State’s chief public health officer assures parents and teachers a return to school is safe
In open letters to parents and teachers, SA’s chief public health officer has appealed for kids to go back to school for Term 2, saying they can be confident it is safe. But the Education Minister won’t force worried parents to do so.
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Parents are being urged to take their children to school next week in an open letter by the state’s chief public health officer.
Premier Steven Marshall said the message “provides real clarity” for parents, whom he said should heed the advice of health experts.
Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier has assured South Australian parents it is safe to send their children to school when Term 2 starts, providing they are feeling well.
“If your child/children are well, I encourage you to send them back to school or preschool this term,” Professor Spurrier said in the letter.
“My job is to ensure that the South Australian community stays as healthy and disease free as possible.
“With the very low levels of COVID-19 .... along with the wider public health strategies in South Australia, I strongly believe there is no need for school closures in this state, at this time.
“I encourage families to feel comfortable and safe about sending their children to school.”
However, Education Minister John Gardner says the State Government will not force parents to send their children back to school on Monday, because families may feel anxious about students returning to classrooms.
Mr Gardner this morning explained why the Government did not mandate students’ return to school in Term 2.
“There is still a very high level of anxiety in our community – that’s one of the reasons of course (why) Professor Spurrier has written everybody to reassure them that in the South Australian context, with our low rates of community spread and with the closed borders, the circumstances here are that she believes it is safe to send your child or children back to school,” he told ABC Radio.
“So that’s the first aspect…but there is still this understandable anxiety and there are still going to be children in the circumstance where they will potentially need to learn from home; children who are being told that they need to be in self-isolation if they have been contact with a positive case.”
Mr Gardner also said the return to classroom teaching as the main method of teaching would likely be fast-tracked due to the low rates of spread in SA.
“We’ll continue with the approach that we were taking a the end of Term 1 but I would expect that the transition to face-to-face teaching, which some people thought might have happened at the end of the year; some people might have thought might have happened in the end of Term 3; we’ll probably be in a position to transition to face-to-face as the main mode of delivery early in Term 2,” he said.
“Some schools (will revert to mainly face-to-face teaching) very early in Term 2 depending on how many children are coming to school.”
Prof Spurrier has also sent an open letter to teachers with the same safety message.
“Many of you will have experienced heightened levels of stress and anxiety, particularly seeing the devastation this virus has caused in many countries around the world,” she said.
“The practicalities of changing teaching practices, including new online learning strategies also cannot be underestimated.
“I want to thank you all for stepping up to these challenges in these unprecedented times and playing a pivotal role in the lives of children and young people in your school communities.”
Dr Spurrier’s open letter to parents
Dr Spurrier’s open letter to teachers, school and preschool staff
Mr Marshall is keen to see as many children as possible return to school for Term 2.
“South Australia has done really well by listening to health advice and the strong advice is for students to return in Term 2 ... that is why we as a Government are backing it,” Mr Marshall said.
“We now have a strong and reassuring message from the health experts, and they are the ones that we should be listening to.”
The union also wants no more than 10 students to one teacher.
The union’s move has been branded “incredibly irresponsible and dangerous” by the State Government.
The Advertiser revealed last week only about one in three parents were planning to return children to school.
The leaders of the state’s Catholic, Independent, State Government and TAFE sectors have issued details to parents explaining what to expect when Term 2 begins.
Education Department chief executive of schools and preschools Anne Millard said medical advice had guided the department in declaring schools safe.
“To date, only 2 per cent of local cases have occurred in school students, all of whom had mild illness and have now fully recovered,’’ Ms Millard said.
“Safety measures include cancelling assemblies, excursions and large gatherings, staggering lunch breaks and cleaning more regularly.”
Catholic Education SA assistant director Bruno Vieceli said it was following advice from SA Health.
“Catholic Education SA believes – as the Government does – that our schools are safe places,’’ Mr Vieceli said.
“Parents who are concerned that their child may be at higher risk due to an existing medical condition should seek medical advice and discuss the matter with their school principal.’’
Association of Independent Schools of South Australia chief executive Carolyn Grantskalns said it also was following closely medical advice.
“The health advice is that on current evidence schools are not high-risk environments for students and staff,’’ Ms Grantskalns said.
“Mental health considerations also mean that, given the low physical risk, children are better off overall at school.’’
Opposition education spokeswoman Susan Close said Labor accepted the health advice that schools were safe.
However, she said that advice came with a raft of conditions around cleanliness and other measures. TAFE SA announced it would have more than 90 per cent of its courses digitally delivered from the start of Term 2, whereby students could learn “from the comfort of their own homes or access computer hubs at some TAFE campuses”.