Principal fears closing schools will harm kids

A SCHOOL principal has warned continued school closures could come with longer-term problems.

Kevin Mcarevey, of Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School in North Belfast, has spoken out as schools across

Northern Ireland reopen today.

He said: “I’m all about giving kids the best opportunity to become lifelong learners. At the minute, do they have the best opportunity for this? No, they don’t. Not if you’re going to play a yo-yo with them, in out in out. I don’t think it’s very fair on them.

“The two-week closure wasn’t necessary. I think we had everything working well with our restrictions. We’ve had one child who’s tested positive [for Covid] but that was from contact outside of school.

“Children deserve a formal education, and they’re not getting it right now, they’re losing out. Standards will fall. And you’ll only see the real impact of this in two, three, even five years’ time.”

Schools closed in March as part of the initial Uk-wide lockdown. Mr Mcarevey said that had a worrying impact on his 396 pupils.

He added: “When kids came back, right away they’d lost their structure. They’d lost their social friendship groups, and their freedom, and I was very worried about that.

“But two or three weeks into it, you could see the children adapted and adjusted.” Schools have been minimising transmission risk through classroom bubbles.

Strict social rules had to be brought in, which Mr Mcarevey admitted was a personal struggle.

He said: “A big thing for me was having to keep parents outside the front gates. That hurt. This is a community school, and I adopt an open-door policy

I’ll meet with you – that’s the way I run this school.

“We also staggered start and finish times for students. That was problematic, especially for parents who have two kids, if for instance one starts at 9am and one starts at 8.45am. I had no rooms to spare for kids to wait.”

“It’s going to be far worse this time. I have five staff members not starting on Monday, because of Covid. Two of them have tested positive, and three have to isolate because of exposure.

“The Department of Education have provided a fund to allow us to bring subs in, but that’s very hard to cover. Their classes deserve to be covered.

“I know we have to co-exist with covid, but I don’t think it should be to the detriment of children’s education. Blended learning is going to become very important in the future. There’s nothing like being in a classroom, there’s nothing like the social aspect of the curriculum.”

Meanwhile Education Minister Peter Weir, has urged everyone to “play their part” with the reopening of schools.

On Thursday, he announced face masks on dedicated school buses and public transport are mandatory for all post-primary children.

He said: ”The transmission of Covid-19 within schools remains low and by taking some simple steps we can all make sure that continues. I know the overwhelming desire of parents and carers is to maintain a full return to school and I thank them for all the sacrifices they are making in very difficult circumstances.

“I am asking parents and carers not to congregate at gates when they drop off their children.

“Always practise social distancing and wear a mask and try to avoid going beyond the school gate without an appointment.

“If you need to speak to a teacher ring or email first.

“Try to ensure children have face coverings at all times and have a bag to store them. Encourage your child to practise good hand hygiene and advise them not to eat or share food on transport.”