There will be a lot of bashing today so some perspective. The people @Education_Ire, @NormaFoleyTD1 and @josephamadigan are so readily throwing under the bus today have been keeping this creaky ship afloat for years! #edchatie (1/?)

SEN children, their parents and the staff that work with them constantly have to battle for everything.
Children waiting years for psychological assessments, OT, SLT, physio, play therapy and many more interventions. (2)

And who picks up the slack when none of these services are in place. Parents, teachers and SNAs. Staff staying up long hours making resources because the funding isn't there to buy them. Staff scrambling to help kids because their report is years out of date (3)

Schools struggling to make sure all children get the care and interventions they need because their SET and SNA hours have been cut. Teachers and SNAs buying equipment from their own pocket to help the children they care for (4)

Parents and schools begging for emergency interventions from agencies like CAHMS and Tusla only to be put on the long finger.
Schools having to fund raise to put basic interventions like sensory rooms in place! (5)

This is not a work shy group of people. And this is not unions acting in "bad faith."
This is the staff of our schools at the end of their tether.
Staff, principals and BOMs got schools back in Sep even though PPE, signage etc was slow coming and had to be improvised (6)

We have begged the department to put in place contingency plans since Sep. They refused on what can only be seen as ideological grounds.
An organisation that fails to put in place alternative plans for different scenarios is not fit for purpose. (7)

The best we got was a vague document called "Guidance on Remote Learning in a COVID-19 Context: September – December 2020." This document came out in October (8)

Unions had to fight tooth and nail to secure the most basic of PPE, appropriate face masks. Staff and children have sat in bitterly cold rooms with windows wide open because of a lack of funding in ventilation (9)

And all of this without a moan or unions threatening to withdraw services. Because the staff of our schools genuinely care and want kids in school.
So when staff do raise concerns they deserve to be listened to.
Not just shut down with the tired "schools are safe" mantra! (10)

There are many options on the table to get these children back in class in one way or the other Minister.
It will not help issuing chastising press releases at 11pm or going on national radio and blaming everyone else. (11)

Ignoring the fact these talks should have happened before now, please get back to the table and listen to the concerns. Listen to the fear, listen to the anger. And find workable solutions.
@SNAsSpeakOut @Equality4SNAs @forsa_union_ie @apike1 @INTOnews #edchatie