10.4.1 Supports and resourcing

10.4.1 Supports and resourcing

Through a combination of extraordinary effort on the part of school communities and extensive additional supports provided by government, schools reopened successfully

Through the collective and extraordinary efforts of their managers/leaders, supported by staffs and communities, schools reopened successfully in August/September 2020. This involved the return of nearly half a million children and young people to schools, as well as over 80,000 staff.

In order to support and guide the reopening of schools, the Department provided an extensive suite of financial and advisory supports to school communities. Supports included:

■a new minor works grant to primary schools and post-primary schools to support the full

implementation of COVID-19 response plans

■funding for the employment of an aide to help with the logistics of reopening

■funding to support additional cleaning costs

■a drawdown framework to enable schools to purchase necessary supplies of hand-sanitisers and

personal protective equipment

■increased management supports

■special-needs assistant (SNA) substitution

■additional supports based on calculated enrolment for developing schools

■a Department helpline for schools

■a comprehensive suite of guidance documents

While a primary objective of the Department in September 2020 was to support schools in encouraging students to return to complete their education, it was acknowledged that some students would choose not to re-engage with their post-primary education. The guidance document Reconnecting with Education – Guidance for post-primary schools for students at risk of early school leaving, which was developed and published by the Department with considerable input from the Inspectorate, aimed to support schools in encouraging students to return to school. The guidance also outlined options such as alternative pathways to further education or employment.

The Inspectorate played a significant role in supporting the safe resumption and continued provision of education

The safe and sustainable operation of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic was a national priority during 2020. In support of this priority, the Inspectorate conducted a programme of inspection visits to schools during the period September to December 2020, to provide advice and support on the implementation of the Department’s guidelines in relation to creating a safe learning and working environment for all. These Supporting the Safe Provision of Schooling (SSPS) inspections formed the most significant part of the Inspectorate’s on-site inspection programme over that four-month period (Table 10.2).

Table 10.2: Number of Supporting the Safe Provision of Schooling inspection visits completed during the period September 2020 to December 2020

	Primary schools	Post-primary schools	Youthreach centres
Number of SSPS inspection visits completed	431	276	33

Source: Inspectorate, Department of Education During SSPS visits, inspectors evaluated the school’s level of compliance with the Department’s COVID-19 response plans for the safe and sustainable reopening of schools.159 A framework of checks was devised for this purpose and these checks were grouped into four main areas:

1. Planning

2. Appointment of a Lead Worker Representative

3. Provision of staff training

4. Implementation of control measures

The overall findings from these visits were very positive and showed how schools were working to ensure that they were safe places in which to work and learn. Overall, the findings demonstrated the extraordinary efforts made in schools and centres, particularly by school principals and centre managers, to ensure that children, young people and staff could work safely with the assurance that all required mitigation measures were in place.