Nearly 20% of parents don't want their children to return to school next month, in case they catch Covid-19.
A new survey from Barnardos also found seven in ten parents of primary school children believe they don't have enough information about the return to school.
65% of parents who have children in second-level feel the same.
While 90%of parents believe it's important for their kids to return to school for social and emotional development.
The study also found that majority of parents found balancing work and home-schooling difficult. 44% of primary school and 48% of secondary school parents found managing technology for online learning difficult.
While half of parents felt that they were sent the right amount of work by their schools, 25% of primary and 31% of secondary school parents, felt they did not receive enough support from their child’s school.
The basic cost of sending a child to school in 2020, while slightly decreasing for parents of primary school children, remains substantial - the average cost of the basics needed for a senior infants pupil is €330; a fourth class pupil is €365 and a first-year pupil is €735.
