Hundreds of schools that have enrolled children fleeing the war in Ukraine have been seeking Government help to respond to the crisis.
In communications between the schools and the Department of Education, released to The Irish Times, the scale of the impact being experienced is highlighted with one school pointing to the fact that the number of children registered almost doubled to 53, while another said parents and teachers were concerned at rising class sizes.
Others sought funding for furniture, books, iPads and school tours, and some have requested permission to hire teachers from Ukraine. Schools that had space to enroll Ukrainian children were also among those that contacted the department.
A helpline and email address to assist schools was set up in mid-March and there has been 572 contacts with these services since then. Twenty-seven records from the week of April 22nd to 29th were released under the Freedom of Information Act.
They offer a snapshot of the issues facing schools in Ireland two months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked a huge exodus of refugees to other European countries.
One two-teacher school told the department it has enrolled 25 Ukrainian children, bringing their total numbers to 53. “This is having a huge impact on the school’s financial resources. We are under severe pressure and are seeking assistance,” they wrote.
Another school in the northwest said it had enrolled eight Ukrainian pupils – which represented a 21 per cent increase in its student numbers.
“We need school materials, books uniforms, pupil tables and chairs for them,” a communication from the school to the department read. “Where do I apply for this funding as it is extremely pressing to have these items in place asap?”
The school said: “Your assistance in this matter is extremely urgent – we need help on the ground.”
A third school sought permission to hire an additional teacher for the school year 2022/2023 in order to “support Ukrainian pupils enrolled and indeed our own current pupils”.
They had 19 Ukrainian children enrolled and expected more in the following weeks due to a nearby accommodation centre.
“Our current parents and teachers are expressing concerns as numbers are rising in the classrooms.”
The school said that the 20 hours of English as an additional language (EAL) supports being provided to them “is a help” but “the best solution would be a fourth mainstream teacher so the class can be divided evenly, giving every child (Irish and Ukrainian) a better chance of receiving the attention they need and also the education they are entitled to”.
In a follow-up email on the request to hire another teacher, the school said: “The normal application process to secure a teacher should not apply in exceptional cases involving children fleeing from war.”
Last month the department wrote to schools, saying there is “generally good capacity across the country albeit there may be capacity pressures to be managed in some areas”.
It said: “Contingency arrangements will be put in place to manage these capacity pressures.”
Three of the records released by the department were emails from schools offering places for Ukrainian refugees, including one rural school that said it could take between 10 and 15 but that transport would be needed.
The department has set up regional education and language teams (Realts) as part of the response to the refugee crisis.
The Realts are tasked with aligning current school capacity with the placement of Ukrainian families “as much as possible”.
They also assist schools and families with accessing resources and supports for additional capacity, wellbeing, language and educational needs.
A number of the records released by the department were requests for funding and resources.
One school that was taking in 14 Ukrainian pupils asked: “Is there any funding I can receive to purchase stationary, books, iPads etc…?”
Another asked for additional capitation funding for “the big increase in our enrolment”. There were 23 children from Ukraine at that point attending the school.
The school was granted two extra teachers for the remainder of the year but the email outlines how furniture needed to be purchased, the children required books and copies, and there had been increased water and electricity costs.
The email said: “School tours are coming up and the price of buses is dramatically higher than previous years. Obviously we want to include all children but how do we cover the costs of this?
“I feel that we should get capitation (on an exceptional basis) for these additional pupils.”
A principal at another school that had registered 17 children from Ukraine outlined how €1,080 had been spent on chairs and tables and added: “I can provide invoices if necessary.”
A number of schools made inquiries about EAL hours, including one that asked if a special needs assistant could be used for the English language supports.
The department said that as of May 26th, 918 schools had applied and been approved for additional teachers or teaching hours to support them in their work with Ukrainian children.
It said €50 million in grant funding for digital technology that all schools can apply for was announced by Minister of Education Norma Foley in April.
Schools have been encouraged to use this funding for loaning devices to Ukrainian children as well as providing appropriate software and apps to support their learning.
The records released to The Irish Times include three schools asking about the possibility of hiring Ukrainian teachers.
One with 20 children from Ukraine said: “A fully qualified teacher from Ukraine is making herself available to us with immediate effect.”
They wanted to know if she could be employed for 20 hours per week “even though she has not yet got a Teaching Council number”.
The school outlined how it was told that Teaching Council numbers were not yet being issued to Ukrainian teachers.
The email added: “However, some of the children are very distressed and upset here and we would clearly benefit from having this teacher on board.”
Asked about the issue, the department said the Teaching Council has developed a tailored registration process to support the registration of qualified Ukrainian teachers and that 48 have applied so far.
Some schools asked the department for advice on individual cases involving Ukrainian children.
One school was directed to the supports offered by the National Educational Psychological Service for a student thought to be suffering from anxiety or depression. Another school asked about special education provision for a child with autism.
The department said it is working to ensure that the National Council for Special Education will be available to support schools that have children from Ukraine with additional or special educational needs.
In one instance, a school raised the case of a teenager who had been in their school final year and was still working online with her school in Ukraine.
The email asked: “What pathways exits for her to access third-level education here from September? How do I direct her?”
“We have looked at opportunities for matriculation here and she is adamant that she wants to move to third level in September.”
The Department of Higher Education said that that a help desk has now been set up for Ukrainian students wishing to access third level studies.
