Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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153. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the meetings that have taken place to date on the reopening of schools in September 2020. [7230/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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On the 1 May 2020, the Taoiseach announced as part of the "Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business" that schools will commence opening on a phased basis at the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year.

My Department is engaging and working with the education partners and relevant stakeholders on planning arrangements for the re-opening of schools in accordance with the timeframe outlined in the roadmap and all decisions on how schools are to safely re-open and operate will be consistent with public health advice. There has been a meeting of the primary education forum and a meeting with post-primary stakeholders which took place last week. The Department has also been engaging with management bodies on a weekly basis to prepare guidance for the school sector on a range of issues, and this guidance has been published on the Department’s website.

In addition as part of this engagement, each of the education partners were given the opportunity to outline the key issues that they would like to have considered in the context of re-opening schools.

These will now be worked through in detail as part of the development of the roadmap for re-opening schools. Ongoing meetings with stakeholders will be arranged as the Roadmap for Reopening Schools is developed.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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154. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the recent statement that the reopening of schools is one of the safest things that can be done; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7231/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that decisions in relation to schools re-opening and operating will be underpinned by the ongoing public health advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and the Department of Health.

On the 1 May 2020, the Taoiseach announced as part of the "Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business" that schools will commence opening on a phased basis at the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic year.

My Department is engaging and working with the education partners and relevant stakeholders on planning arrangements for the re-opening of schools in accordance with the timeframe outlined in the roadmap and all decisions on how schools are to safely re-open and operate will be consistent with public health advice.

As part of this engagement, each of the education partners were given the opportunity to outline the key issues that they would like to have considered in the context of re-opening schools.

These will now be worked through in detail as part of the development of the roadmap for re-opening schools. This work will also be informed by guidance and experience from other jurisdictions and from advice published by international bodies such as the World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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155. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will commission a report on the short, medium and long-term impact of school closures on the educational development of young persons. [7232/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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A key priority for my Department is to minimise the impact of school closures on the educational development of young persons due to the Covid 19 crisis, and we are currently undertaking a number of actions to ensure this.

Guidance has already issued to schools to help ensure the continuity of teaching and learning, to support those with Special Educational Needs, those in areas of educational disadvantage, and to help support the wellbeing of all learners.

Guidance will issue shortly which will include information to support learners at each of the key stages of transition. The aim of the distant learning approaches set out in this guidance is to ensure that children stay connected with learning to facilitate progression to the next level of their education.

This guidance has been developed in consultation with all relevant stakeholders – including teachers, parents and learners. There is also ongoing consultation with the management bodies and unions from both sectors on all matters relating to Covid 19, which will continue for the foreseeable future.

School communities have been learning to adjust and adapt to the challenges they face at this time and have taken up the challenge of staying connected with their students for teaching, learning and maintaining the social connections and supports that are so important for young people’s wellbeing. The aim of distant learning approaches is to ensure that children stay connected with learning to facilitate progression to the next level of their education.

A group has also been established within my Department to look at the reopening of schools in the Autumn. This involves two strands:

- the logistics of reopening; health and safety; hygiene; social distancing, etc. and

- curriculum considerations, i.e. what needs to be put in place to support ongoing progression for learners and addressing any shortfall that may result from school closures.

My department will keep this situation under review and will continue to issue advice and guidance to schools as appropriate, in accordance with the advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, in order to mitigate any impact on the educational development of young persons.