6.4 Mitigating the impact of COVID-19

6.4 Mitigating the impact of COVID-19

As outlined in Chapter 1, and expanded upon further in Chapter 10, extensive and wide-ranging actions were undertaken by the Department of Education, as well as other Departments and support agencies, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on pupils and students in schools, particularly those with special educational needs and those at risk of disadvantage. These measures included a substantial package of additional funding for schools, the provision of a range of supports and resources for digital learning and for pupil/student wellbeing, and the publication of guidance documents to assist schools in ensuring that there was continuity of learning for all pupils and students. The Department also put additional summer programmes in place, primarily to support pupils and students with special educational needs and those most at risk of educational disadvantage.

To help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on learners with special educational needs and on those at most risk of educational disadvantage, the Department developed summer programmes

Teaching and learning were disrupted for all children and young people during the school closures related to COVID-19 in 2020. However, the findings of Inspectorate research conducted during the periods of school closures indicated that remote teaching impacted particularly negatively on many children and young people with SEN, and also on those from disadvantaged backgrounds, both from a learning and wellbeing perspective. To address these challenges, the Department developed a new Summer Provision programme in 2020, which facilitated the provision of educational supports during the summer to a range of pupils with SEN. This programme was an expansion of the previous July Provision programme. The Department also offered a Summer Programme to all DEIS primary and post-primary schools. This programme focused on encouraging those students deemed most in need to reconnect with school. It aimed to support their physical, social and emotional wellbeing and provide them with the skills they need to engage in a meaningful way with learning in the future.114

At primary level and in special schools, the Department offered a school-based summer programme and a home-based summer programme for a range of children with SEN

The absence of school, in conjunction with the withdrawal of most other community supports, proved to be particularly challenging for many children with SEN. The Department offered a school-based summer programme for a range of children with SEN, and where this was not available locally for children, parents could choose a home-based summer programme instead. The Inspectorate collaborated with the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and with representatives of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and Special Education Section to devise guidance to assist schools with the content, approaches and the operation of the summer programme.

Overall, the programme was designed to help pupils to:

■reconnect with their schools, their teachers and their peers

■enhance their readiness for learning and ultimately reduce regression in learning

■develop resilience and nurture wellbeing by promoting a sense of safety, calm, connectedness,

self-efficacy, and hope

■develop skills and routines to ensure they transition successfully to the next stage of their schooling.

114 Further information on the Summer Programme provided by the Department in 2020 is available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/ press-release/cab14-government-announces-new-summer-provision-2020/

The Inspectorate review of the Summer Provision programme at primary level and in special schools identified many benefits to pupils. However, the lack of availability of transport was identified as a concern

The Inspectorate reviewed the operation of the 2020 summer provision programme. The findings indicated there were many benefits for the pupils who engaged in the programme. There were strong positive responses from almost all parents of children who attended the programme about the manner in which the summer provision programme enabled their child/ren to start learning again outside the family home, and the extent to which the programme enabled their child/ren to make up at least some of the learning gaps caused by the school closure. Almost all parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child enjoyed attending and that the programme helped their child to reconnect with the school, their teachers and their friends. Principals of participant schools viewed the programme as being successful in their schools. Many principals identified achievements for pupils in relation to engagement, wellbeing, routines, social skills, safety procedures and general happiness. However, many principals reported that they were unhappy with the lack of availability of transport for some of the pupils who, in their opinion, most deserved a place on the programme.

In 2020, the Department offered a summer programme to DEIS schools for the first time

For the first time in the history of the DEIS scheme, the Department offered a summer programme to all DEIS post-primary schools in 2020. This policy decision was based on the evidence gathered by inspectors during school closures from March 2020. The rationale for providing the programme to the most marginalised learners was grounded in the significant impact that school closures had on learners and their families. The impact related, in particular, to student wellbeing and the digital divide between pupils/students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those for whom access to a digital device was readily available.

The aims of the programme were to provide students with the opportunity to reconnect with school, teachers and peers and to re-establish these important relationships, and also to support students to reintegrate/transition with their peers into their planned education setting for the next school year.

The Inspectorate developed a guidance framework and documentation to support schools in developing a summer programme to suit their own context. The Inspectorate had oversight of a programme of CPD for schools undertaking the programme.

The Inspectorate evaluation of the summer programme in DEIS post-primary schools in 2020 found that the participating students experienced a range of benefits

As part of a review of the value of the summer programme and its impact on students, inspectors engaged in discussion with senior management in fifteen schools that provided the programme. These discussions followed up on the schools’ own internal evaluation of the programme, in which they were encouraged to capture feedback from students on their experience of the programme. The findings were very positive; they indicated that the students experienced improved wellbeing, a greater sense of connectedness, enhanced social skills and improved self-confidence in relation to transitioning to the next stage of their education. They also noted that students in the participating schools also experienced decreased anxiety levels.