Mr. John Boyle:

I thank the Chairman and the committee for inviting the INTO to appear on this important issue. Tá Mary Magner, ár n-uachtarán, in éineacht liom. Covid-19 has had an unprecedented and devastating effect on Irish society, one from which the country may take years to recover. The repercussions will have the greatest impact on the vulnerable. Education is a key sector that can play a leading role in addressing the negative consequences.

The reopening of schools will be an enormous challenge but our members are unequivocally up for that challenge. They are facing up to it with the expectation that their views will be taken into account and their concerns fully addressed by the Government in a timely manner. Priority must be given to the safety and physical and mental health and well-being of staff, pupils and parents in primary schools through minimising the risk of the introduction of Covid-19 into the school community and, if it does get in, properly managing the risk of a spread of infection.

Children’s learning and development, including their well-being, must be supported by schools. Schools must have access to the relevant supports from the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, and the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. Those services, in turn,must be ramped up and their capacity increased to cope with the needs of school communities.

A collaborative approach to developing and implementing procedures and protocols at national level is essential. Although local schools will have to adapt protocols for their particular circumstances, individual schools cannot be asked to develop their own guidance. Engagement with stakeholders is ongoing and it is imperative that it moves at a faster pace.

In order to have a full reopening of schools, there must be a comprehensive level of staffing, including substitution for all absences. That has not been available since the recession. All absences must be covered. Supports to schools must ensure that no class needs to be split among other teachers and classes. If that were to be the case, the whole system would fall down. A very good pilot scheme involving substitute supply panels in six areas is being run this year. This scheme must be extended nationwide to ensure that teachers are readily available to cover their colleagues' absences.

Adequate resources must be allocated to schools to allow them to implement the comprehensive health and safety measures they require to operate safely. Such resources include additional budgets for cleaning staff, equipment and sanitising products. Account also must be taken of the need for schools to purchase additional educational resources if children are to have their own materials. Parents must not be asked to pay for those resources.

It is something of a national embarrassment that we have the largest primary school class sizes in the eurozone. Many of our primary school classrooms are overcrowded, with many having more than 30 children. Our European neighbours have an average of approximately 20 students per class. This factor really matters when it comes to applying social distancing. It is crucial that the new Government delivers on its commitment to address the matter. We need assurances that no school will be penalised if the number of children in attendance on 30 September is below the appointment and retention figure as a result of absences due to Covid-19 or other illness.

We will have to accommodate a changed environment from September. This must be taken into account by the inspectorate, the National Council for Special Education and other sections and agencies within the Department. It will be necessary for inspections and initiatives other than those aimed at contributing to the school's efforts to maintain the health and well-being of the pupils and school community to be put aside for the duration of the crisis. We welcome the announcement that there will be no new self-evaluation next year.

In advance of opening, there must be a communication strategy led centrally by the Department. This must include a media campaign to ensure buy-in from the whole school community. Clear advice and guidance will have to be given to students, including smaller children, their parents and everyone in the community. There will be changed expectations of schools, for example, teaching all parts of the curriculum or extra-curricular activities may not be covered, initially at least. This has to be spelled out to avoid misunderstanding.

School leaders will need particular supports. They have played a blinder so far. Given that we have teaching principals in half our schools, they will need additional leadership days to get away from the classroom in the initial period so that they can ensure the school is safe. We will also need suspension of the unnecessary paperwork during the Covid-19 crisis.

Staff and students, who will be hopefully returning on a full-time basis, must be assured by Government that when the go back to learning and teaching, every precaution and practical step has been taken to protect them from Covid-19. They will need certainty that parents will not congregate, as they do usually, at a school. I am sorry that this has to happen but we must ensure people are not congregating and that an unambiguous message is sent out that this cannot happen. In the event that any school does not re-open fully or has to close due to a breakout, we need extra facilities for information and communications technology. We have low investment in computers and technology in the primary sector. Teachers will not be able to simultaneously teach 20 or 30 children in their class and teach the children who are vulnerable at home at the same time. There must be extra staffing for that.

Finally, careful thorough and properly-funded preparations must be made at pace in the coming weeks. We will certainly work closely with the Department. We have to take into consideration the reality of the long years of under-investment in the primary sector. We can overcome this with the resources. We are determined to ensure that everyone in the school community remains safe from late August and September onwards.