School management and teacher trade union representatives will meet Department of Education officials to continue discussions on the logistics of reopening schools in the autumn.
It is understood today's talks will centre on a roadmap or protocol to govern health and safety aspects of the return to school, including the purchase of protective equipment, as well as additional cleaning in schools, and training for staff on managing social distancing and other health and safety protocols.
Schools are due to reopen on a phased basis in late August or early September.
Minister for Education Joe McHugh told the Dáil yesterday that he wanted to see "the maximum return to school possible".
He said he expected to publish plans as to how this might be achieved next week after they are approved by Cabinet.
School representatives want additional funding for schools for cleaning.
They also favour the centralised purchase of protective equipment such as hand sanitisers.
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Education partners said they expect the focus of talks to shift to the key question of how teaching and learning will be undertaken when students return.
A blended learning approach has been mooted, with children alternating between school and home based learning. However, no detailed discussion has taken place as to how this might operate.
Detailed planning on a phased return of students is hamstrung by a lack of clarity as yet as to whether the current two-metre recommended distance will be in place in September or whether it will have been reduced to one-metre.
Challenges include the difficulty of transporting children to school in normally crowded school buses.
At least 120,000 children rely on school buses and other Department of Education organised transport to get to school every day.
In the Dáil, Minister McHugh said the range of issues being looked at included how to ensure hygiene and infection prevention and control, as well as training for staff and communication with families to promote those measures.
He said they were also looking at ways of promoting children's well-being in returning to school.
The minister reiterated that he was paying close attention to the experience of countries that had already reopened schools, and to emerging scientific evidence.
