Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I am keen to acknowledge the extraordinary work that is being done by school leaders. The principal in my local school has told me that even though he is wandering empty corridors, he has never been as busy as he has been this year. All of this is unseen work and it deserves to be acknowledged. The same is true of the engagement, especially by SEN teams to which Mr. Clerkin alluded, to keep these most vulnerable children in contact with schools. It has been highly valuable work and mostly unseen. It deserves to be acknowledged.

I am going to dig into a couple of issues, especially in respect of attendance. I will aim this mainly at primary school level so perhaps Mr. White and Mr. Clerkin will want to speak to this. I have a number of questions. The first relates to the primary online database returns, which have to be submitted on 30 September. Mr. Clerkin addressed this in his opening comments. We know that the staffing for August 2021 will be decided on the returns for 30 September this year. In all likelihood there will be reduced admissions to junior infants this year as parents hold on to their children. Has the IPPN been given any clarity on whether there will be staffing implications? As I said, in all likelihood the cohort of junior infants who are held over will lead to larger classes in 2021.

On the same topic, has the IPPN received any guidance on changing the guidelines for NEWB notifications? Normally notifications have to go out to parents after 20 days of absence. Has this been changed or relaxed in any shape or form? Circular 0028/2013 relates to an absence of 20 consecutive days and provides for a child being struck off the roll. Parents whose children might be immunocompromised may decide to keep the children at home for a longer period. Has the IPPN received any guidance or clarification from the Department on those attendance issues?