Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas le Baill an Tí as ucht a dtiomantais maidir leis na rudaí a bhí ar chroílár na díospóireachta ó thaobh an oideachais thar na míonna agus na laethanta a chuaigh thart. Tá na rudaí sin iontach tábhachtach. Bhí stádas a dtodhchaí neamhchinnte ach ba é sin an bealach a bhí romhainn. Táim fíorbhuíoch do na páirtithe leasmhara san earnáil oideachais as an chuidiú a bhfuair mé uathu. Bhí siad ag obair go dian. Táim ag tagairt ach go háirithe d'fhoirne uilig na mbunscoileanna, na meánscoileanna agus na n-ollscoileanna. Tá tionchar mór ag cúrsaí ar na mic léinn agus na daoine óga. Is é sin an fáth go raibh an Rialtas tiomanta d'oscailt na scoileanna agus ag obair go dian dícheallach ar son daoine óga le riachtanais speisialta. Táim buíoch as a bheith ann do dhíospóireacht arís. Is é an ról agus an dualgas atá ormsa ná obair le moltaí na daoine uilig sa Dáil. Beimid in áit dhearfach an tseachtain seo chugainn de bharr na díospóireachta.

I am happy to be here in the House again to provide Members with the latest updates on the significant issues in the education system, including reopening our schools, leaving certificate 2020, and the provision of the summer programme. I am conscious that the Business Committee has also scheduled a full session on the issue of the summer programme in the House next week.

A lot has happened across the education and skills sector in the last 12 weeks since schools, colleges, universities and other settings closed on 12 March, which is 12 weeks ago today. In the 12 weeks between now and the end of August a lot more will be done. The pace at which issues have been identified and addressed over the past 12 weeks is a credit to those who work in the sector, the students and the parents. It exemplifies the spirit of being in this together and I want in particular to acknowledge the leadership of the officials in the Department of Education and Skills who have worked on all of these issues throughout. Since I was last in this House, the executive office working on the calculated grades process in my Department, which is working in close collaboration with stakeholders, has progressed a range of issues. These include the publication of the guide for schools in providing estimated percentage marks and class rank orderings on 21 May, with supplementary guidance issued on 28 May.

Over 60,000 leaving certificate and leaving certificate applied students had registered on the student portal by the 12 p.m. extended deadline for registration last Friday. This is over 98% of the total of 61,029 who had been expected to sit the leaving certificate examination in 2020. I can also confirm that my Department will continue to engage with schools in the coming weeks in an effort to establish why some students may not have registered on the portal. I want to take this opportunity to thank the students who responded to my call last week to be proactive and engage in the online process and not to leave registration to the last minute. The executive office has established a special section to deal with students who are in atypical situations and supplementary guidance will issue on these aspects. This is an area that many Deputies had raised and every effort will be made to resolve these cases.

The system through which schools will submit data to the executive office will shortly go live with accompanying guidance issuing to principals. I confirmed the appointment of Dr. Áine Lawlor as the chair of the independent monitoring committee of the calculated grades process when I was last in the House. I can now confirm the other members of the committee. They are Dr. Peter Archer, the former CEO of the Educational Research Centre; Ms Majella O'Shea, former Deputy CEO of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA; Mr. Joe Hamill, former Secretary General of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and chair of the New Schools Establishments Group; Mr. Justin Edwards, CEO of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, Northern Ireland, and Professor Michael O'Leary, Professor of Assessment at DCU. These are all eminent people whose experience crosses education, governance, assessment and research. I want to thank each of them for agreeing to be members of the committtee and I wish them well as they have their first formal meeting today.

The initial feedback coming from school management bodies and teacher unions on the operation of calculated grades at school level has been positive, with teachers engaging in a professional manner with the process. I understand teachers and principals have found the guidance material prepared for them to be very helpful, including the provision of additional guidance and answers to queries, in addition to appreciating the speed at which these have been provided.

Our focus now is very much on ensuring we are ready to receive the submissions from schools and to then reopen the student portal so students can choose to opt in to receive calculated grades.

Everyone in this House appreciates the wider impacts of extended school closures on children and particularly on children already at risk of disadvantage or who have special educational needs. That is why I want to see the maximum return to school possible in late August and September that is consistent with the need to do it in a safe way. Managing the reopening of schools is a massive logistical operation and requires careful planning and management. My Department is engaging in a process of detailed planning and stakeholder engagement at primary and post-primary levels to achieve this objective in a way that is safe for students and staff.

I brought an update to Cabinet last Friday on these issues and regarding delivery of the summer programme. I will be returning to Cabinet next week with a plan to achieve these dual objectives. I then expect to publish those plans.

Among other things, we will look at a range of issues including: public health guidance on mitigation to build confidence within the school community of teachers, staff, parents and children; measures to ensure hygiene and infection prevention and control; training for staff in communication with families to promote those measures, including such measures as good hand hygiene and hand cleaning and good respiratory practices; attention to promoting children's well-being in returning to school; and engagement with stakeholders. I am paying very close attention to the experience of other countries which have reopened schools and to emerging scientific advice. I will continue to engage with my counterparts in the North, the UK and across Europe to learn from their experiences.

The potential for running summer programmes for children with complex special educational needs and children at greatest risk of educational disadvantage is being developed. In 2019, students with autism and children with severe and profound general learning disabilities participated in the traditional July provision scheme over two strands, with approximately 70% of students accessing the home-based strand and 30% attending 232 schools, predominantly at primary level.

My Department, the Department of Health and the HSE have linked up to consider a joined-up approach to the provision of a continuum of care and support during the summer period. A cross-departmental working group has been established to map this continuum. I want a summer education programme to run, recognising that students with special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage need to be prioritised. Regression in their learning and difficulties in transitioning to the next educational setting are real concerns for some of these students. It is generally acknowledged that disadvantaged pupils are more at risk of disengaging in a remote-learning environment relative to their peers and may fail to make a successful transition to a more senior level.

The existing summer provisions aimed at students at risk of educational disadvantage are being examined, including the school completion programme, summer literacy and numeracy programmes for DEIS primary schools and summer camps run by or outsourced by boards of management. Planning for summer education programmes is difficult under the current circumstances with some of the issues examined including: the running of any school-based programme will need to be informed by public health advice; the availability and willingness of schools, teachers, SNAs and bus escorts to support the programme; a desire that key logistical arrangements will be worked out in advance of announcing the programme; availability of transport to and from schools; and willingness of parents to allow their children to attend such a programme, particularly children with significant health conditions. My officials are engaging closely with stakeholders in developing a summer programme with a further round of meetings happening today. This work will help inform different aspects of such a programme.

School principals, teachers and SNAs have already done so much since schools closed to help support their students, particularly those with special educational needs and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Schools have ensured regular communication, devised individual support plans with the agreement of parents, provided familiar resources, hosted live online classes and provided a new structure and routine. Schools have done this out of a desire to support their students to the best of their ability in very challenging times.

For teachers and SNAs who can do so, I urge them to think seriously about supporting a summer programme which will make a meaningful difference to their most vulnerable students. The length of school closure has been much longer than we might have hoped. Providing an opportunity for children to participate in a summer provision would provide a really important opportunity to reconnect with schooling and offer an important structure which may help towards a fuller return to school in the autumn.

I will be returning to Cabinet next week in relation to the provision of a summer programme. I know the positive impact such a programme would have and I want to see it happen but we must do it in a safe way for all concerned.

The various challenges that have emerged since the closure of the schools 12 weeks ago on 12 March have been faced and addressed in a systematic way that has taken into account what is best for students at various levels and through collaboration with all stakeholders.

I repeat that as we move forward in our planning to reopen schools and to provide a summer programme, we must do so safely and with the confidence of all concerned, whether that is the confidence of students, their parents, or the staff in the sector. I want to see children back in classrooms, with their friends, and being supported in school by their teachers, special needs assistants, SNA, and other school staff. Achieving this objective will be guided by public health advice and wider decisions concerning the roadmap for reopening our society.

Mar fhocal scoir, we are working towards those goals and will be communicating with students, teachers, school staff and management bodies in the coming weeks on how we return to school in the new academic year.

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