Schools closed until March/April? (part 4) **Mod warning in OP 22/01**

deiseindublin

This is a TUI letter sent out today, bit more detail:


Hello all,

The agreement reached in relation to the phased re-opening of schools from Thursday 21st January refers to the 124 Special Schools and Special Classrooms primarily in the Primary Sector (other than the very small number of post primary teachers who work in a limited number of the 124 Designated Special Schools).

Discussions in relation to the re-opening of Post Primary Schools and Special Classes in Post Primary Schools is still under discussion with the DES and the Education Partners, including the TUI.

As stated by the Minister for Education today “During this lead into a phased commencement of in-school services at primary level, we are working in parallel with post-primary stakeholders to address their concerns and recognising that post-primary schools present different logistical challenges if a partial return is to be possible.”

We will continue to keep you posted.

Regards
***

KathleenGrant

How would it work for children with significant needs in a mainstream class ? That's mental altogether. Who would teach that child?

deiseindublin

It reads to me that it is only the 124 schools with special classes, not individual students in 'regular' classes.

KathleenGrant

deiseindublin wrote: »

It reads to me that it is only the 124 schools with special classes, not individual students in 'regular' classes.

I am hopeless at attachments. It mentions children with needs in mainstream classes in paragraph 4.

Cerveza

CapriciousOne wrote: »

I don't think anybody knows really. Nothing has been communicated clearly, but I guess that doesn't matter as long as Norma gets her win/to broadcast her victory TikTok.

She has a nice fringe.

Russman

CapriciousOne wrote: »

I don't think anybody knows really. Nothing has been communicated clearly, but I guess that doesn't matter as long as Norma gets her win/to broadcast her victory TikTok.

I do think that's a large part of it tbh. It was taken as a "defeat" last week and didn't sit well.

Str8outtaWuhan

KathleenGrant wrote: »

How would it work for children with significant needs in a mainstream class ? That's mental altogether. Who would teach that child?

The vast majority of children with additional needs are in mainstream classes, they are not covered in the press release.

KathleenGrant

Str8outtaWuhan wrote: »

The vast majority of children with additional needs are in mainstream classes, they are not covered in the press release.

Are they not mentioned in paragraph 4. Maybe i have a learning disorder myself.

BonsaiKitten

KathleenGrant wrote: »

Are they not mentioned in paragraph 4. Maybe i have a learning disorder myself.

No you're right, children with additional needs in mainstream get a shout out in the statement. Took a snippet from it below.

...a return to school for those in special classes in primary schools and children with significant additional needs in mainstream primary classes...

https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2021-press-releases/PR21-01-14.html

KathleenGrant

BonsaiKitten wrote: »

No you're right, children with additional needs in mainstream get a shout out in the statement. Took a snippet from it below.



https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2021-press-releases/PR21-01-14.html

But who would teach those children? Surely their teachers are teaching the rest of the class remotely.

downthemiddle

KathleenGrant wrote: »

But who would teach those children? Surely their teachers are teaching the rest of the class remotely.

A trivial detail for the DES.

BonsaiKitten

KathleenGrant wrote: »

But who would teach those children? Surely their teachers are teaching the rest of the class remotely.

Doesn't matter. Makes a nice soundbite for the DES and to hell with the rest of it is the attitude. We'll see a nice fluffy useless document come out, probably sometime around the 19th or so...

KathleenGrant

downthemiddle wrote: »

A trivial detail for the DES.

I read online that the child would be supported by resource teachers and SNAs and teachers who don't have responsibilities of classes. A school 2 miles from me has a teaching principal, no idle teachers roaming the corridors looking for classes to teach. They have a resource teacher but she is shared with 2 other schools. She'll be busy...

The Wordress

How Shambolic can you get.

One minute we are reopening, 2 days later we are not, a week later we are!

Logistically it will be very hard for me to go back to SEN work as it stands. I have school going children and it is lose lose to return to work.

Either my husband goes off work with a drop in income, I send my children to creche which will cost a lot and I don't feel comfortable with or I will take leave to stay at home which is unfair and will eat up my leave.

I get see the powers that be bringing all classes back on February 1st now.

Str8outtaWuhan

downthemiddle wrote: »

A trivial detail for the DES.

schools will be forced to determine "significant additional needs"

ffs if its safe enough for the most vunerable to go back, they should all go back.

KathleenGrant

Str8outtaWuhan wrote: »

schools will be forced to determine "significant additional needs"

ffs if its safe enough for the most vunerable to go back, they should all go back.

Or to put it another way......if it's not safe for the non vulnerable it's not safe for those who are.

jrosen

The Wordress wrote: »

How Shambolic can you get.

One minute we are reopening, 2 days later we are not, a week later we are!

Logistically it will be very hard for me to go back to SEN work as it stands. I have school going children and it is lose lose to return to work.

Either my husband goes off work with a drop in income, I send my children to creche which will cost a lot and I don't feel comfortable with or I will take leave to stay at home which is unfair and will eat up my leave.

I get see the powers that be bringing all classes back on February 1st now.

Thats pretty much the position of thousands of families already, just like last March through end of school term and again post Christmas break.

downthemiddle

KathleenGrant wrote: »

I read online that the child would be supported by resource teachers and SNAs and teachers who don't have responsibilities of classes. A school 2 miles from me has a teaching principal, no idle teachers roaming the corridors looking for classes to teach. They have a resource teacher but she is shared with 2 other schools. She'll be busy...

Norma has no experience of such schools but the majority of primary schools have teaching principals.

scouserstation

As expected there is some concern with SN schools going back next week but I wouldn't be too worried for a number of reasons
1. These schools will have had time to put in place the measures that are needed to create as safe an environment as is possible
2. We are now seeing a plateau in case numbers and the reproductive rate is going the right way and we should see a slowdown in spread by next week
3. I would say there's a good chance 99% of special needs kids have been staying at home and greatly reducing contact since the festive period so the chances of these children carrying the virus is quite slim

Iv seen some crazy talk here lately from some posters claiming that schools won't open back up till Easter but I would say by early Feb schools will likely be deemed safe again to reopen, wel probably be looking at bringing kids back after mid term at the latest

Sweet.Science

scouserstation wrote: »

As expected there is some concern with SN schools going back next week but I wouldn't be too worried for a number of reasons
1. These schools will have had time to put in place the measures that are needed to create as safe an environment as is possible
2. We are now seeing a plateau in case numbers and the reproductive rate is going the right way and we should see a slowdown in spread by next week
3. I would say there's a good chance 99% of special needs kids have been staying at home and greatly reducing contact since the festive period so the chances of these children carrying the virus is quite slim

Iv seen some crazy talk here lately from some posters claiming that schools won't open back up till Easter but I would say by early Feb schools will likely be deemed safe again to reopen, wel probably be looking at bringing kids back after mid term at the latest

No way will schools open that early . Parents want their cake and eat it .

Their attitude would change If they were asked to go back to work in their full office

No chance they would in the current climate

Inquitus

scouserstation wrote: »

As expected there is some concern with SN schools going back next week but I wouldn't be too worried for a number of reasons
1. These schools will have had time to put in place the measures that are needed to create as safe an environment as is possible
2. We are now seeing a plateau in case numbers and the reproductive rate is going the right way and we should see a slowdown in spread by next week
3. I would say there's a good chance 99% of special needs kids have been staying at home and greatly reducing contact since the festive period so the chances of these children carrying the virus is quite slim

Iv seen some crazy talk here lately from some posters claiming that schools won't open back up till Easter but I would say by early Feb schools will likely be deemed safe again to reopen, wel probably be looking at bringing kids back after mid term at the latest

The new UK variant spreads as readily in secondary school children as it does in adults, I can see some concessions being made for kids of frontline workers, or special needs families, but I can't see it being a good call to re-open schools fully at the start of February. Doing so would cause another big spreading vector of community transmission and is to be avoided at all costs.

DraftDodger

I understand a lot of parents who have kids with special needs are struggling at home but besides everything else aren't they concerned about their kids getting sick by sending them into school at present as I would presume many would have compromised immune systems and other health issues.

Seems bizarre tbh.

Locotastic

Sweet.Science wrote: »

No way will schools open that early . Parents want their cake and eat it .

Their attitude would change If they were asked to go back to work in their full office

No chance they would in the current climate

Not all parents work in an office.

Jesus. This woman is on a mission.

How can she even consider sending children and staff into schools potentially endangering them?

The hospitals can't cope as it is!

Is she delusional?

Quantum Erasure

KathleenGrant wrote: »

But who would teach those children? Surely their teachers are teaching the rest of the class remotely.

Shur thats only half an hour twice a week, in my local school anyway. And ive heard of teachers sharing the load, as remote learning isnt restricted by classroom size, so you could teach 60 or 90 pupils just the same as 30

C__MC

Junior cert a dead duck for 2021?

scouserstation

Sweet.Science wrote: »

No way will schools open that early . Parents want their cake and eat it .

Their attitude would change If they were asked to go back to work in their full office

No chance they would in the current climate

There seems to be a lot of irrational decisions being made and some people are letting fear cloud their judgment, if you take a step back and look at the evidence, take on board the public health advice, then many will see their concerns are a little over the top, at the moment it just seems to be whatever suits the narrative

Sweet.Science

Locotastic wrote: »

Not all parents work in an office.

Where else do they work at the moment that would be deemed as unsafe as a teachers environment ? Excluding HCWs

Norma Fooley on RTE News

downthemiddle

TheTorment wrote: »

Jesus. This woman is on a mission.

How can she even consider sending children and staff into schools potentially endangering them?

The hospitals can't cope as it is!

Is she delusional?

Tune into the Six One news now to hear Norma tell us that schools are safe.