My Department is acutely aware of the disruption that was caused to students as a result of school closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
My Department published a suite of helpful guidance for the safe and sustainable operation of schools after they re-opened. Each school is required to have a COVID-19 Response Plan for the safe operation through the prevention, early detection and control of COVID-19 in line with public health advice. This guidance is focused on the practical steps schools must take to minimise the risk of transmission of infection.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre and HSE has published guidance in relation to the return to school for at risk groups. The advice confirms that for the vast majority of children, can return to school and it is important for the overall health and wellbeing for children to attend school. This is consistent with public health advice internationally. The guidance is available at the following link.
https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/educationguidance/HSE%20advice%20on%20return%20to%20school.pdf
My Department has published guidance to support schools in making adapted education provision for pupils/students with an underlying medical condition who cannot return to school because they are medically certified as being at very high risk to COVID-19.
The guidance for primary schools on supporting such pupils is available via the following link: https://assets.gov.ie/85746/9ff54b35-352e-4cdb-b93b-68a25ac7c619.pdf
The guidance for post-primary schools on supporting such students is available via the following link https://assets.gov.ie/86732/17f3cc49-72ad-4986-98fc-51037d93369e.pdf
The guidance provides that supports will be provided for these pupils/students through designated teachers from within the staffing resources of the school. Schools have discretion to manage and redistribute their teaching support resources in order to best meet the learning needs of their pupils/students, including pupils/students at ‘very high risk’ to COVID-19. Facilitating engagement with and among pupils is essential to their learning experience and maintaining their social and emotional development.
Teachers can facilitate this through online interaction, providing feedback on work completed, organising project work that pupils can complete as part of a group and providing learning experiences based on pair work and group work. Early and ongoing two-way communication between the pupil’s school, class teacher, designated teacher where relevant, and the home will be essential to supporting the pupils’ engagement with their learning and their continuous connection with their classmates and school community.
Overall responsibility for ensuring that pupils/students who are at very high risk to COVID-19 receive appropriate support to engage adequately with learning remains with the school in which they are enrolled.
My Department has also published guidance in respect of the COVID -19 operational supports for Primary and Post Primary schools to fully and safely reopen in a sustainable way while minimising risk associated with COVID-19. This is available at www.gov.ie/backtoschool
The operational supports include funding of approx. €84.7 million so that schools can employ replacement teachers, SNAs and administrative staff. There is additional funding of €41.2 million, for substitution in primary schools. This will provide more certainty on the availability of substitutes for primary schools and cover substitutions that are not covered by existing schemes. The Supply Panel Scheme has been expanded nationwide and over 300 posts have been allocated to provide substitute cover through these panels. The purpose of supply panels is to support schools to manage the sick leave and other absences by having a supply of teachers to meet substitution needs when required. Schools will continue to be able to access substitute teachers through the normal process, particularly if they are not connected to a supply panel.
On 21 August, I announced a series of changes that would be made to assessment arrangements for both Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate examinations for 2021. This announcement was accompanied by a published document detailing these changes, Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021, and forms part of the Roadmap for the Full Return to School.
These arrangements are designed to take account of the disrupted learning experienced by students during the 2019/20 school year and to factor in for some further possible loss of learning time in the 2020/21 school year as a contingency measure. As the loss of learning through school closures will have affected students’ engagement with their course of study in different ways, the adjustments put in place will play to students’ strengths by leaving intact the familiar overall structure of the examinations, while incorporating additional choice. The adjustments were arrived at through discussions between my Department, the State Examinations Commission (SEC), the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and key stakeholders.
As schools have significant autonomy in determining how to sequence and pace learning for students in their schools, no centrally prescribed adjustment of the curriculum and courses of study would have been effective for students taking the certificate examinations in 2021. Consequently, the most appropriate way to reflect and take account of the challenges for students that have occurred in 2019/20 and may occur in 2020/21 was to incorporate adjustments to the certificate examinations in 2021.
These changes to the national assessment arrangements were made with due regard for the principles of equity, fairness and integrity, as these principles apply to assessment and examinations and refer to student to-student, subject-to-subject, and year-to-year comparisons over time. The changes provide reassurance to students, their parents/guardians, teachers and schools.
Further clarification on the assessment arrangements for 2021 for certain subjects will issue shortly.
It is my firm intention to operate the conventional 2021 state examinations, with appropriate contingency built in, in line with prevailing public health advice. This is shared by the SEC, which has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.
The SEC has valuable learning from the experience of running the 2020 November examinations, notwithstanding that the numbers taking these examinations is significantly lower than the number due to sit examinations in 2021. The measures relating to COVID-19 that have been put in place for the November examinations will be considered as part of the planning for examinations in 2021.
The SEC has commenced its contingency planning for the 2021 examinations, recognising that a flexible and agile approach is necessary in light of the continuing fast-moving environment linked to COVID-19. It is not intended that there would be any change to the length of the written examinations. Project briefs for relevant subjects have issued earlier than usual and practical coursework will be submitted two weeks earlier than normal as a contingency measure. Teachers are being encouraged to plan and undertake these projects as early as possible in the programme of study. These changes to the Leaving Certificate assessment arrangements for 2021 are deigned to provide reassurance to students, their parents/guardians, teachers and schools.
In addition, an advisory group of key stakeholders, which advised on altered arrangements for the 2020 state examinations, was reconvened on 25 November in an online meeting to perform a similar role in respect of the 2021 examinations. The advisory group includes representatives of students, parents, teachers, school leadership and management bodies, the SEC, the NCCA and the Department, including the National Educational Psychological Service. Representatives from the Higher Education Authority and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are also represented on the advisory group to ensure liaison with the third level sector.
Other documents published by my Department to support the return to school include Guidance for Practical Subjects in Post-Primary Schools and Centres for Education and Returning to school: Guidance on learning and school programmes for post primary school leaders and teachers. These documents provide guidance for teachers and schools that is specific to each practical subject area, so that students can be facilitated to actively engage with their learning. All documentation published is available on www.gov.ie/backtoschool.
