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Covid-19 Pandemic

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 January 2021

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

Questions (440)

Richard Bruton

Question:

440. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education her plans to find a way to make up for the interruption to studies caused by the suspension of in-person education in schools. [3633/21]

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Written answers

The public health restrictions which resulted in the closure of schools in March 2020 highlighted the absolute necessity for schools to be agile in providing for continuity of schooling in the future. As a contingency measure against the possibility of partial or full school closures, my Department has provided a suite of guidance materials, agreed with the education partners, to enable schools to facilitate the continuity of learning in these circumstances. These are available at www.gov.ie/backtoschool.

This documentation has been complemented by Circular 0074/2020 (Communication/Teaching & Learning Platform) which requires all schools to have in place appropriate contingency measures to ensure that they are prepared to continue to support teaching and learning in the event of a partial or full closure of schools arising from Public Health advice.

During the current period of school closure schools are required to put in place their plan of action to enable continuity of learning for all pupils. This involves all teachers who are medically fit to work, including SETs, providing remote teaching and learning to all pupils in their class or on their caseload.

It is crucially important that the learning of all pupils/students, especially those with special educational needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage and/or early school leaving, are supported at this time. These supports include teachers engaging with their pupils/students on a regular basis, through a blend of guided and independent learnings tasks and experiences. Chosen learning tasks provide an opportunity to demonstrate a student’s learning in a clear and concise way. These learning tasks enable teachers to monitor progress and provide constructive, developmental feedback to support learning.

It is also important that there is two-way feedback between home and school. Teachers are required to ensure that work received is corrected and relevant feedback is provided. Special education teachers should continue to engage with pupils/students and class/subject teachers should differentiate teaching and learning in line with their pupils’/students’ needs to minimise disruption to their learning and progression.

Following a setback last week to the planned partial reopening of schools, the Department of Education is engaging closely with the education partners to work towards achieving consensus on a satisfactory way forward to ensure a safe phased return of children with special educational needs to in-school learning. This remains a high priority for all partners at this time.

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