Schools reopen to a host of unanswered questions

As schools finally reopen their doors to pupils under very changed circumstances, many principals, teachers and parents say they are still trying to get firm answers to key questions. Here are just some which are dominating the opening days:

School assemblies

A number of schools have staged assemblies or orientation events for 100-plus students since they opened this week.

These events have sparked controversy among teachers and parents who say they are posing an unnecessary Covid-19 risk.

Official public health guidance is mostly silent on this issue; while it outlines physical distancing requirements for pupils, it does not set a limit on pupil numbers for such events.

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In response to media queries earlier this week, the Department of Education did not answer the question.

Instead, it said that as part of the range of public health measures, “limits were placed on gatherings in other settings in order to support the reopening of schools which by its nature involves significant numbers of staff and students in school buildings.”

Minister for Education Norma Foley was clearer during a Prime Time interview on Tuesday night when she said she would prefer if students were placed in smaller cohorts.

High-risk teachers

Teachers’ unions say they are dealing with a surge in queries from worried members with conditions such as cancer, heart conditions and diabetes who had been refused the option of staying at home.

The Department of Education has told teachers and other staff categorised under HSE guidelines as “very high risk” for coronavirus that they may work remotely.

But those classed as “high risk” have been told they “must attend the workplace, unless advised otherwise” after a risk assessment by an outsourced occupational health service.

These include people with heart failure, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, cancer, weak immune systems and obesity, according to unions.

A new official induction training video gives a fleeting reference to the need to take extra care when moving between classes

While doctors can provide reports on their patients for risk assessments, it is the role of the occupational health service to determine whether teachers should return to work or not.

The Department of Education has said more detailed guidance to support schools in implementing these arrangements will be published shortly.

Special needs assistants

Thousands of students with additional needs receive support from special needs assistants. They play a crucial role in assisting children to be included in class and with care needs.

This support cannot be carried out at a distance so the guidelines advise wearing a visor or face mask.

However, many SNAs says the guidance is vague and does not take account of the fact that most nowadays support several children across different classrooms.

Many have questioned whether they will be permitted to move outside of a classroom, when all public health guidance is aimed at creating “pods” and “bubbles” of students which cut down the risk of cross-contamination between classes.

A new official induction training video gives a fleeting reference to the need to take extra care when moving between classes, though many SNAs say this raises questions over how the integrity of class bubbles and pods and can be maintained.

Covid-19 cases

Most acknowledge that Covid-19 outbreaks in schools are inevitable. What is less clear is whether a pod of pupils, an entire class or the entire school might have to shut in the event of a positive diagnosis.

If there is confirmation of Covid-19, public health authorities will step in to establish what close contacts a child had. Schools will be expected to assist by referring to their seating plans and attendance records.

The question of how many other pupils will need to self-isolate will be one for public health authorities. There is no certainty about how this will play out. We can only speculate that school closures will only be triggered based on the extent to which a child with a positive diagnosis had contact with others in the school.