Offaly student representatives disappointed at decision to reopen schools

Two student representatives from Laois/ Offaly have hit out at the decision to reopen schools.

The duo are committee members of the Irish Second-level Students’ Union (ISSU) which believes that announcing a full reopening of schools is rushing school leaders to put in adequate risk-mitigation measures to ensure a safe return for students.

The union claims the Department of Education has not responded adequately to the shortages of school and teaching staff and student absenteeism.

The ISSU also notes the high levels of disruption that schools and students have experienced in the last term, and that any return to in-person learning should be done on a phased approach, whilst prioritising exam year students and students with special educational needs. 

Courtney Chambers, a representative from Laois/ Offaly on the ISSU committee commented: “I am very disappointed with the decision to reopen schools, given the current number of Covid cases. There is a lack of HEPA filters in schools and mixing hundreds of students in the corridors seems unwise at this moment in time.” 

Another regional representative from the two counties, Ben Campbell stressed that “the lack of student voices in the making of this decision was unfair to the students of Ireland, and unfair to those who are vulnerable or live with vulnerable people themselves.”

ISSU Uachtarán Emer Neville, after attending a briefing with the Department, said: “The briefing has left students in a position of major uncertainty, and schools will have little time to assess their absences and plan adequately for reopening schools safely. 

With the high levels of close contacts and Covid-19 infections currently affecting the country, many students will either be unable to return to school or will be welcomed back to school on Thursday by classes without a teacher or substitution. 

Disruptions will remain a major issue for teaching and learning, which leaves students, particularly those in exam years, at an acute disadvantage.” 

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The ISSU further notes students were not consulted on this announcement. This demonstrates a disregard for how important the voice of students is in this discussion, as an equal stakeholder in education. This approach to finalising the return to school without consultation comes as a surprise, considering a very productive and close relationship between a wider pool of stakeholders with the Department of Education in recent months, in response to the challenges that the pandemic has brought about. 

The ISSU is continuing to call for an open and solution-oriented discussion with all education stakeholders on how to minimise disruption of teaching and learning. The union is calling for:

The urgent sourcing of HEPA filters for all classrooms.
Additional adjustments to be made to the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle exam papers for 2022.
The ISSU is urging all stakeholders in school communities to adhere strictly to public health regulations in order to ensure the safety of schools for all students and staff.

The union has noted that whilst Public Health representatives have said there is no rationale to not re-open schools, the Department of Education have disregarded the disruption that this rushed reopening will cause to students. With high teacher absenteeism and substitution shortages, schools are under-resourced. The current plan that has been proposed allows the possibility of specific class groups in each individual school to be sent home from school if deemed necessary. This causes significant disruption and uncertainty for students, with the possibility of many students not knowing if they are going to be in school the next day. This also raises concerns about whether individual classes could miss out on in-person learning compared to other classes and what position that will leave students completing state examinations.

The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU), expresses major concern at the lack of consultation with students on the return to school. The representatives of students were not consulted at a meeting held on the reopening of schools on January 4th, as they believed they would be, instead, a briefing was held to inform the ISSU and other stakeholders of the decision that had already been made.