Education Minister confirms school closure details as GCSEs / AS/ A2 exams cancelled

He also confirmed that all GCSE, AS and A2 exams due to take place in January, February, May and June will be cancelled. Work will continue on the alternative awarding arrangements.

Tens of thousands of students will now spend the next month and a half learning remotely under the new agreement reached around the Executive table.

In a speech to the Ad Hoc Committee today, Mr Weir said that with immediate effect:

“All mainstream education providers, including pre-school education settings, primary and post primary schools are required to provide remote learning at home to their pupils rather than face to face teaching in school until the half term break in the middle of February.

“Vulnerable children and children of key workers will have access to schools for supervised learning. Vulnerable children include amongst others all children with statements of Special Educational Needs. Children of key workers would require at least one parent to be a key worker. These are the same provisions as were put in place during the first lockdown, which resulted in a very small uptake in places.

“Remote learning requirements and the removal of face to face teaching should be temporary and will last no longer than necessary, and therefore it will remain under review by the Executive

“Special schools are to remain open as usual.”

Mr Weir said he has also agreed that provision in lieu of free school meals will be made to those children entitled to free school meals while normally in school, adding:

“Childcare settings, including those based in primary schools, are to remain open and childminders are also allowed to continue their provision.”

Turning to exams, he said: “I have consistently said that my priority is to ensure that, if at all possible, exams should go ahead as planned. My overriding aim, however, is to ensure that our students are not disadvantaged in terms of their qualifications compared with learners in other jurisdictions and takes account of the rapidly changing context in which our schools and pupils are having to operate. We must also provide equity between our students completing exams under different examination boards from different jurisdictions.

“I have previously said that we are preparing for all eventualities and I had asked CCEA to take work forward so that plans are ready to be activated in relation to the 2021 examination series should they be required. I now feel we have reached a point where, while I still believe examinations are the most appropriate and fairest awarding methodology, with a further six weeks of remote learning having to be imposed, we cannot continued with exams in the way that was planned.

“I have therefore decided the following: all GCSE, AS and A2 exams due to take place in January, February, May and June will be cancelled. Work will continue on the alternative awarding arrangements and further details will be brought forward as soon as possible.

“Generic youth provision will move online under the discretion of Management Committees and EA Youth Service will continue to lead on targeted provision for vulnerable and at risk young people, including limited face to face work (with mitigations in place to limit the spread of the virus) where this is deemed appropriate and to provide support under existing protocols to PSNI.

“I would like to reiterate that these decisions have not been taken lightly, but we must have regard to the prevailing public health situation, and the need to reduce overall community contacts.

“I will return schools to face to face learning as soon as the public health situation permits.”

Mr Weir said the actions were necessary “in light of the current crisis in public health”.

“This decision does not suggest that schools are no longer safe places for young people. Instead, limiting attendance is about reducing the number of contacts that all of us have with people in other households,” he maintained.