Mr. Michael Gillespie:

We have been successful in reopening schools. However, to ensure schools remain open, effective action by all of society is required. The Government must provide the necessary levels of resourcing, clarity and assurance to the education sector.

The TUI welcomes Covid-19 inspections in schools. A minority of schools are not adhering to the public health measures so compliance must be enforced. A school is a workplace and staff must be protected in their workplace. The enhanced allocation provided, while welcome, has been insufficient to meet additional requirements. Moreover, the discriminatory two-tier pay structure remains an obstacle to teacher recruitment and must be eliminated. Also, not enough has been provided to ensure a satisfactory cleaning regime. Additional funding must be made available to remedy these and other key deficiencies.

A TUI survey of teachers identified more physical space and smaller classes as the measures to counter challenges posed by Covid-19. The TUI calls for a full audit of each school to establish and quantify the resources needed to keep schools open.

Many school buildings are not fit for purpose. Ventilation and heating problems will occur during the period of colder weather and may force the closure of some schools. TUI calls for the Department of Education to take the advice of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC, and install air quality meters in every classroom. The measure will ensure that students and teachers are not forced to teach and learn in freezing cold classrooms.

We must reconceptualise school design. The current crisis has taught us the importance of infrastructure that is fit for purpose.

ICT infrastructure is deficient. Many of our students lack access to the technology to engage effectively in emergency remote learning. The TUI will not countenance a situation whereby students can access education only if they can afford information technology or IT. The poor and the marginalised suffer the most in such circumstances.

We welcome the Minister's stated intention to hold the traditional State examinations, which is something on which the TUI had called for certainty. However, we believe further adjustment to assessments and curriculum content beyond those already made will be required due to the loss in tuition time.

Despite the additional Covid-related work, teachers, principals and deputy principals have made sure that their schools opened safely while they carried out their normal, back-to-school duties. However, the additional workload is now not sustainable. Targeted resources are imperative, including the full restoration of middle management structures.

The TUI members will continue to operate in accordance with the relevant public health advice but the Government must provide us with the certainty, clarity, information, resources and ongoing investment that is required to keep schools open.