Michael O’Farrell – Investigations Editor
RETURNING more than half a million primary students to education in September will be the most challenging task ever undertaken in Ireland’s primary sector, school principals have warned.
‘This is going to be a very complex and challenging process – probably the most challenging project undertaken in primary schools in the history of the State,’ Páiric Clerkin, the chief executive of the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
In addition to the 559,378 primary school pupils due to return in September, a further 371,455 post-primary students will also return to school.
Those 930,833 students will almost certainly represent the largest single movement of people in Ireland since lockdown.
Asked about the timing of Ireland’s return to school, a spokesman for the Department of Education said the decision was ‘underpinned by public health advice’.
In recent weeks some stakeholders – including the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) and the IPPN – have made submissions to the Department of Education outlining their concerns.
The many complex problems posed in these submissions makes the fraught question of awarding marks to Leaving Cert students seem like a trivial matter.
For example, no one knows if teachers will all be tested before returning to work – or what contact tracing arrangements may be imposed on schools.
The INTO submission reads: ‘Because teachers will be at greater risk of infection on return to school, we seek priority access to testing for teachers as part of a community testing programme.’ Insurance – the problem that scuppered Government childcare plans for essential workers last week – will be another hurdle.
‘There will have to be engagement with the school insurance companies to ensure they’re happy with the plan that’s put in place,’ said IPPN chief Mr Clerkin.
No one knows how teachers and pupils with underlying conditions will be catered for – and how any resulting staff shortages will be made up.
The same concerns apply to those teachers who are pregnant, those who are older, those living with vulnerable people and those who cannot find childcare.
Unions are demanding that any such teachers on paid leave will not lose any portion of their annual leave or salary for periods they are prevented from working.
A solution will also have to be found to prevent substitute teachers from circulating through many different schools, potentially spreading the virus and/or exposing themselves to greater risk.
The IPPN has suggested that primary school classrooms will only be able to cater for one-third of the normal amount of pupils – raising questions about how teachers can teach in school and provide remote schooling for those at home for space reasons.
A gradual phasing of a return to school, staggered days or weeks for groups of pupils, extended working weeks and fast-tracked planning for Portakabins to increase classroom space are all options on the table.
THERE are not yet any cleaning guidelines for schools but the implications and costs will be significant. At a bare minimum, every class change will require desks and common surfaces to be sterilised.
And what of practical subjects such as home economics, woodwork and music where equipment is shared? There are obvious implications too for PE, school sports, Christmas concerts and musicals, while boarding schools pose a unique set of challenges.
School outings and school tours requiring transport would need twice as many buses if they are to proceed under social distancing rules. The same issues arise for the school transport scheme which takes 135,000 students to school each day.
Many transition-year activities may now be unviable or far more costly than envisaged.
Special needs pupils pose additional challenges – as do disadvantaged students who may have been left behind during recent remote schooling.
There is concern, too, about a likely increase in school dropouts – a trend Unesco has warned is common when education is interrupted by a serious crisis.
Teachers have told the MoS they feared that this was a particular risk for current fifthyear students who have missed significant schooling and now face a Leaving Certificate year full of uncertainty.
Teachers are also anxious that IT systems for the provision of remote teaching be streamlined and resourced so students can be supported in the event of a second wave or while alternating between home and school for space reasons.
Then there’s the question of whether worried parents will refuse to send their children to school in September. This is expected to be a particular concern for incoming junior infants whose parents may hold them back a year rather than expose them to the risks associated with Covid-19 in schools.
But even with the best of guidance, there are likely to be schools that local boards of management deem too risky to open.
‘If after all appropriate actions have been taken, including having sought advice from the Health and Safety Authority/ Department of Education, the school cannot provide a safe environment, then the school must remain closed,’ reads the INTO submission.
Most stakeholders agree on several key points. These include the need for clear centralised guidance from Government, additional funding to cover extra costs, the provision of PPE to schools, the postponement of inspections and training for staff in advance of reopening.
All sides have pledged to work together to achieve a September reopening. ‘We’re very, very focused on ensuring that this will be ready for September,’ said Mr Clerkin.
‘We need a draft plan in place very early in June so that we can start looking at the implementation and planning,’ he said.
