Schools are warning that new social distancing guidelines could prevent them from fully reopening in September.
New Government guidance suggests social distancing won't be essential for children in the first four years of schooling.
Meanwhile, third class to sixth class children will be asked to keep one metre apart when schools return.
Secondary students will be asked to keep to metres apart where possible – and one metre apart in other situations.
The three main teachers’ unions will raise their concerns with the plans at the Oireachtas committee this afternoon.
Brendan Roache, Principal of Monamolin National School in County Wexford has told Newstalk that many smaller schools won't be able to welcome all their pupils back at once.
“It is going to be a serious challenge for us to have everybody back,” he said. “It is just not going to be possible. I am looking at our classes and, as it is at the moment, we are at capacity, we are struggling for space; it is a tight squeeze as it is so there is absolutely no way we can have 100% back.”
He said a proposal to stagger drop off and collection times may need extra resources.
“I would be very interested to see how that is going to be planned and managed,” he said
“Again, I suppose it requires additional resources too from the school. Supervision is very important and the safety of children is number one at all times as well.”
Meanwhile, John Boyle, General Secretary of the INTO said the reopening will be an enormous logistical challenge.
He said the guidelines are workable for smaller classes – but many larger groups will have to be split.
“Except for the super-sized classes and unfortunately, we have way too many of them in the Republic of Ireland, I think it will be possible for the classes to keep their physical distance and for the teacher and children to be safe,” he said.
“In those really big classes, it may well be that some of those classes are going to have to be split and extra teachers are going to have to be employed.
“That is going to be a big challenge but certainly, I would hope that most classes will return safely and fully with their peers.”
He also raised concern that the government will not release funding for extra substitute teachers.
“If they don’t pay for the substitute teachers that means there is going to be a class unsupervised and we can’t have that with young children,” he said.
“Neither can we have those classes split and going unto other classrooms because it undoes all the good work that went into keeping the infection out of classes.”
The Health Policy Surveillance Centre (HSPC) said the guidance is based on the need to balance a "practical and sensible level of caution" with the need for children to return to education.
