Schools appeal for workable plan on boarders and Covid-19

A Covid case at boarding school could see students facing rolling periods of being sent home or being locked in their rooms. Private schools are calling on SA Health for a better system.

Private schools are calling on SA Health for more sophisticated policies on boarding houses hit by Covid-19 cases.

The schools are worried boarding houses will be hit by successive cases, forcing students into rolling periods of being sent home to regional areas or isolated in their rooms as close contacts.

The Association of Independent Schools of South Australia and Catholic Education SA have written a joint appeal to Premier Steven Marshall, chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier, Health Minister Stephen Wade and Education Minister John Gardner.

“We’ve asked for a refinement on the definition of a close contact to make it more workable,” association chief executive Carolyn Grantskalns said.

“And my understanding is that is under active consideration.”

The current SA Health advice says boarding schools are high risk.

“All boarders within a cohorting group will be considered ‘household contacts’ of a positive case in the boarding house,” the advice says.

The standard close contact definitions of being unmasked, in close proximity indoors for at least 15 minutes applies.

Close contacts should preferably be taken home to quarantine – not by public transport – or kept in isolation at school, the advice says.

Association of Independent Schools of SA chief executive Carolyn Grantskalns.

Catholic Education SA director Neil McGoran.

Catholic Education SA director Neil McGoran said the issue should be “managed in a more practical way than simply quarantining all boarders”.

The schools have asked SA to consider the Queensland model where contact definitions include whether a boarder is in a single room, shared room or dormitory.

“Staff should be classified as ‘close contact critical workers’ and be permitted to ‘test to stay’,” Dr McGoran said.

This would be similar to teachers, who are being supplied with rapid antigen tests to check themselves daily for seven days when they are a classroom contact of a positive case.

Ms Grantskalns said schools were reducing risk by staggering meal times, limiting common area usage and requiring mask wearing.

“Boarding schools have put arrangements in place to minimise the size of cohorts – but we don’t want to have to lock up children in their bedrooms,” she said.

An SA Health spokeswoman said the agency was liaising with schools on preventive measures.

“We are continuously reviewing our advice with the safety of all South Australians our highest priority,” the spokeswoman said. Opposition education spokesman Blair Boyer students, staff and parents were paying the price of “chaotic and changing advice”.

Meanwhile, in government schools about 1 per cent of staff – 212 teachers and 159 support officers – were off on Friday because of Covid-19. They were infected, close contacts or caring for someone.

That was a slight increase from Thursday.

At Catholic schools, 45 staff were away for those reasons.