Special education is set to partially reopen to thousands of children from February 11th following agreement with school staff unions
The revised plan will see special schools opening from February 11th with 50 per cent student attendance.
Special classes in mainstream primary schools are due to reopen fully to all pupils from February 22nd.
The move paves the way for the wider reopening of schools over the coming weeks.
In addition, the Department of Education is planning a home-based programme in the evenings and weekends to support the education and care needs of pupils with complex needs.
However, the announcement has drawn a mixed response from advocacy groups because it does not provide in-school teaching for thousands of children with additional needs in mainstream primary classes.
In relation to the annoucement, Minister for Education Norma Foley said she was pleased to be able to "give certainty to children with special education needs and their families on when they can return to school.
“It is hugely positive we now have a concrete plan in place to support these children to return to in-person schooling, in line with public health advice,” she said.
Minister of State Josepha Madigan said special schools and special classes will be supported in their return by enhanced school teams put in place by the HSE and the department .
Updated guidance and information on supports for schools will also be made available in advance of the return.
Autism charity AsIAm said while the announcement was a “step in the right direction”, thousands of children with additional needs in mainstream classes had been left behind.
AsIAm chief executive Adam Harris said a a clear roadmap was urgently needed to vindicate the rights of children with additional needs in mainstream classes and in secondary schools.
He also said many will be disappointed that special schools will be reopening with 50 per cent attendance given that children in these settings have the greatest level of need in the State.
“It is vital that commitments made today are delivered on and very quickly built upon to ensure children are not longer left behind.”
The Irish National Teachers’ Association (INTO) and Fórsa, which represents special needs assistants (SNAs), met on Monday afternoon following talks with the Department of Education over safety concerns.
The leadership of both unions said they were satisfied with progress made on their demands for additional safety and support measures.
They said enhanced safety measures had been achieved in a range of areas including PPE, the numbers of people in classrooms, provisions for pregnant and medically-vulnerable staff, school transport, childcare supports, remote provision to students whose parents do not want them to attend school, and school risk assessments.
Proportionate
The breakthrough follows the collapse of two separate plans to reopen schools last month amid safety concerns among schools staff unions.
INTO president Mary Magner said the revised protocols and plans set out by the Department offer a "proportionate and limited reopening of special education provision, led by public health advice".
“We will continue to monitor the situation on the ground closely both ahead of the reopening and thereafter, to ensure that the weekly testing and tracing reports back up Nphet’s conclusions,” she said.
Fórsa’s education division executive committee also backed the proposals, which it said were developed on the basis of” intense engagement with unions, and in the context of a wider phased reopening of primary and post-primary school services”.
The union said progress had been possible against a backdrop of declining numbers of Covid-19 cases, and the significant improvements in schools safety measures achieved since the first proposal for full reopening was announced in early January.
It added that SNAs - who are have recently been designated as “essential workers” - would be among the first 30 per cent of the population to receive Covid vaccinations.
In relation to the planned weekend and evening support package for children with additional needs, the department said it will involve an allocation of five hours per week of home-based teaching or care supports over a four-week period.
It said the allocation is aimed at supplementing remote teaching provided by the pupil’s school and may be provided by a teacher or SNA in a student’s home.
Participation in the programme will be on a voluntary for families, teachers and special needs assistants.
The programme is due to commence from February 11th and may be used by families at any time up until the end of April.
In a statement, the Department of Education said talks will continue this week and in the coming period with stakeholders on further phases of return so that a wider reopening can be delivered for children as soon as possible.
