Parents are feeling grateful and staff relieved as Saint Declan’s School in Ballsbridge, Dublin prepares to open tomorrow in accordance with Government guidelines.
St Declan’s School was founded in 1958 by the Jesuits for children who, for personal or emotional reasons, achieve below their potential in their local schools.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, principal Niamh Corrigan told of their busy preparations for reopening, but said that “the relief and the excitement is much higher than the anxiety”.
Following an agreement reached by the Department of Education with the Fórsa and INTO trade unions, who represent special needs assistants (SNAs), special education schools are set to reopen initially with a maximum of 50% of students attending on alternate days from tomorrow, Thursday, February 11.
Ms Corrigan said the feedback from parents has been “very positive”.
The school managed to achieve 97% online achievement, “which is fantastic,” according to Ms Corrigan.
“Considering we’re a special education school, our engagement levels have been fantastic. I think the staff this time around have just gone above and beyond to facilitate the learning for our students. Obviously it’s difficult because you can see them regressing, and I know our parents can as well, but we are all just – there’s a sense of relief and a sense of anxiety around the reopening on Thursday, but I think the relief and the excitement is much higher than the anxiety,” she said.
They’re feeling confident in their ability to safely cater for their students, feeling “quite confident” in both the latest guidelines from the Department of Education and the work the staff have put in.
“We’ve really covered all of the safety measures as best we can, and we’re really looking forward to the children coming back on Thursday,” Ms Corrigan said.