The pandemic has affected all pupils, but teacher Ciara Sotscheck can see how disadvantaged pupils and those with special needs have suffered the most.
“They had difficulty accessing online learning in the same way as other pupils,” she said. “And children with special needs also lost out on resource hours, because special education teachers have been used to cover Covid-related absences of mainstream teachers.”
Ms Sotscheck teaches at St Joseph’s NS, Bonnybrook, Coolock, Dublin, an area of socio-economic disadvantage. Her branch of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) was among those behind a motion to the annual conference seeking a range of supports for pupils with special needs post-pandemic.
UK SHOULD SLOW DOWN JABS AS SAFETY PROBED
Dr Maggie Wearmouth, who sits on the JCVI, has today called for Oxford jabs in the under-50s to be paused while blood clot links are probed.
She told the Telegraph: The issue is about safety and public confidence. We don t want to cover anything up that we feel that the public should be knowing. We don t want people to lose confidence and the vaccine to stay in fridges. But we don t want people to feel they have been falsely reassured either.
Dan Keane
TEACHERS DON T WANT TO EXTEND SCHOOL DAY
Teachers do not want to extend the school day or the summer term despite kids missing out on education because of the pandemic, a survey suggests.
Teachers threaten strike action in new academic year over vaccines All three unions back motion to hold ballots on industrial action as Foley defends changes
about 5 hours ago Updated: about 3 hours ago
Teachers’ unions are to hold ballots for strike action unless the Government agrees to prioritise their members for vaccination by the end of the current school year.
The move follows a shared motion which was supported by delegates at all three teachers’ unions at their conferences on Wednesday morning.
It commits the unions to ballot for industrial action, “up to and including strike action”, if the Government does not agree to prioritise teachers by the end of June.
BBC News
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image captionMinister for Education Norma Foley said the move was endorsed by public health
Teaching unions in the Republic of Ireland have said members will be balloted for industrial action, potentially involving strike action, if the profession is not re-prioritised for Covid-19 vaccination.
The Irish government has changed its strategy to focus on age groups.
The Minister for Education Norma Foley said she understood the news was difficult for teachers.
She said evidence showed schools to be areas of low transmission.
The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) and the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) have been holding their annual conferences online.
In total, 12,736 people voted in the poll, with 37pc voting that they would delay it, and 7pc saying they’re indifferent.
The Independent.ie poll was opened at 3pm on Tuesday and these figures were compiled at 8am this morning.
Teacher unions are giving the Government until the summer break to put teachers back on the vaccine priority list after the system was overhauled.
But if they don’t get a clear signal of intent well before that, the possibility of strike action next term will be on the table.
Previously, teachers were in a specific category in the vaccine rollout which would have put them in the first third of the population. However, the Government’s new vaccine rollout plan prioritises people based on their age.