21st December 2020
Caroline McCarthy, Chair of INTO Northern Committee, speaking on Monday morning December 21st, said:
“After a weekend that has seen increasing levels of concerns about the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant, I challenge the Minister of Education to outline in clear and unambiguous terms what additional measures he is proposing to protect the children and young people in his care and their teachers.
INTO would welcome an intervention from CMO/CSA to ensure the focus remains on safety and reduced transmission in schools. Minister Weir’s claims that schools are safe does not reflect school experience and published figures along with the emergence of a more infectious variant of the coronavirus casts further doubt on the Minister’s opinion.
PHA provision is already overstretched and will not meet any increase in need. Closing of borders may impact provision of safety materials. Teachers and school leaders need a window in which to review the recently updated health and safety guidance issued by DE, to make the necessary preparations allowing learning to continue as the pandemic again rises to crisis levels.
INTO call for decisive actions in two areas. Firstly, schools should remain closed for pupils until January 11th, this will allow time for a necessary re-evaluation of the current safety procedures they have in place, a reassessment on the part of the Department of Education and the employing authorities of the safety guidance available to schools and the scaling up of PHA school support to schools. Risk assessments need to be updated, with identified mitigations adjusted in some cases. Consideration has to be given to varying attendance patterns. Secondly, a prioritised plan for vaccinations in schools which will put education ahead of the virus and ensure that education can plan for a safe future with an end to the disruptions of the education of our young people.
There is significant concern at Minister Weir’s apparent disregard for the reality of the situation and the dangers faced by school staff and pupils.
INTO calls for the Minister to treat the health and well-being of school communities as the number one priority. Examinations and transfer tests are secondary to the health of our children, young people and those that work with them.”