School principal: Foot and mouth plans ‘better than for swine flu’

THE head of a Limerick secondary school yesterday claimed the Government response to the foot and mouth outbreak some years ago was far more comprehensive in schools than the approach now being taken to deal with the swine flu pandemic.

Noel Malone, who is principal of Coláiste Chiaráin in Croom, said his school got far more support with regard to advice on best practice during the foot and mouth outbreak than they are getting in how to cope with the swine flu outbreak.

Mr Malone said: “When we had the foot and mouth we were issued with advice posters to place up around the schools. We were told about canceling various events such as matches, using hand swabs with phones, where to place foot disinfectant and there was a very joined-up approach by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and the health authorities at the time.

“Now we are being more or less left to our own devices. We need to confront this swine flu as it could be a very big challenge to schools.”

Mr Malone said like every school, Coláiste Chiaráin has pupils with special needs due to health issues such as heart and respiratory conditions.

Yet, he said, the Department of Education website has made only a glancing reference to such people saying special consideration should be given to them.

Mr Malone said: “Even in normal times we have to have a plan around the health of these students. But now we are getting very little guidance as to what we should be doing in these new and very challenging circumstances with swine flu on the increase. Do I tell the parents to keep these children at home? And if so what provision is going to be made for their education while they are absent from school? As these students are more high risk to getting infection, there needs to be more planning and support for schools.”

Mr Malone said the information put on education and health websites on how residential schools should deal with swine flu is not adequate.

Mr Malone also envisages major staffing problems due to changes in getting substitute teachers. He said if a teacher suspects he or she is coming down with the infection, the school needs to receive a doctor’s cert before they can go and look for a substitute teacher.

He called on the Department of Education to set aside the revised substitute teacher rules until Christmas and then review the situation.