Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to acknowledge the work the Minister and Minister of State have done over the past few weeks to ensure that children with special educational and complex needs can return to school shortly. I welcome the Minister's statement that all parties are working together towards a safe return by 21 January. This is welcome, considering that some of the children in these cases have profound needs and the impact of Covid on their education and socialisation is most profound.

I welcome that the Minister and Minister of State have engaged extensively with all stakeholders, having recently met Inclusion Ireland, Family Carers Ireland, Down Syndrome Ireland and AsIAm about the prospects of reopening schools. The families and students represented by these groups clearly communicated the importance of returning to education for some of our most vulnerable students and are best placed to speak about how detachment from a school or care setting negatively impacts on these students the most. From listening to the parents of the students affected, we have heard that remote learning can never replace on-site education and care.

On special education, I ask the Minister to elaborate or comment on what additional support measures are being examined in the interim to facilitate a safe return for the students. I would also like to acknowledge the role placed by the trade union Fórsa in ensuring that the resumption of special education can proceed on a phased basis.

The announcement regarding a return for primary school pupils is to be welcomed but what is the arrangement for second level students? Are similar talks progressing with all stakeholders at second level in regard to special education provision? As the Minister and Minister of State know, there are nearly 2,000 special classes throughout the country in nearly 1,000 schools. Many second level students attend ASD units. What does a phased return to school mean for those students?

Second, I want to refer to the leaving certificate examination. As teachers, the Minister and I know the importance of the examination and how it ideally should proceed. Questions surrounding the leaving certificate need to be answered sooner rather than later. The debate must be concluded instead of being allowed to trundle on. As we have seen again today, some Opposition Deputies prefer to speak out of both sides of their mouth and add to the pressures already being experienced by students and their families. I note that the Minister's advisory group is to meet again shortly. While we need to look at a blended, hybrid option, perhaps offering both a traditional leaving certificate accompanied by a refined predictive grading model, I note that the Irish Second-Level Students Union has written to members of the Oireachtas education committee detailing the pressures experienced by students in the vacuum in which they currently find themselves. If a traditional leaving certificate accompanied by predictive grading is the chosen route, akin to last year, we will need to look at stripping back the content and number of modules in certain syllabi or providing an increased number of questions or options on the leaving certificate papers.

My third question relates to repeat students. If we find ourselves in a predicament where predictive grading is deemed the optimum model, we will need to be able to facilitate students who may have to repeat examinations this year. I would appreciate answers to those three questions.

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