Teachers' union seeks to review advice ahead of schools return 

Some schools 'have struggled' to prepare for reopening, according to Kieran Christie, ASTI general secretary. Picture: Denis Scannell

Ahead of the return to school, concerns remain around the current arrangements for staff and students with serious underlying illnesses, the country’s largest second-level teachers’ union has warned.

The Association of Secondary Teachers’ Ireland (ASTI) has sought a meeting with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) to review the advice provided to the Department of Education.

With many schools preparing to welcome back students shortly, the ASTI is receiving a high number of communications from teachers concerned about the safety and welfare of students and staff.

The union is very concerned about the current arrangements for students and teachers deemed ‘high risk’ by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), as opposed to ‘very high risk’, according to Kieran Christie, the ASTI general secretary. 

“Those students and teachers, many of them have conditions like asthma, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, and some cancers,” said Mr Christie.

These are serious conditions, he added, “yet those students and teachers are being required to go back to classrooms”. 

New cases of the virus have been increasing for a number of weeks, he said, and other jurisdictions have seen outbreaks linked to schools since they reopened.

More than 40 schools in Berlin reported Covid-19 outbreaks within a fortnight of the city reopening almost 830 schools.

Scotland has also seen a number of school students test positive for the virus since schools reopened; however, it is not thought they picked up the virus in school.

“In the context of the surge in recent weeks, and in the context of what happened in Berlin, we’re demanding that alternative arrangements, be it for remote learning or an alternative, be put in place for those teachers and students,” said Mr Christie.

Many teachers are also concerned about the current social-distancing arrangements and whether or not they are appropriate, he added.

“We’d point to the fact that in recent weeks there’s been quite a substantial surge in numbers of cases in the country, and the advice was written in late June in respect of the social distancing," he said. "At that time, the curve was flattened.” 

The guidelines issued in June also did not recommend that perspex be installed in schools in front of teachers’ desks, he added. 

“Consequently, the department hasn't insisted on it for schools.” 

Separately, the ASTI also believes that the return to school should be staggered, he added.

“Schools are telling us it’s going to be an enormous task to welcome back staff and students over the period of a few days," he said.

"We think it should be spread out further. Some schools are telling us they will find it very difficult to cope.

"Getting schools ready has been an enormous rush and a very difficult process, and some of them have struggled, particularly ones where buildings are old and corridors are narrow.” 

In a statement, the Department of Education said it is continuing to work with health authorities to ensure a safe and sustainable reopening of schools.

Guidance has been given to school management bodies through a circular that sets out the process for managing staff vulnerable to Covid-19, in line with the public service arrangements.

The roadmap to reopening schools and curriculum guidance already published outlines arrangements for supporting students unable to attend school due to being very high risk of Covid, a spokeswoman added.

“More detailed guidance to support schools in implementing these arrangements will be published shortly.”

Meanwhile, 40% of teachers say they are concerned about how playing will be affected in schools due to Covid-19 restrictions.

A new study by researchers at Dublin City University found that 40% of more than 300 primary school teachers are concerned that play and play-based lessons will be impacted due to measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in schools.