May June 2020 Electric.ie Magazine

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 39 News ICT funding for Schools including €10 million top-up funding L ast January the Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh had announced the latest round of funding for ICT under the Digital Strategy for Schools. €40m grant funding to be distributed in the coming weeks to eligible schools as previously notified. This recent announcement includes a top- up scheme which will see €10m issuing to schools in the coming weeks. The Department of Education and Skills will issue a circular to schools providing the details governing the funding for the grant and the top- up funding. The measures are part of a number of initiatives taken by the Department to support children and young people who are at risk of educational disadvantage during the period of school closures. They include – • Guidance being issued to all schools to support the ongoing learning of children with special educational needs and children who are at risk of disadvantage. • Collaboration with Cisco/WebEX to support schools with training in video conferencing software – for use by teachers with their classes. • Guidance and resources developed by the National Council for Special Education on supporting children with special educational needs. • Continuation of the School meals programme, funded through the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, to provide food parcels to children who are at risk of food poverty. • Continued funding of Home Tuition or, where this is not possible, flexibility to bank hours for use at a later time in the year. • Resources to support good mental health and wellbeing amongst students produced by the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) • €10 million funding package secured as part of the Digital Strategy for Schools ICT Infrastructure Fund. An Taoiseach launches #InThisTogether campaign for people to Stay Connected, Stay Active & Stay Mentally Well during Covid-19 An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar has launched a new campaign - In This Together - which aims to help everyone in Ireland to Stay Connected, Stay Active, and look after their Mental Wellbeing throughout the Covid-19 Emergency. The campaign encourages everyone to pick a new activity which could help them to feel a little healthier or a little better as we deal with Covid-19. It signposts useful advice to help people of every age group to cope with the ongoing restrictions, whether they are looking after children, dealing with self-isolation, preparing for the Leaving Cert, or coping with cabin fever. In This Together will offer regular videos, ideas and activities for people of all ages throughout the Emergency, over social media, through partners in the media and promoted by the Community Call Forums which have been set up across Ireland. This information is being made available on gov.ie/Together , as well as local authority websites, on social media, television, radio and newspapers throughout the Emergency and you can find details of local initiatives on your local authority website.