Aontú Education Spokesperson Gemma Brolly warns “School staff cannot be held accountable if the bubbles burst and circuit breakers follow.” On 18th August, the Minister of Education informed the public of the alterations to restrictions within school settings, including no longer operating with ‘bubbles’ yet recommending ‘consistent groups’ in order to ensure effective contact tracing.
Essentially all the Minister has done here is renamed ‘bubbles’ as ‘consistent groups’ and ‘passed the buck’ to the school staff. Given the high numbers presenting with COVID at present, schools are already experiencing COVID absences with both staff and pupils and of course not all teachers can even make themselves available to substitute due to the ongoing problem with GTCNI registration. Principals are taking calls from concerned parents following a flowchart but still uncertain what to do for the best and are busy handling all COVID matters, while they attempt to fulfil all other regular duties as best they can.
With no alternative our health service had to cancel elements of treatment and care in order to deal with the consequences of COVID, yet school staff are attempting to not only deal with the current circumstances but also maintain and improve education as far as possible to help pupils recover from the last 18 months as best they can.
Aontú demand that the Minister must not only consult regularly with Unions, she must listen to those on the ground, within the sector daily and act accordingly for the benefit of everyone before the bubble bursts and we are back to circuit breakers and remote learning.”
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