Eleven SA schools closed, demand for pupil-free days to help stressed teachers amid Covid chaos
The Covid outbreak forcing some schools to close could wane naturally if parents, students and teachers hold on until holidays, the education minister says.
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Education Minister Blair Boyer says the state government will stick to its guns and end the first term on April 14, despite 11 schools being forced to close because of outbreaks.
Amid renewed calls for extra pupil free days to reduce the pressure on teachers, Mr Boyer said the government wanted to avoid further disruptions to families, hoping that the school holidays would act as a “circuit breaker” to reduce Covid-19 transmission.
Schools that have moved entirely to online learning are “a small percentage” of the 900 sites across the state, Mr Boyer said.
When students return after the Easter break, it is hoped the state will be past the strain’s “natural peak”, easing pressure on the education system.
Mr Boyer also urged parents not to be complacent and have their children vaccinated, as latest figures show just 57 per cent of South Australian children under 12 have had their first dose.
About 34 per cent have had two doses.
The schools now only open to the children of essential workers include Salisbury High, Avenues College, Kayala Children’s Centre, Millicent North Primary, Paralowie R-12, Playford International College, Roxby Downs Area School.
Parafield Gardens High, Hampstead Preschool, Brighton Secondary and Amata Anangu School are also closed.
A further 13 schools have either some classes or specialist units doing remote learning.
Australian Education Union SA president Andrew Gohl said extra pupil free-days next week would have helped teachers plan for next year’s classes, amid skyrocketing workloads as staff cover for colleagues and lose planning and marking time.
Mr Gohl is concerned about a potential wave of teachers leaving the profession amid burnout.
The infection risk at schools is increasing, he says, because of parents sending their children to school despite them displaying symptoms.
“Apart from all the kids they’d greet on the way to school, they’re then in the classroom and if teachers or support staff recognise they’re symptomatic, they’d then walk back to the front office and might see four or five kids on the way,” he said.
SA Secondary Principals’ Association chief executive Jayne Heath said some schools had shifted pupil-free days to earlier in the year.
“We really need to be thinking very carefully about the workload of our teachers and our leaders in current circumstances and look to see how we can support them to really focus on the work which is looking after staff and students,” she said.
Ms Heath said extra pressures brought by the pandemic were increasing the risk of teachers leaving the job.
Independent schools and Catholic Education SA have not announced any closures.
A Liberal spokesman said: “With another record day of Covid cases in South Australia and at least 15 schools closed Peter Malinauskas continues to show he has the wrong priorities”.
“Peter Malinauskas today must tell South Australians what his plans are to reduce disruption in schools as well as giving certainty to business.”
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