations are set from the very first enquiry.