‘I’ve Covid, Miss’ Out to the shed!
Staff canteen was already turned into a classroom, so it was the shed or staff toilet, says school principal
A SCHOOL has been forced to use a garden shed as a Covid-19 isolation area for small children because they have no space left.
Clonbonny National School in Athlone, Co. Westmeath, had already converted its staff canteen into a makeshift classroom after officials said it could not get a prefab.
Principal Joan Donnelly acknowledged that using the shed as an isolation unit is ‘not ideal’ – but it was that or the staff toilet, she said. She told RTÉ news: ‘If we didn’t have this shed, the only space we have is a staff toilet.
‘It’s not ideal, but it does allow us to remove a child who would display symptoms and it does allow us to move them off the premises in a safe way.’
Teachers and parents at the school are furious at the Department of Education over the lack of support it received in the ‘back to school’ preparation.
The school has five teachers and about 125 students.
Ms Donnelly said that 37 children are sharing a classroom, even though there is not a distance of one metre between the desks.
She said it’s the best they could do, as the department had not responded to its appeal for additional resources.
‘They advised me to knock internal walls,’ she said.
‘Had we pursued and proceeded with the plan here, we would have made this building redundant and we wouldn’t be in a position to open our doors today,’ she said.
Ms Donnelly said that the suggestion of a prefab was knocked back by the department because it would require planning permission and a fire certificate.
She also requested additional special needs assistance as there are children in four different classrooms who require the expertise of an SNA.
However, the department yesterday said there was no provision for schools to apply for additional temporary SNA resources from September in order to support social distancing in schools.
Without them, it means that the current number of SNAs will be required to move between classrooms, creating a higher risk of contracting or spreading Covid, it is feared.
Meanwhile, a new survey being published today reveals that more than half of school principals do not feel they have sufficient classroom space to facilitate appropriate social distancing.
The findings of the survey by Sinn Féin of primary and post-primary schools reveals that 19% of principals surveyed feel unprepared for reopening
Nearly half (48.5%) do not believe they have sufficient staffing levels to meet their school’s needs on reopening and 76% of those surveyed do not believe they have enough substitution cover should a teacher become unwell.
The Sinn Féin spokesman on Education Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said the fact that a school was forced to use a garden shed to isolate children who show symptoms of Covid-19 was ‘grotesque’.
‘In the past number of weeks, I have contacted every primary and post-primary school in the State, asking them a number of important questions about the return to school,’ he said. ‘One issue that must be urgently addressed is the lack of space in our overcrowded education system.
‘The grotesque sight of a shed being used as an isolation room in an Athlone school underlines this ever further.’
A principal of a neighbouring school, who did not want to be identified, told the Irish Daily Mail that they were ‘horrified’ at the thought of a sick child isolating by themselves in a shed.
‘It just seems wrong and definitely not the best option in my opinion,’ they said.
‘I feel like Clonbonnys could have arranged a more suitable location to self-isolate inside their building even though I’m aware that space is very scarce.’
In a statement, a spokesman from the Department of Education told the Mail that it is in contact with the school in relation to its accommodation issues.
‘If a child develops symptoms suggestive of Covid-19 while in school, they should tell their teacher or designated staff member straight away. They will be taken to a designated isolation area,’ they said.
‘Ideally, the isolation area should be a separate room (resources permitting), but it may be an area within a classroom or within the school building, where a distance of at least two metres from all other people can be strictly maintained.
‘Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed to decide on the appropriate reconfiguration measures for their school which are necessary to facilitate school reopening.
‘The department is in contact with the school in relation to its accommodation issues.
‘The configuration of classes may need to be reviewed by the school, given that it has five classroom teachers (one of whom is a teaching principal) for the 125 pupils.’
Another statement from the department, in relation to SNA allocation at the school stated: ‘Clonbonny National School submitted a request for an exceptional review of their SNA allocation for the 2020/21 school year as they were of the view that their allocation was insufficient to meet the needs of their students for the year.
‘The school was given an increase in SNA resources of 0.34 posts under this review process. However, the school appealed the outcome of this review. The appeal was not upheld and the school was advised of this in writing on Friday, 21 August 2020.’
Nearly half don’t have enough staff