Department U-turn was a responsible move
Even if schools had reopened this week, many parents would have been nervous about sending their children back into the classroom, because of the alarming rise in coronavirus cases in the community, according to Wexford woman Mai Fanning, president of the National Parents Council Post Primary Ireland.
The Council carried out a survey among parents and found the majority had concerns about students returning to school against the backdrop of a huge Covid-19 surge, regardless of assurances by NPHET that schools are a controlled and safe environment.
‘ There is a discrepancy between that message from NPHET that schools are safe and how it is being received by the public which may be partly due to the mix of information that people are getting’, said the Council president who is involved in the Department of Education’s stakeholders advisory group which also includes teachers and student representative bodies.
‘NPHET were saying the schools are safe environments but there was disquiet about schools being reopened fully, with the numbers rising. That is a natural human reaction that we cannot ignore.’
‘We had a survey running which was showing us that the majority of parents were happy that the schools were remaining closed, even though NPHET was saying schools are safe.
‘I would know from parents’ queries to us that the NPHET message is not fully getting through to people on the ground, although I would say there has been an improvement in this.’
Ms. Fanning doesn’t regard the Department of Education’s decision to back down on reopening schools for three days a week for Leaving Cert students, following pressure from teachers’ unions, as a U-turn.
‘It would be preferable for all students to be back in the classroom, but we have to be able to adapt and adjust and deal with the situation that is in front of us. It’s more responsible of the department to change a decision rather than sticking to one for the sake of it.’
‘I think teachers clearly had genuine worries and concerns. I would be very reluctant to put blame on anyone’s shoulders. Everyone is trying to work together to get through this. Everyone’s focus is to do the best for the students and ensure that their education continues in a safe environment. I have seen no evidence that anyone has an ulterior motive.’
‘ There is a lot of commitment among everyone in the advisory group. We are all committed to working together to try to solve the problem.’
Ms. Fanning said that with learning going online, there is a commitment to provide as much timetable provision as possible for all students and she welcomed the fact that schools have put a lot of effort into improving their online teaching capacity.
‘ There are established guidelines for remote learning and it would be intended that the teachers would follow as closely as possible to the school time table and there will be oversight of that’, she said.
‘It will be the first time that they are doing full classes online. They seem to be confident that remote learning will start on Monday for all students. There is an expectation that the level of engagement that students have with their teachers will be as high as it possibly can.’
‘Ideally, everyone would prefer to see students back in the classroom but we have to be pragmatic and we have to deal with it as positively as we can. The aim of everyone is to keep the classes running.’
‘‘ The teachers are in a difficult situation because they want to be in school, in a safe classroom environment with their students and that is no different to what the parents want for their children. But between community transfer and school transfer, there is a worry there.’
‘It’s very easy to put people in boxes. We must remember that teachers are parents too. They are concerned about their own children’s education and their safety the same as the rest of us’.
‘I can say that from the communication we have had from parents that as soon as they see the numbers dropping in the community, the majority would feel that schools are safe.’
‘ The anxiety is coming from the recent surge in cases of the coronavirus and everyone has to make a decision based on the level of worry they have for their own family, whether they have a generational household, relatives with underlying conditions or concerns about the health of students themselves.’
‘All of these things are significant when it comes to making a decision. One of the most difficult decisions would have been for parents of Leaving Cert students with these worries to send a son or daughter back to school - it would absolutely exacerbate the stress’, she said while welcoming a Government commitment on the holding of the Leaving Cert his year.
Ms. Fanning said discussions are ongoing in relation to special needs education with the Department having originally announced the planned reopening of facilities for children with additional learning requirements.