Mr. Michael Gillespie:

Since 27 July and the publication of the roadmap, we have engaged with the Department numerous times per week, as my colleague from the ASTI said. More than that, the volume of documentation that has been changing hands and in which we have been putting our points to the Department, outlining what we believe is required for the safe reopening of schools, has been colossal. People have been working into the small hours of the night to read documents, make comments on them and send them back to the Department. It has been a massive job of integration and a considerable volume of documentation has arrived into schools. What has happened in a short time is mind-boggling.

As I said in my opening submission, schools have changed beyond belief since 12 March. Second level schools have been pared back to the paint to fit as many students into classrooms as possible. That has taken an effect on teachers who will return to classrooms where resources that have been there for 30 years or more are either in a skip or in a metal container in the car park. That is hard for teachers and they have had to adapt quickly to a new way of doing things to benefit students. A lot of the good work and ways we were teaching, including group work and whatever, has now had to change and teachers have had to adapt.

We spoke earlier about examinations and our teaching staff at both primary and secondary levels deserve a H1 grade from me for the amount of work they have done to get ready and welcome back their students in very difficult times.