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Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021

Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Questions (445)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

445. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education if her Department will undertake an assessment of the impact of prolonged school closures on children in Ireland; if she plans to introduce measures to address the impacts upon children similar to a scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11456/21]

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Written answers

Since the Covid-19 pandemic commenced, my Department has drawn on a number of sources of research to inform the approaches that we have used to mitigate the effect of the Covid pandemic on schools and to support leaners, teachers and students through this emergency.

The Inspectorate of my Department has monitored educational provision by schools in remote and on-site schooling contexts. Research carried out by the Inspectorate has captured a range of perspectives, including those of principals, teachers, parents and students, on how schools have operated, on teaching and learning, and on pupils’-students’ experience of school and their engagement in learning. This research has included surveys of different stakeholders, discussions with school principals and inspectors meeting with focus groups of students and parents. A number of reports from this research have been published on my Department’s website and further publications are expected in the near future.

A number of academic institutions and bodies such as the ESRI have conducted research on various aspects of the impact that Covid has had on students’ learning. The outcomes of this research carried out by a range of national research and academic institutions together with the Inspectorate research, have informed the ongoing supports and guidance provided by the Department to schools to ensure that teaching and learning experiences are as meaningful as possible for all pupils/students in both a remote and a face-to-face schooling context. The Department will continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on learners in light of the ongoing research from the Inspectorate and academic institutions and research agencies.

Monitoring the learning attainment of students will also help to inform policy approaches and practice in schools. At individual primary school level, standardised tests of reading and Mathematics will be administered as normal in 2020/21. The results of these tests will allow teachers to establish a baseline of pupils’ performance in reading and to identify areas of the mathematics curriculum that may need to be revisited. They will also help teachers to identify pupils who may be in need of further diagnostic assessment with a view to putting appropriate support plans in place, either at classroom or school support level, in accordance with the continuum of support. Information from ability tests, teacher observations, parental reports as well as the views of the pupils are also very important aspects of a thorough assessment of needs.

At a system level, the National Assessment of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) will be administered in 150 schools in May 2021, public health advice permitting. Although adapted and reduced significantly in scope in 2021, NAMER remains an important source of information about national standards in pupils’ performance in English reading and Mathematics. The adaptations made to the study design for 2021 have been done in such a way as to ensure that the study will still produce sufficiently accurate estimates of achievement. Furthermore, contextual data will still be gathered from teachers, pupils and principals. The outcomes of NAMER will contribute to my Department’s policy initiatives which aim to improve learners’ experiences. Given the extraordinary circumstances of the past twelve months, this will be a valuable opportunity to gather up-to-date information and to look closely at our primary pupils’ performance in English reading and Mathematics in a range of school contexts across the country. A sample of students in Irish primary schools will also participate in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) - the international assessment of reading - in autumn 2021, and a sample of students in Irish post-primary schools will participate in PISA 2022 next year. In both cases, these research studies are expected to provide valuable international comparative data on the effects of Covid-19 on students’ learning.

The Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated clearly that the best learning opportunities for students are provided when they are enabled to attend schools and my Department invested an additional €600m to put in places a range of measures to ensure schools can operate in a safe and sustainable manner in the current school year. The suite of measures to support schools including minor building grants to allow for modifications to schools for social distancing purposes, additional staffing for supervision and substitution, robust hygiene and cleaning measures as well as guidance documentation and training for staff have all been underpinned by public health advice. School reopening has commenced on a phased basis since 11 February with the return of special schools, special classes and now students in mainstream primary and post primary setting with a gradual phased return to schooling expected to be completed by Easter 2021.

Nevertheless, my Department is also working to ensure that the supports which students will require to mitigate learning loss arising from school closures are provided. Schools have been asked to use all available supports, both in-school and community-based, to promote a positive, solution-oriented approach that will support all pupils to achieve, to learn and to progress in their education and to help minimise any further educational inequality among those at risk of educational disadvantage or arising from a special educational need. Guidance documents provided by the Department have also emphasised the need for teachers on the re-opening of schools to take time to identify where pupils/students are at in their learning and to build on these starting points. Teachers should continue to observe pupils’/students’ progress in learning, reflect on their needs and identify pupils/students who require specific short-term or medium-term interventions after periods of sustained school closures/absences in order to continue to make progress.

An enhanced programme of summer provision for children with special educational needs and those at most risk of educational disadvantage, similar to that which was provided in summer 2020, is being developed. The details of how this programme will operate will be worked through with the education partners in the coming months.

In summer 2020, my Department provided funding for an enhanced Summer Programme targeted at learners at risk of educational disadvantage in DEIS primary schools. The programme was made available to all DEIS primary schools for the first time. In total, over 9,000 pupils availed of these summer camps across 215 schools. Also, for the first time, my Department developed a Summer Programme for DEIS post-primary schools. In total, over 2,200 students attended the week-long programme in 72 schools.

Recognising the particular challenges faced by students with complex special educational needs in engaging in remote learning, my Department also provided an enhanced Summer Programme for these students. The eligibility criteria for the programme were expanded to include a much broader range of students from a broader range of settings. Approximately 14,000 students availed of the programme which could be accessed in either school or home settings.

The three programmes were offered at a cost of over €20 million. Decisions regarding a programme of measures to be offered in 2021 will be made in accordance with public health advice. I hope to be in a position presently to provide further details on what is proposed. However, it is my intention to make the programmes available to as wide a group of learners as possible.

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