‘Rushed and reckless’- INTO on reopening special education settings
INTO and other key stakeholders in primary and special education say they were invited to a very short briefing meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
After two days of increasing speculation, the government yesterday announced the closure of the majority of primary schools until February 1. For the second time during this pandemic, mainstream primary education will move online. However, INTO understands that special schools, special classes and other specialised settings will reopen on Monday, January 11, and the representative body have hit out at the decision.
They claim the Department of Education did not consult with them regarding providing face to face education for children with special educational needs for an extended period.
INTO and other key stakeholders in primary and special education say they were invited to a very short briefing meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
Following that the INTO and other stakeholders expressed “serious concern” about the Department's expectation that these specialised settings could simply reopen fully from next Monday without necessary preparation time and protections required.
“Special schools, students and staff do not exist in a bubble separate from wider society. The sustainable and safe reopening of these schools and classes should be based on specific health advice, with adequate preparation and a staged reopening. The rushed plan as laid out today is reckless and takes unnecessary risks which could easily be avoided. In light of public health advice, it is questionable whether attendance at such premises will be other than minimal,” say the INTO.
“It is ironic that building sites are being closed on public health grounds just as pupils and staff are sent to work together with little evidence of additional safety assessments, specific public health review of risk and clear additional supports,” the union added.
The INTO meanwhile insists that any decisions being made by government regarding the re-opening of schools, and in particular special educational settings, would be under-pinned by the most up-to-date public health advice. “In particular we have drawn attention to the increasing number of young children who have tested positive for Covid-19 within the last two weeks and sought a thorough analysis of these figures relating to any new variants of the virus.
“We are calling on the public health authorities to carry out an assessment of the safety of opening special schools, classes and specialised educational settings and to make recommendations to ensure the safety of staff and pupils.”