10.6 Key messages

10.6 Key messages

■The pace of change that was experienced in the education system during the COVID-19 pandemic

demonstrates that education reform can happen more rapidly than we may have thought previously.

■The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of

Education provided an extensive range of financial supports and other resources to assist early learning and care settings and schools during the period of school and setting closures and as they reopened.

■The continued work of the Teacher Supply Working Group to enhance the supply of substitute

teachers and the planned employment of additional substitute teachers on supply panels are to be welcomed.

During school closures

■During the period of school closures, schools reported considerable success in engaging with the

majority of pupils and students in mainstream schools and demonstrated high levels of adaptability.

■While schools were closed, there were significant challenges in engaging pupils and students who

were most at risk of educational disadvantage.

■Parents reported gaps in the provision of developmental feedback to pupils and students on the

quality of their work.

■The ability of a high proportion of schools, particularly at primary level and in special school settings,

to engage with pupils and students in the online environment was underdeveloped.

When schools reopened

■The reopening of schools in September 2020 was achieved through the extraordinary efforts

of school leaders and whole school communities, and was supported by an extensive suite of financial and advisory supports provided by the Department of Education.

■Overall, schools and Youthreach centres operated in a safe and sustainable way during

September to December 2020.

■The Inspectorate’s re-engagement with early learning and care (ELC) settings included the

development of the Insights: Quality in Education webinar series, which facilitated the sharing of findings, ideas and examples of effective practice from ELC settings.

■Despite significant efforts to increase the supply of substitute teachers in the system, principals

continued to experience significant difficulty in covering COVID-related teacher absences.

■Many schools were successful in broadening the range of teaching approaches experienced by

pupils and students when schools reopened, including enhanced use of digital technologies; there were some challenges in relation to providing feedback to pupils and students on their progress and in engaging pupils and students in collaborative learning and practical learning activities.

■Addressing gaps in learning as a result of the period of school closures was reported by schools as a

significant concern.

■The safe operation of schools and the delivery of key projects, such as calculated grades, were made

possible through a spirit of collaboration and co-working between all education stakeholders.