Teachers ‘too scared to go back to school’
Principals ‘left to deal with confusing advice’ just days before pupils return
TEACHERS are “frightened” about returning to school next week in the face of “insufficient guidance and support” from Stormont, a primary school principal has said.
Dr Graham Gault said school leaders still have serious questions over the official guidance they’ve been given over virus safety.
“It’s totally insufficient, contradictory, confusing and nothing more than a series of open-ended recommendations with a ‘do what you can and let’s hope for the best’ attitude,” he said.
“There is a genuine fear in the profession that this guidance may not be achievable in some schools.”
A PRIMARY school principal has said he and his colleagues are “frightened” as they battle to bring pupils back to classrooms next week in the face of “insufficient guidance and support” from Stormont ministers.
Dr Graham Gault said school leaders still have “serious questions” about the appropriateness of the updated guidance on how they should plan for the new school day, issued last week by Education Minister Peter Weir.
He said concerns are growing in light of changes in the reproductive rate of Covid-19 in recent weeks and the potential for new restrictions, due to be discussed by the Executive today.
“We’ve been trying to stay positive about how excited we are in terms getting students back in the classroom for the first time since March next week and give our support to the Stormont ministers to get this right,” Dr Gault told the Belfast Telegraph.
“But sadly the truth is the guidance is appalling and its sparsity has left an unacceptable additional workload on the shoulders of principals.
“It’s totally insufficient, contradictory, confusing and nothing more than a series of open-ended recommendations with a ‘do what you can and let’s hope for the best’-type attitude .
“There is a genuine fear in the profession that this guidance may not be achievable in some schools and it’s a level of angst that I’ve never seen before.
“Even the most experienced and robust principals say they are on their knees,” he added.
Dr Gault, who is also the vice-president of the National Association of Head Teachers (NI), is preparing for the return of 300 pupils and 27 staff at his own school, Maghaberry Primary.
The new school term begins next Monday for P7, Year 12 and Year 14 pupils and for vulnerable children across all year groups.
All other pupils will return to school the following week.
The return to school will be on a full-time basis of five days a week for all pupils, including those who attend special schools.
Revised from previous proposals set out in June, Mr Weir’s new guidance has used advice from Northern Ireland’s chief medical and scientific officers and the UK government’s advisory body Sage.
“There are deliberate ambiguities in the guidance which have been left for principals to deal with such as how does a teacher with a full-time classroom commitment provide learning for a child who is unable to attend school,” Dr Gault added.
“The guidance says this learning should be provided with a blended approach but this can’t happen if that teacher is in the classroom from 9-3 every day.
“We all understand that this has been a very difficult call for Minister Weir to make but with the guidance as it stands, parents are expecting principals to have all the answers.
“We have had a lot of support from our parents as they understand the plight that schools like ours find themselves in but there is anxiety too especially among those with vulnerable family members that this restart is carried out safely.
“An additional few weeks to help schools digest this guidance and go back to ministers and health chiefs to seek clarity on various matters would have made a difference,” he said.
Dr Gault will raise his concerns directly with officials when he appears before the Education Committee tomorrow.
He has expressed concern over the availability of substitute teachers if staff are required to self-isolate should they develop Covid-19 symptoms.
“This is a huge issue that will potentially close schools, particularly in terms of the cost implications and the fact is that we’re already going into this year with schools in financial crisis.
“Some schools have said that their bill for substitute teachers could be £8,000 a month or in some cases £100,000 for the year — funds that they don’t have.”
Dr Gault has called on Stormont ministers to offer reassurance and show leadership.
“What is their plan to support me as a principal in delivering this restart because in my view
there isn’t one. Unlike our colleagues in the Republic, we haven’t had an Executive that has really got behind our profession to support us in terms of the restart so every principal is just going to have to do their best.
“I don’t have a helpline or someone I can phone with questions so I’m just going to be left with this guidance and to be honest I’m frightened.”
Mr Weir told his Stormont scrutiny committee earlier this week that bringing children back to school full time is a priority across the Executive table. He has said that the guidance “will continue to reflect public health advice” and that he will keep all medical and scientific developments “under review”.
“I understand the need for schools to reopen for the economy and wider society to function but we also need to see more being done to ensure the safety of staff and pupils.
“Being content with this guidance isn’t good enough when we are talking about thousands of people in very small rooms and teachers feeling scared,” Dr Gault said.