Most parents are comfortable with their children being back in school and are satisfied with the guidelines that have been put in place to reduce the risk of COVID-19, a new survey has found.

Some 4,000 schools closed their doors on March 12 and only reopened in late August and early September. Following the reopening, iReach surveyed parents to find out their thoughts and concerns about the return to school.

The survey found that 76% of parents are comfortable with their children being back in school, while 78% are satisfied with the guidelines that their children's schools have put in place.

However, 13% said they were unaware of any guidelines implemented by their children's schools.

Meanwhile, 19% of parents believe that schools will be forced to close again before Halloween, while 22% believe they will be closed at some stage before Christmas.

According to the HSE, as of Thursday, students at 96 schools have been tested for COVID-19, and 35 cases of the virus have been detected.

Despite the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks, particularly in Dublin, there has not been a surge in cases among children, even with the reopening of schools.

"While we have been conducting a large number of tests on children thanks to the vigilance of parents around symptoms and contacting GPs with concerns, we have not witnessed a disproportionate rise in the number of confirmed cases in children," commented Dr Mary Favier, COVID-19 advisor to the Irish College of General Practitioners, earlier this week.

The iReach survey involved over 1,000 adults and was carried out between September 3 and September 9.