Irish parents - have you any idea how schools will be returning next month?

[Inanutshelldaze]

So far our school has given us no communication as I'm sure they don't know what way things will go...
My neighbours received an email late yesterday evening to say that due to the rise in cases to expect & plan for scenarios involving remote learning & classes not returning fully.
The way things are going with the numbers & r rating I don't expect them to be back fully. I would like to be prepared though! I hope we get some notification soon as to what to expect.. the govt seem very determined to get them all fully reopened 🤞

We were given a return date of the 28.08 but we have no idea what that return is going to look like.

The school seem quite frustrated with a lack of information from the department of education. They said they were making plans but don’t know what a return will look like until they get further communication. It is unlikely there will be a full return at this stage. Hopefully there will be some time in school as home schooling just won’t work for a lot of people full time. I’m back at the office full time now and my husband is working from home. He has a lot of meetings and definitely will not have time to educate children and work.

Same here. The DES seems to be providing feck all guidance. The schools and the public seem to find out at the same time any time there is an announcement.

My child did fine with distance learning but I'm not sure I can cope with another few months of no school. DH will be working from home until January.

We have heard nothing yet, but I really don't know how I'll cope if they don't go back!

Yes same here, they need to return! My crew are in a Gaelscoil, we were quite disappointed with the distance learning during the lockdown. It varied from teacher to teacher.
The would definitely have benefited from zoom calls like some of the other local schools were doing to keep the language up as dh & I were both working from home & Irish is not our strong point! Tg4 was keeping them going🙈

Schools mine attend also sound frustrated at lack of information from the dept. They told us they would update us in early July. We were then told that the couldn’t as the were still waiting on info.

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-40017686.html#.XxM87AjT0Yk.whatsapp

An interesting read from the examiner about the education system ☹️

Mine due back on 31st and we were actually in the school in June as DS got a 15 minute slot to come and meet his new junior infant
Teacher and see his classroom and basically they don't know what's happening. We were told they they will need to bring their own hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes but apart from that no actual definite info. Both of mine are happy out at home so I'll have an awful struggle getting them back in September after a six month break

I have read the guidelines for school ( I am a deputy principal ) and they are still quite general. No social distancing required if not able below 3rd class.
Lunch breaks staggered for both staff and children and hand washing built into the day. Children will need their own pencils etc but will continue to bring back homework textbooks
The big thing is no child can come in with a cold etc, we are using out staffroom as an isolation room and parents will have to come collect which as a working parent is going to be very problematic for lots of people.

The guidelines acknowledge the fact that remote learning was needed but is not in any feasible in the future. We are scheduled to go back on the 1st September and I truly believe we will be. That school that sent out about remote learning did so off their own back and shouldn't have done that

I’ve heard that there’ll be no uniforms. They want the kids in in freshly laundered clothes every day and that will be too difficult with a uniform. Not sure how true that is though!

I didn't read that but I have heard that from some schools alright. I have bought dds for next year so they better not bring that in!

The problem is any plans made now will likely be redundant in two week. We have been given a tentative date of back on 27 August but lots of provisos that it's down to regulations being determined.

No school in the country knows anything definite yet so any talk of back en masse/blended learning/staying online is pure conjecture at this stage. Personally I think they will try to get us back for a few weeks but I fully expect a shutdown again over winter.

I did hear of a school stating that kids needed stationery that would be kept at school (and extra pencils/colours for home) which I thought was a good idea.

I do hope that whatever the guidelines turn out to be, they're more concrete than the wishy washy draft guidelines we got a few weeks back. The cynic in me says the Government don't want to put anything concrete in the guidelines as they'll have to pay for it...so they will wiggle out of it by talking about 'bespoke' and 'local guidance'.

I think it will vary from school to school so there won't be anything set in stone. My DC attend a large school so the yard is always crowded and the local area is heaving with people at drop off and collection times but I can see why a smaller school would not need staggered start and finish times.

No update yet, its ridiculous!
I saw college students are getting a grant to help them.. What about primary & secondary schools? We spent a fortune over since March buying a new printer, ink, paper, stationary.
School was only sending home worksheets so we ordered lots of workbooks from amazon to keep them going..
My dc go to a Gaelscoil, we were told to read alot of books as Gaeilge at home... Our collection was limited as the school send home readers. They sent the odd one over email so we ordered alot irish books to keep them going!
We then got an email yesterday for the voluntary contribution & a seperate one for arts & crafts, dancing football etc. The fees were not amended to take into account the 3 months they were out of school, no reduction. We'll pay but I'm not happy about it as I'm sure they won't be going back as normal & will have plenty of disruptions to school again this year🙁

The fees won't be amended because schools are very underfunded and it's highly likely your payment doesn't cover the full cost of Art/Science etc materials. Voluntary contributions often put towards heat and light costs. It's very common for teachers to pay for classroom materials out of their own pocket.

As I always say to parents about this issue, lobby the Department of Ed to increase funding..

Absolutely agree with you. But we should also be pressing the govt to provide parents with a back to school cost in case of another lockdown. I didn't think of keeping receipts but the printer set up back 150, we had to get new cartridges twice, paper on top of that... Workbooks which were additional due to the schools poor provision.
It would be great to get some clarity so we can prepare ourselves...

Our school sent out an announcement that the kids could wear their school tracksuits when they go back but I already have uniform bought so DD will be wearing that.
DD will be in 1st class and it’s the biggest class in the school (22!) and they usually group the desks in a group of 4 so if they have to be spread out I’m not sure there’s a classroom big enough!
Also it will be the first year of getting out with the rest of the school and apparently it’s really really busy. It’s a small country school with very limited parking and everyone congregates at the gate.

Op I can’t believe you are moaning about paying for a printer and ink and even considering lounging for a reduction on costs due to the kids being out of school for 3 months !! They are your kids !!!
And keeping receipts?? For what ?
Do you have any idea how underfunded schools are ?

Re returning to school - nobody knows. The DES seem to be burying their heads in the sand and hoping it will all go away . I can’t see how schools will function any way normally .
In our school we have classes of 30 . Not a chance of social distancing.
I’m dreading it to be honest . Wearing a mask all day , trying to teach without going near the kids , maybe being kept in a ‘pod’ !
If I could afford it I’d take a career break . And if I were my principal I’d retire .

I didn't mean to offend FoodieToo, I have no idea in regards to cost. However our voluntary family contribution is 300 euro per family. 3 kids each with arts & crafts etc at 96 euro per child. We pay the school the bones of 600 euro a year. It is by far the highest in the area but we love the school & principal.
I never said I was lounging for a discount but we had to pay again for providing our children with the work. We were both on the covid benefit as our jobs don't facilitate working from home.
We were delighted to spend the extra time with the kids & loved the homeschooling.
We had to buy alot of workbooks to keep our kids going as despite the astronomical contribution paid last September the work provided was very poor & the kids were finished in half an hour. Most days it wasn't corrected.
What I feel going forward is that a blanket ban should be given to all children who find themselves remote learning again if the schools need to close, similar to what Simon Harris is rolling out for 3rd level.
We will have already paid this to the school so if the school cant provide parents for services already paid for the govt needs to step in.

FoodieToo, I don't envy you returning in Sept. It will be very difficult for teachers. I really hope you get all the support you need. The numbers are going in the wrong direction unfortunately.
There is 30 in each my dcs class too. Also there's two other schools on the road with very similar hours. Drop off & collection is a nightmare at the very best of times between the 3 schools...

I'm hopeful that they will all go back to school but I wonder will there be a lot of 'stop starting'.. In for a few weeks then out for a few weeks, etc. It'll be very hard on teachers as many of them do get sore throats each year given the nature of the job. Our Principal has asked us to be prepared for getting 'last minute' calls that the teacher is sick and there is no suitable sub. Kids cannot be 'divided up' between the rest of the classes now.

A lot of 'scaffolding' takes place in schools (older kids helping younger kids) and I think it's so sad that will be restricted as it is so beneficial to both sides. And things like school plays, performances, etc.

I was talking to an SNA recently and she says she has no idea how she'll do her job as it involves a lot of going in and out of different classrooms over the course of the day. And some children would need her to be right next to them.

But I think most kids will be fine.. They'll learn some valuable lessons about how to deal with changing situations. It is so important as a parent to realise that your kids will often reflect how we are as parents. I keep saying to my three that we're living in such interesting times and that we're all learning as we go along. My daughter should have made her communion and is fascinated that she is part of the first group ever to be doing it differently.

The schools are right to be cautious at this stage about saying too much about the year ahead.. They don't know - nobody does - how things will be regarding case numbers and the r value in the year ahead. It is worrying though that lots of people still aren't wearing masks in shops even though it is mandatory.

Yes it is very worrying about the masks. In my area also there are many still not complying ☹️
Totally agree that there will be a lot of stopping & starting. If only we had some guidance about what to expect. I don't have much confidence in the new minister, she's very vague in her responses.

Our Principal has asked us to be prepared for getting 'last minute' calls that the teacher is sick and there is no suitable sub. Kids cannot be 'divided up' between the rest of the classes now.

Especially given that schools aren't entitled to a sub on the first day of teacher sick leave. Normally you'd split them up and have them minded in other classes with work packs, of course. Can't do that now...so what do you do with the kids? Send them home? Given that staff aren't supposed to come to work if they've signs of Covid that could be a lot of days of sending them home.