Schools to reopen as planned as Covid isolation periods to be shortened

Education Minister Norma Foley will meet with the teacher unions, parents groups and boards of management on Tuesday in a scheduled meeting.

Isolation periods are set to be shortened in a bid to counter high absences in the workforce when government leaders meet on Tuesday evening.

Schools will also reopen as planned this week, the Government has indicated.

“Schools will reopen. I am not aware of any country in Europe planning to keep them closed and we're all in much the same boat,” said one senior minister.

The three party leaders, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, will meet Tuesday evening ahead of a full Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

While there is a concern at the high rates of infection in the community, unlike last year, there has not yet been the same head of steam building around keeping schools closed and Government sources said they will open as planned on Thursday.

Education Minister Norma Foley will meet with the teacher unions, parents groups and boards of management on Tuesday in a scheduled meeting.

“The likely talk is one of disruption, not closure as of now but there is a sense the government needs to do more to assure parents and teachers that the classrooms are safe,” said one source.

The Government Rapporteur on Child Protection Conor O'Mahony, a Professor of Law at University College Cork, said school closures are "not a simple trade-off between education and health".

"Children (and the adults in their lives) have a right to health, so we need to take all practicable measures to mitigate the spread of Covid in schools.

"But a wide range of other rights are adversely affected by school closures. We know this from 2020 and early 2021. Most obviously, the right to education suffered."

Prof O'Mahony added: "Teachers worked tirelessly to deliver online learning, but it couldn't replace the real thing - especially for children with special needs, and for marginalised communities with poor access to technology.

"The lack of social interaction and recreational opportunities impacted on the right to development and the right to play.

"School closures protected physical health, but caused significant damage to the mental health of many children (particularly adolescents)."

He advised: "For some children, the right to protection from violence was seriously compromised.

"Forced to stay in unsafe homes for extended periods, they were exposed to direct harm from abuse and neglect, and/or indirect harm from witnessing domestic abuse (which increased hugely).

"Schools are a key source of child protection referrals, so school closures disrupted the flow of information to social services - compromising their ability to identify children at risk and respond to their needs."

Prof O'Mahony continued: "The evidence consistently shows that the impact of school closures was not evenly spread; it fell disproportionately on the most marginalised and disadvantaged children.

"I see people advocating for schools to remain closed in January. I can't help thinking that those people's position is informed by a view that children in their families/communities will be fine.

"Maybe they will - but a lot of other children won't be.

"Again, this is an argument for the best possible mitigations, and not for the status quo.

"My point is that school closures are not a simple trade-off between education and health. The negative impacts are wider and deeper than missing a few weeks of classes."