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The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Irish National Teachers Organization has said that the “serious safety concerns” of teachers have not been adequately addressed.
Following an emergency meeting, the CEC asked the Department of Education to reconsider its plan to resume special education at the school this week.
In a statement, INTO said teachers had serious concerns about the public health advice provided in today’s webinar in relation to the limited planned reopening of special education.
He said teachers are understandably and justifiably anxious for their own safety and that of their students, while infection levels in the community remain very high.
The Public Health Webinar, organized by the Department of Education after a call from INTO for updated information, failed to allay teachers’ fears, the union said.
“We will continue to collaborate with the department and public health authorities in an effort to work toward a gradual and safe reopening. However, up-to-date and reliable information and support are essential for this effort to be successful.”
INTO’s CEC will meet again tomorrow to further assess the situation.
Union President Mary Magner said: “I know this is the last thing teachers want to worry about as they go to great lengths to support students remotely.
“We’ve heard the concerns of teachers in the past few days and while teachers across the country are eager to get back into the classroom, they are scared. Teachers are committed to supporting their vulnerable students, but staff safety is vital. “.
INTO Secretary General John Boyle said: “Today’s webinar did not address the concerns of teachers. The government must take responsibility for the poor and untimely communication and conflicting messages of the past two weeks.
“The failure of the Minister [Norma] Foley and Minister [Josepha] Madigan to participate in proper consultations in the last two weeks has been very disruptive and has hampered planning for the safe reopening of schools.
“We have made progress on some of our key concerns in the past few days, but there is more work to be done to ensure the safety of staff, students and their families, including a higher priority of education staff for vaccination.
“We will continue to be constructive and work with our fellow Fórsa and with the Department of Education for the orderly and safe reopening of the schools.”
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Latest coronavirus stories
The Department of Education previously said that more guidance will be issued in the coming days regarding the position of workers in special education schools who are in a high-risk category or are pregnant.
Health officials today participated in a webinar for school staff ahead of plans to reopen the special schools.
5,000 special needs aides (SNA), special education teachers and school principals joined the webinar on Zoom, with an additional 11,000 people tuning into YouTube.
They saw data showing that the level of Covid-19 that is detected among children who use daycare is well below the level of the general community.
Dr Kevin Kelleher of the Health Services Executive said in the webinar that while the new variant of the virus was more transmissible, the currently recommended safety measures for schools were still applicable and would protect people.
Public health specialist Dr. Abigail Collins acknowledged that there was no “risk-free” and that partial reopening of schools was about striking the right balance of risks.
As the meeting progressed, very negative comments were made by those listening, reflecting the level of anxiety and anger felt by many teachers, SNAs, and others involved in special education.
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