NI Assembly recalled after petition to re-examine school openings

The move comes after SDLP West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan MLA’s party lodged a recall petition which has achieved 30 signatures, with Sinn Féin backing the move, while teachers’ union INTO has also raised fresh concerns today.

As a result the Assembly will be recalled on Thursday, Mr McCrossan said “to compel Minister Weir to act to protect pupils and teachers”.

Meanwhile INTO Northern Secretary, Gerry Murphy has today written to the First and Deputy First Minister to call again for clarity from the Education Minister and a re-consideration of the Minister’s proposal to begin on line learning for some post primary pupils beginning on January 25.

Mr Murphy said: “Schools do not exist in a parallel universe, they are firmly located in the same universe that is currently besieged by a pandemic that is out of control.

“Minister Weir needs to recognise this and act appropriately to protect not only the pupils in our schools but the teaching and non-teaching staff. The position he outlined in his statement to the Assembly last week was not sufficient to do that then, and now it is even more redundant.

“INTO is now demanding that online learning be introduced from day one of the 2nd term in the interests of school communities and society generally. We urge him to act while time remains.”

Mr McCrossan MLA meanwhile said: “I welcome the support of Assembly colleagues for a recall petition and tomorrow. SDLP MLAs will be robustly challenging Minister Weir on his failure to act to provide vital safety assurances, ahead of schools reopening next week.

“With a huge rise in Covid-19 levels across our community, the fact that schools across the North are due to return in just days is deeply concerning.” He added: “Pupils, parents and teachers are extremely anxious and there has been a lack of clarity and support to reassure them and assist. For weeks now, the SDLP has urged the Minister to provide this support to our school leaders and he has failed to do so.

“It is now essential that the Minister for Education outlines the medical and scientific evidence he has used to dogmatically rule out an extended school holiday.

“It is unfortunate that the Minister for Education needs to be dragged before the Assembly, instead of taking proactive action. The SDLP will ensure that pupils, parents and teachers have the answers and assurances they need.

“People have the right to know if it is safe for pupils and teachers to return to school next week and the SDLP will ensure that the Minister for Education can no longer ignore taking action.”

Confirming Sinn Féin backed the Assembly recall on school reopening, Foyle MLA Karen Mullan, the party’s education spokesperson, said: “With the dramatic rise in the numbers people testing positive for Covid-19, Minister Peter Weir should review his position on the re-opening of schools and ensure protections are in place to ensure the safety of everyone in our school community.

“Pupils, parents, teachers and school staff are rightly worried about the scheduled opening of schools next week.

“The Minister needs to clearly spell out what work he has done with the Department of Health to protect our school community from the current rapid spread of Covid-19.

“I am calling on the Minister to outline what scientific and health advice his department has received and whether he will consider taking additional mitigations, if recommended in the health and scientific advice.”

Primary school pupils, those in years 11-14 and pupils at special schools will remain in school.

Last week the Education Minister told MLAs that all ‘schools need to reopen for face-to-face teaching for all students at their usual time in January.’

However, he said that the return to school won’t be a return to school as normal.

The Minister said that a number of measures are being considered, including an extension to the use of face covering in post primary schools, a further roll out of test and trace withing schools and changes to school pick-up and drop-offs at school gates.

Improved messaging to young people to increase responsible behaviour and safety in connection with the pandemic is also being considered by the Department.

The Minister told MLAs that other jurisdictions find themselves in a similar situation to the North and some or all of their students are returning to face to face education in the first week in January.

He said that his department was seeking to implement ‘a sustained package of interventions, which day by day, week on week, month on month, have an ongoing positive contribution to our battle with COVID.’

Mr Weir said that he would not take any action which will ‘damage the future prospects of our young people’.

He added that the proposal for some pupils to move to remote learning from January 25, will ‘allow schools time to prepare for any change’.