WHILE the outbreak of Covid-19 has set extraordinary pressures on teaching professionals right across Fermanagh, one local principal has told the Herald that a “team approach is central to what’s keeping us going.”
Maurice Collins, principal of St Fanchea’s College, Enniskillen said, “This is probably the biggest challenge that our profession has ever faced.
“The biggest challenge that we have is making sure that the volumes of work going out is manageable for our pupils.
“You’re also keeping an eye on parents to see if they’re supported to allow them to support their daughters as easy as they can at home.
“A lot of this is an evolving picture. We’re trying to be as responsive as possible with pupil and parent needs which involves a two way listening process. We’re trying to follow the curriculum and also manage the mental wellbeing of our pupils and parents.”
Speaking on the challenges of broadband, Mr Collins explained, “From the first lockdown in March, there’s been significant concern that a large amount of pupils have had difficulty with WIFI access and a lot of them are using their smartphones for accessing work which is not ideal.
“Pupils are staying up late at night to submit work because they have a better chance to access broadband speed at later times in the night and that is a major challenge that both pupils and parents are facing.”
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