Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020
630. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the additional funding she plans to provide to ensure schools reopening in September 2020 have sufficient funding to arrange deep cleaning of premises and to hire additional staff to keep classes to a size that can comply with public health advice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16889/20]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware my Department this week published the report "Reopening Our Schools, The Roadmap for the Full Return to School" which is available on the Department's website.
This Roadmap sets out how schools will reopen for all students from the end of August and what the operation of our schools will look like and be sustainable in a COVID-19 context. It has been developed in line with public health advice issued by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), the Roadmap for Society and Business, and follows comprehensive and intensive engagement with education stakeholders including the school management bodies and staff representatives.
My Department is also providing funding of an additional €377 million to support the safe and sustainable reopening of schools under the Roadmap.
The supports are comprehensive across a range of areas, including funding for getting schools ready, for providing for additional supervision and substitution, and providing additional teachers to help with physical distancing and class sizes. Funding will also be provided for management supports and enhanced cleaning and hygiene measures. This additional funding being provided will enable schools to have daily cleaning arrangements
There will be funding provided for release days for teaching principals at primary level to meet the administrative burden arising from the changes and the impacts of Covid-19. This will mean that all teaching principals will have one release day per week. Additionally, there will be some release time for deputy principals in primary schools.
As part of the package of supports, additional teachers are being provided to support the reopening of primary schools in order to provide enhanced substitution and eliminate the need to mix classes when a teacher is absent. Supply panels are being established nationwide. These will be monitored in terms of the number of teachers and the location of each panel.
In terms of operating in this school year, schools will be required to look at maximising all available physical space particularly to accommodate larger classes. Examples of class layouts have been provided to support schools. The minor works grant has been provided to assist schools if they need to reconfigure classroom or undertake other work. Schools will also be required to look at how classes are organised in terms of size and this may require some reorganisation of class groupings.
A 1000 additional teachers will be allocated to post-primary schools to help reduce class sizes. A teacher allocation equivalent to a pupil teacher ratio reduction of 0.6 will be allocated to schools in the free scheme. This allocation will support the important work of teaching and learning and provide additional teachers needed to support teacher substitution, management of physical distancing requirements by reallocating class timetables in schools to smaller groups class sizes where necessary. These posts will also provide for management supports.
In addition an allocation, equivalent to a pupil teacher ratio reduction of 0.1 will be provided in respect of Guidance provision to support student wellbeing. It is recognised that, notwithstanding these measures to post primary schools, challenges may remain to allow some post primary schools to fully and safely reopen. A further teacher allocation will be available to support these schools.
There is also funding for enhanced supervision, which is a key control measure to support schools in minimising interaction of students from different classes, in line with public health advice.
