Covid-19: Special school teachers 'forgotten' in vaccine rollout

Gillian Cummings said she and her colleagues are devastated they will not receive the vaccine in the coming weeks

It is an "insult" that the Stormont executive did not vote to vaccinate all special school staff, according to the National Association of Headteachers.

A special school teacher has also told BBC News NI she felt "outrage, disappointment, fear and frustration" at the decision.

Special schools in Northern Ireland have been open for all pupils since the start of January.

Only a limited number of staff are to be given priority for vaccination.

That will include some of those working in the direct care of clinically vulnerable children.

Education Minister Peter Weir claimed the NI Executive had been "reluctant" to hold a vote on a plan to vaccinate all special school staff.

'Hope has gone'

Gillian Cummings, a special school teacher, told BBC News NI that staff felt "ignored and forgotten about".

"We believed our safety and the safety of our pupils was really important to the departments of education and health, so we just assumed we would all be prioritised as a group," said Ms Cummings.

"It seemed obvious that the mid-term break would be the ideal time to do this as it wouldn't disrupt our teaching, so to hear that this is not going to happen is just such a blow to us all.

"I actually cried, and I know others did as well, because that hope had kept us going and now that hope is gone and we've been left feeling so demoralised."

Only certain staff in special schools will get priority for a Covid-19 vaccination

Ms Cummings paid tribute to the professionalism of her colleagues and said none of them objected to being on site as that was what their pupils needed.

"We're very happy to be in the classroom as opposed to home teaching as our children, for a variety of reasons, do so much better in a school setting," she said.

"We teach at all different levels, so it's all individualised, depending on the pupil, and online classes don't work."

However she said that fear among teachers about the potential spread of Covid-19 was exacerbated by the fact that children travel to school in close proximity to others from outside their social bubbles.

"They're supposed to be in bubbles for their own protection but then they're being put on buses with multiple other children from outside those bubbles on small buses - so what's the point?"

Pupils and staff at all special schools in Northern Ireland are set to be offered weekly testing for coronavirus.

"It's for the children's sake as much as ours that we want to be vaccinated and tested - we need to stay healthy in order to continue to teach these children and we need to keep the virus away from them as they're vulnerable," Ms Cummings said.

"So just give us some protection to do our jobs."

'Shocking double standard'

In a strongly-worded letter to the head of the civil service, Jenny Pyper, and Stormont ministers, the National Association of Headteachers president Dr Graham Gault said he was "appalled that the executive has not deemed our front-line special school staff to be worthy of a vote on the issue of vaccination".

Dr Gault called the decision "an insult".

"The Department of Health's failure to support Minister Weir's proposal and the executive's failure to allow this to be put to a vote demonstrates a shocking double standard," he wrote in a letter seen by BBC News NI.

"Special schools are required to remain open under legal direction, but are unequipped to do so with the same level of protection as other departments."

Dr Gault also wrote there was "no conceivable scenario" in which principals should decide which of their staff should be vaccinated.

Peter Weir said the executive was reluctant to hold a vote on a plan to vaccinate all special school staff

"The reality would be, of course, morally reprehensible, legally dubious and practically impossible," he said.

"The reality of school life means that teachers, classroom assistants and other staff do not engage only with one child.

"Staff must move around, providing cover, respite and support for children and colleagues.

"Most children in the special sector depend on a team of adults to work in close proximity with them."

He concluded by writing that "school leaders will not be making any decisions as to who should or should not be vaccinated in our special schools, either directly or indirectly".

Mr Weir had previously said that special school principals had been put "in a difficult position" over vaccinations.

The Department of Health told BBC News NI that the special school staff who were being prioritised for the vaccine were those that "perform roles akin to healthcare workers".

"Officials... are working closely to speedily identify the cohort of children who are the most clinically vulnerable so that the staff supporting them can be readily identified and vaccinated as quickly as possible," it added.