A Fermanagh secondary school Principal has said that the Northern Ireland Executive and the Public Health Agency (PHA) have “missed a step” by not Covid vaccinating 12- to 17-year-olds with parental consent over the summer.

Gary Kelly, principal of St. Kevin’s College, Lisnaskea, was speaking to The Impartial Reporter as schools returned for the new term.

He said: “If they do vaccinate 12- to 17-year-olds, I think it will be a game changer for schools and I think those children, with parental consent, should have been offered the vaccination over the summer holidays.

“It would have allowed schools to get back to normal by the second week of September.

“I just think the South got it right – they’ll get back to normal quicker; education will get back to normal quicker; and pupils will learn quicker.”

Speaking on the general age profile of coronavirus cases, Mr. Kelly said: “Covid seems to be in the younger generation [now]; it is in the secondary school-aged children, and in the 19- to 24-year-olds.

“Naturally, children want to socialise and mix, and we can’t restrict children and their social lives indefinitely or else their mental wellbeing will suffer.”

Less nervousness

Mr. Kelly believes there is less nervousness and anxiety around returning to school this September. He said: “There was a lot more trepidation last September.

“There was a lot of nervousness and anxiety for students and staff when we returned then. Students seem much more content and happier to be back in school. It doesn’t seem to have the same level of anxiety as last year, even though the [Covid] cases are higher.”

Speaking on the restrictions, Mr. Kelly said: “The regulations are difficult to interpret for students and staff. There has been some confusion around the PCR tests.

“The Department of Education and the PHA recommend that if [people] are [a] close contact [of someone who has tested positive for Covid], they get a PCR test on day two and day eight, but they continue on in school, even though their results are not in and they only isolate if they get a positive result.”

The restrictions on school life are to be reviewed by the Executive in October, but St. Kevin’s has implemented some restrictions, given the high number of coronavirus cases in Fermanagh.

Mr. Kelly said: “It is being reviewed in October, but at the present time, face masks are being worn in school buildings and on public transport.

“We have risk-assessed again, given last week where Fermanagh and the BT94 [postal area] had the highest rate of coronavirus in Northern Ireland.

“We re-assessed as we had reduced a lot of our restrictions, bar our mandatory ones, to get back to normality but we have reintroduced quite a few again until the end of October, given the [Covid] numbers in the area, while trying to keep it as normal as we possibly can.”

Sandra Isherwood, Principal of Jones Memorial Primary School, said: “From the Education Authority guidance there will be no return to the ‘normal’ school day, as many Covid safety protocols will remain in place for the short-term and will be reviewed again in October.

“This includes that all teachers working within bubbles and in meetings are still being asked to wear face coverings while indoors. There must also be physical distancing of at least two metres between all staff, as well as staff and pupils.”

Not as strict

Continuing, Mrs. Isherwood said: “Class bubbles will be not be as strict as last term, allowing more access to communal areas within the school.

“The latest guidelines advise staff to continue to avoid assemblies or large groupings of children, or to provide an additional risk assessment.”

One welcome development will be the availability of extracurricular activities for children.

Mrs Isherwood said: “The updated guidance includes some positive changes as children and young people can now engage in all drama, music, physical education, and many other extracurricular activities in school.”