‘Normal school’ is still a long way off
Changes will still be in place even in September
SCHOOLS will not return to normality in September even if social distancing rules are eased, the Minister for Education Joe McHugh has said.
Mr McHugh admitted yesterday that the capacity of schools to accommodate pupils will be lower ‘even with the one- or two-metre rule’.
‘We have to look at all the evidence that health officials are looking at, including what international countries are doing. My ambition is bring back as many students as we can back as possible… We can’t put the education of children on hold,’ Mr McHugh told RTÉ’s Today with Sarah McInerney
Secondary students will have to get used to a mix of classroom and online lessons when schools reopen, but it’s not clear what the adapted classrooms will actually look like. ‘We are waiting to see what sort of blended education system we are going to have,’ added Mr McHugh.
The minister said he is hoping that a model of measures will be drawn up within the next two weeks. Asked why countries such as Denmark were able to reopen their primary schools already, Mr McHugh said that it was because many of them share a campus with secondary schools, which have yet to reopen.
But it is estimated that children with special needs and from disadvantage backgrounds will return to school much sooner than September. ‘One thing we’ve identified is that for students with special educational needs and in disadvantaged situations is that we’ve noticed regression, which is why we’re working on a summer programme,’ Mr McHugh said.
On social distancing, junior minister John Halligan yesterday said the Government needs to ‘stand up’ to the chief medical officer and the Health Service Executive (HSE) over the two-metre rule. He said there are ministers who agree with him but ‘they need to come out and say this. I think politicians are going to have to be brave’.
He told Newstalk Breakfast: ‘I don’t understand why we’re not standing up to Tony Holohan on this. The WHO have said quite categorically on a number of occasions that one metre is sufficient, 1.5 metres. The [ECDC] have said one metre – why are we different?’
He added: ‘Why are we not questioning Tony Holohan and the HSE as to why – can they tell us, quite specifically, why they differ from the WHO and why they differ from the European Centre for Disease Prevention?’
Sinn Féin’s education spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said schools and parents have been left in an ‘impossible position’ due to the lack of planning and communication by the Government for the return to school. The Cork SouthCentral TD said it was apparent there was now a need for major investment for remote access and tackling educational disadvantage when schools return.
‘Minister Joe McHugh said that not all students will be back in the normal way in September due to social distancing,’ he said. ‘Aside from stating the plainly obvious, it is the closest any parent or teacher has heard to detail on how schools will return in September. Any school I have spoken to in recent weeks has received no contact whatsoever about reopening... School buildings have been closed since the 12th of March. That is just unacceptable.
‘Even in ordinary circumstances, schools would be in the midst of preparation for the next school year at the moment.
‘Right now, that just isn’t possible because schools don’t know what policies and procedures they might be expected to put in place.
‘A return to school-based learning is important, particularly for those with additional needs, or in areas of educational disadvantage, but we need to do this safely, and with a plan. We also know that we will have to live with Covid-19 for some time to come and we know a
‘Politicians have to be brave’
Emotional and social issues
vaccine is not going to appear today or tomorrow,’ he said.
Tanya Ward of the Children’s Rights Alliance told the Irish Daily Mail that prolonged school closures have adverse effects on a child’s wellbeing. ‘Children and young people are experiencing a lot of anxiety because they’re missing out on their normal school environment,’ she said. ‘Going forward, we’ll see a generation of children who have a lot of emotional and social issues.’
The Teacher’s Union of Ireland (TUI) last night said it is the ambition of all schools to ‘reopen in a manner that is consistent with the latest guidance provided by the public health authorities.’
The ASTI told the Mail that its core issues for reopening schools include the health and safety of students, teachers and other school personnel; adjusting the physical infrastructure to maintain social distancing; and enabling the psychological and emotional wellbeing of students and teachers. ian.begley@dailymail.ie