Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I will say at the outset that it is my first time in this august Chamber and I am honoured to be here. On the previous occasion, the House sat in the Dáil Chamber so I am honoured to be here.I am particularly happy to be here to provide Senators with some updates on a range of topics in the schools sector and also to hear their views. This session was initially scheduled to come just after the Government launched Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with Covid-19. That plan sets out the framework for restrictive measures and is a risk management strategy for the next six to nine months. It is designed to allow individuals, families, businesses and services to better understand, anticipate and prepare for the measures Government might introduce to stop an escalation of the transmission of Covid-19. In the context of the plan, I assure Senators that Government has been very clear that at all times the priority guiding the plan will be to keep our schools open, while keeping people safe and protecting the resilience of our economy and communities.

I have used every opportunity I have had to speak in the Houses to acknowledge the huge effort by school communities right across the country that has gone into ensuring our schools could reopen over the past four weeks. Government played its part in committing the necessary resources to the roadmap for reopening our schools. My Department worked with the education partners to develop detailed guidelines for schools to operate within and school communities worked incredibly hard and indeed generously at the local level to get schools reopened. The test, of course, will be how we keep our schools open but as I have said, the plan for living with Covid-19 will prioritise keeping schools open. That is a signal of the importance I and Government attach to ensuring our children and young people receive as close to what we used to call a normal education as possible in our schools. Again, I have previously said one size does not fit all and schools working with families will be working at a local level to address any particular concerns or challenges that emerge. There were challenges in the first days in some schools and this was always to be expected on the basis that we have approximately 4,000 schools in a range of shapes and sizes across the country. It is a testament to the work undertaken at school level by school communities that, in the main, we can refer to the reopening of our schools as having been successfully achieved. However, we cannot be complacent.

In preparing for the reopening of schools, we knew that most students and indeed their families and school staff would be looking forward to going back, reconnecting with school, with staff and friends and settling back into school work. Significant work has been undertaken at school level to ensure schools reopened safely and now stay open. The approach taken may look or feel different when compared between schools but this reflects the local circumstances in a given school. Schools are best placed to communicate the arrangements in their own schools directly to students and parents about matters such as start times, finish times, drop-offs, pick-ups and other logistical arrangements. However, all of these arrangements take account of the roadmap from Government and the extensive suite of supporting documentation made available by my Department. It will be necessary for all stakeholders or partners to reflect on experience over the initial period of schools being open and any further or evolving public health advice. The dedicated support phone line in my Department remains available to schools which may be experiencing any specific individual challenges. Parents, students and other stakeholders may continue to have questions about particular issues or circumstances including, for example, whether to send a child to school or what happens in a school if a child or staff member displays symptoms while in school. The HSE has published very clear guidance for parents on what to look out for in determining whether to send their child to school or not. In the guidance provided to schools, they have been advised to identify isolation spaces in their buildings where any suspected cases will be brought and also on what follow up steps are appropriate. Any further actions in a given school and circumstances will be taken based on the advice provided by the local public health advisers.

In an open letter on the reopening of schools, the acting Chief Medical Officer pointed out that "there are no zero risk options for reopening schools or indeed any other environment", but that international evidence shows that child-to-child and child-to-adult transmission of Covid-19 in schools is uncommon and that for the overwhelming majority of children who are diagnosed with Covid-19, their symptoms will be mild. Therefore, the aim is now to keep our schools open by ensuring that all appropriate public health measures, such as physical distancing, hand washing and respiratory hygiene, are implemented where appropriate.The Government has also published up-to-date information for parents on what to do if a child has symptoms of coronavirus, along with other commonly asked questions.

The reopening of schools has been a very important milestone for Irish children and society. The safety and well-being of staff, students and the whole school community has been of paramount importance in the Government's planning for school reopening. Pivotal to this has been schools' engagement with public health advice. My officials have been closely with officials from the Department of Health and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, public health specialists and other key personnel from the HSE to support schools in this regard.

At the beginning of September, the HSE briefed all education stakeholders in relation to Covid-19. My Department continues regular engagement with the health authorities and the educational partners. All schools were provided with a HSE document - Schools Pathway for Covid-19, the Public Health approach - setting out the approach to managing isolated confirmed cases of Covid-19 within the school community and also the principles that will underpin the management of outbreaks or potential outbreaks and the aligned testing strategy within an educational facility.

It is important to note that the response to confirmed cases or outbreaks of Covid-19 in the community or in a school is the responsibility of, and will be led and managed by, public health HSE. All decisions as to appropriate actions following a confirmed case or outbreak will be made by their teams in the context of a full public health risk assessment procedure. Any actions to be taken by the school will be communicated directly by public health HSE. School management will be informed as and when such actions as exclusion of children or staff or partial or full closure are deemed necessary on public health grounds. If a school is not so informed, it has not been deemed necessary by public health.

We know that when cases are confirmed in the community and arising in households, this will be reflected in the school community. The procedures set out by public health specialists have been tested across the country as confirmed cases arise among staff and students or in their families or close contacts. We cannot eliminate this completely but we can provide as much information and support as possible for school leaders, staff and parents. We can provide funding and practical supports to schools to ensure they can access substitutes, appropriate personal protective equipment, PPE, and other health measures. We can make sure public health teams respond quickly and testing is prioritised for those close contacts within the school community of confirmed Covid-19 cases. My Department has received enormous co-operation from the health authorities in that respect and I sincerely acknowledge that. A public health specialist from the HSE attended stakeholder meetings at the beginning of the school year to describe the public health approach for stakeholders and to answer questions and address any concerns raised. Webinars and other resources have been developed by the HSE specifically to address issues raised by schools around the approach taken when cases are confirmed in the school community and such resources are being circulated as widely as possible. Information and guidance has been made available on gov.ie/backtoschooland I urge all members of the school community to make full use of those resources. Schools are being provided with out-of-hours contact email addresses so that they can raise issues and queries as they arise.

I would like to acknowledge in particular the principals of our schools. Due to the nature of their role and their access to the kind of information that public health specialists require as speedily as possible to prevent further transmission of infection in schools, they must of necessity play an active role in engaging with the public health teams. This may of course occur at the weekend, depending on when cases are confirmed. Any principal who has been called upon in this way has done their utmost to co-operate and support the public health specialists in any way that they can. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.

For our part, my Department also has continuing engagement with the public health authorities on a weekly basis to streamline procedures and information flows and ease the administrative burden on all concerned in both the education and health sectors. In the event of a positive case of Covid-19 being detected in a pupil or staff member of a school, the school setting is notified to the local HSE public health department for a public health risk assessment. This assessment includes identifying any close contacts of the positive case. This will vary from school to school according to a range of factors considered by medical specialists. Immediately following the public health risk assessment, the principal is advised by the public health team of any actions to be taken, including requesting parents to collect their children or advising staff to go home, restrict their movements and await a test appointment. Covid-19 test appointments are issued as a priority for school-based close contacts through a specific schools referral process within the HSE.At the point of testing, swabs for the school group are sent to the laboratory as a red-flagged batch to be processed as a priority on delivery to the laboratory. The swabs will also have a specific school reference number to allow batch reporting of results for the particular school setting.

During planning for school reopening, the stakeholders and I were in full agreement that reopening schools must be in accordance with HSE public health expert advice whose recommendations have been published and are kept continually under review as new evidence emerges. My Department has engaged extensively with stakeholders in developing the plans for reopening, including regular formal meetings, as well as informal contacts. The views of stakeholders have been taken into consideration at every stage of the process, including their emphasis on a public health-led approach to planning for school reopening. I am, however, aware that ASTI has indicated its intention to ballot its members for industrial action on a range of issues. My Department will continue to consult with stakeholders following the reopening so that we can address any remaining concerns of staff, students, parents and others and ensure schools remain open safely.

I know that Senators have a keen interest in school transport. My Department received updated health advice from NPHET on 18 August, the Tuesday before schools reopened, which impacted on the planned operation of post-primary school transport services. This advice stated that for secondary school students on school transport strict distancing should be ensured in line with that on public transport, along with the wearing of face coverings, and that primary school students should distance where possible. Government then decided that the arrangements made for the primary school transport scheme, including special educational needs, SEN, primary transport services, would proceed as planned when schools reopened with additional measures in place, such as preassigned seating and additional hygiene and cleaning measures, on these services. The Government also decided that the post-primary scheme, including SEN post-primary services, would commence operation when schools reopened with additional measures in place such as preassigned seating and additional hygiene and cleaning measures on services and with the rolling implementation of measures to provide physical distancing in line with those required on public transport, which is using 50% of passenger capacity on the post-primary services as required.

Every effort continues to be made to provide a safe transport service. However, if parents decide not to avail of transport services, they may request a refund on the cost of their ticket for the 2020-2021 school year. For those children who are eligible for transport under the terms of the post-primary school transport scheme and whose parents decide not to use post-primary transport for the 2020-2021 school year in light of the impact of most recent health advice, the Department will provide a grant to support them with the cost of private transport arrangements.

My Department has engaged with Bus Éireann to implement measures so that services that could operate from the start of the school year at 50% capacity did so and over the coming period all other post-primary transport services will be reorganised and additional services will be provided as required to allow for physical distancing. Bus Éireann has advised that in the region of 20% of a total of 2,100 mainstream post-primary services are in a position to operate at 50% capacity. This figure is subject to change as final tickets are allocated and consideration is taken of those parents who opt to seek a refund and-or avail of a grant from the Department to support the cost of their own transport arrangements for the 2020-2021 school year.

With regard to children on dedicated post-primary SEN services, more than 70% of these services are operating at 50% capacity. With regard to children who attend special schools and who may travel on services with children of mixed age groups, 54% of these services are operating at 50% capacity. Over the coming period, all other services will be reorganised and additional services will be provided as required to allow for physical distancing. In line with the mainstream post-primary services, parents who wish to avail of a grant instead of using transport have been offered the option to do so.

Bus Éireann recently invited applications from operators who wish to be considered for the provision of additional post-primary services that may be required. It is estimated that more than 1,600 additional buses and drivers will be required to deliver 50% capacity. To date, more than 140 applications from contractors have been received and evaluated. Bus Éireann is assessing the extra resources that may be required to assist in the areas of customer care, procurement and resources to implement the roll out of 50% capacity as required on post-primary services and the Department is reviewing its analysis in this regard. All children who are eligible for school transport and who applied and paid on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the 2020-2021 school year.

The school transport scheme family portal was temporarily closed for applications and payments on the 20 August 2020.This temporary closure was necessary to complete the work required to issue tickets to families who, at that time, remained due to be allocated a ticket for school transport services for the 2020-21 school year. The school transport scheme family portal reopened with effect from 7 September. Parents and guardians making an application or payment at this time for the 2020-21 school year are reminded that the closing date for payments for the 2020-21 school year was Tuesday, 4 August. While it is possible to submit a payment, payments made at this time are now late. Late applications and-or families who pay late are not guaranteed a seat and will only be allocated a seat if capacity is available once seats are allocated to those families who applied and paid on time for transport services for the 2020-21 school year.

Primary tickets will be allocated to those who apply or pay where capacity exists on routes. No tickets will issue to post-primary late applicants or payees until such time as routes are rolled out at 50% capacity for those who applied and paid by the deadline of 4 August. As routes are rolled out and if capacity is available, tickets will be allocated to those applicants. Although capacity issues are far more constrained in the post-primary scheme than was the case in 2019, the Department is keeping under review where significant numbers of concessionary applicants may exist, who paid on time and who are 4.8 km from their nearest school but are attending their second nearest school. However, the current priority is to facilitate 50% capacity on services for those who have been allocated and issued tickets. In the event of not securing a ticket where no capacity exists, or on cancellation, a full refund will be issued.

Turning to the leaving certificate class of 2020, more than 60,000 students received their calculated grades on 7 September and the CAO has issued its first round offers, with the second round offers issuing this week. Calculated grades were developed as a direct result of not being able to hold the conventional leaving certificate examinations. It was an agreed model, first mooted by students and developed with stakeholders. As Minister, I have been at pains to ensure that students are a priority and informed of all developments in the calculated grades process. That will continue.

The additional 5,000 plus places in higher education approved by the Government for the 2020-21 academic year meant that the CAO was able to make 78,950 first round offers on Friday, 11 September last, 6% higher than in 2019 while, overall, CAO applications were up only 0.6%. Some 80% of CAO applicants for level 8 courses got one of their top three choices this year, which is similar to the case in previous years. The calculated grades appeals process opened on Monday, 14 September. By the appeals closing date on Wednesday, 16 September, 12,292 students had appealed results in 33,677 grades. The calculated grades office will seek to process these appeals as quickly as possible.

The leaving certificate calculated grades model relied on a process of national standardisation to ensure that a consistent standard in results was applied in schools across the country. If this process did not occur, it would have led to unfairness to students across different schools and subjects and to very significant inflation of marks that would not be credible in a single year and which could do major harm by undermining the status of the leaving certificate. Students who remain dissatisfied after the appeals process can choose to sit the written leaving certificate examination in one or more subjects when they are held, commencing on 16 November. Registration for the leaving certificate written examinations to be held in November will open from Monday, 28 September, at 9 a.m. on the calculated grades student portal.

Candidates who had previously registered for the leaving certificate examinations which were postponed from last June can enter for the leaving certificate in any or all of their registered subjects. The written examinations will be run by the State Examinations Commission, which will oversee all arrangements. A circular outlining all relevant details will be provided to schools later this week. Examinations will be held across the schools network during evenings and weekends. The logistical details will be finalised by the State Examinations Commission when the numbers of candidates for the examinations are known. There will also be an opportunity for adult learners who were due to sit the junior cycle examinations in June to sit written examinations in November. These junior cycle examinations will also be offered to early school leavers who had been registered to sit the June examinations and who had left school after junior cycle 2020 and are not continuing in an educational pathway that would lead to formal certification.

A small number of students have taken legal action against the calculated grades process, with High Court proceedings in train in those cases. It would not be appropriate, therefore, to engage in discussion of those specific cases, but two cases have been ruled on which involved out-of-school learners. The State has given notice of its intention to appeal the first of those High Court rulings, and as the second judgment was given this morning we will consider its implications urgently. The appeal that has been lodged will in no way impact on the position of the student, who received his leaving certificate results under the calculated grades process on 7 September along with the other more than 60,000 leaving certificate students.The appeal is being taken on certain legal issues arising from the judgment.

The Government undertook to put the calculated grades process in place so that the leaving certificate class of 2020, who have already been through an unprecedented and difficult experience, would be able to proceed to the next stage of their lives. That was the Government's priority.

I assure Senators that I and the officials in my Department will continue to work hard across the range of challenges we continue to face in the school sector to ensure that we can keep our schools open, complete the leaving certificate appeals process, support the preparation of the 2021 examination students, and support students and school communities throughout the country as we have done through the challenges presented by Covid-19.