Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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44. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the Government intends to expand the Covid learning and supports scheme. [23837/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The programme called Covid Learning and Support Scheme (CLASS) was put in place to help schools mitigate the adverse impacts of Covid-19 on pupil/student learning loss and wellbeing arising from the periods of school closures in 2020 and 2021. As this was a specific response to Covid-19 there are no plans to run this scheme again.

All primary, post primary and special schools received additional allocations of CLASS hours, based on the criteria set out in Department of Education Circular 0045/2021.

Schools were advised that they could provide additional teaching support to pupils/students who, in their view, arising from COVID-19 disruption, were at most increased risk of learning loss and/or at risk of early school leaving.

Guidance was provided for schools in relation to how the additional teaching hours should be best used and as to how schools should identify and prioritise pupils for support.

CLASS hours were therefore available for all pupils, and it was a matter for each school to allocate the hours within their school in a manner which best supported the pupils who were in most need.

The total estimated expenditure on CLASS for 2021-2022 was €44.7 million.