Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
405. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Education her plans to ensure that a standardised amount of homeschooling online hours are provided by each school given that schools are not fully reopening for a number of weeks and there is a risk of future closures; if there are currently checks on schools to ensure that remote learning is being delivered to children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11082/21]
View answerThe 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 074/2020 (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. In the case of primary schools there should be daily engagement. In the case of post-primary school, teachers have been asked to teach according to the usual timetable.
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.
The Department's Inspectorate has engaged with schools to support and advise on remote learning provision so that any difficulties experienced by schools can be addressed in line with published guidance. Should a parent have concerns regarding teaching and learning in their child’s school, this can be done by discussing the matter informally with the principal.
The full re-opening of our schools for all students in line with public health advice remains a top priority for Government and my Department is focussing on the safe return of all remaining cohorts of pupils and students to school at the earliest opportunity in March, with the last group of post primary students set to return to school after the Easter Break.
