Students to return to remote learning in parents' winter of discontent

Victoria has recorded 273 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday morning, up from 216 cases on Saturday and after 288 cases on Friday.

Most Victorian students will return to remote learning in term three, with those in years prep to 10 at government schools in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire to learn from home from July 20 until at least August 19.

Premier Daniel Andrews said a man in his 70s had died of COVID-19. Twenty-four Victorians have now died from coronavirus.

Education Minister James Merlino with Premier Daniel Andrews. Credit: Joe Armao

"There are 57 Victorians in hospital, 16 of those in intensive care," Mr Andrews said.

Just over 30,000 tests were done yesterday.

"There is nothing more important than coming forward if you've got even mild symptoms, so that we can get your test results, we can work out where the virus is," Mr Andrews said.

With Melbourne and Mitchell Shire in stage three lockdown, the government has chosen to revert to remote learning to minimise the movement of children and their parents throughout the community in those areas.

Students in year 11 and 12, and in specialist schools, will return to face-to-face learning tomorrow, as will year 10 students taking VCE and VCAL classes.

But other year levels – some 700,000 students – will return to remote learning for at least six weeks, following an extra week of school holidays this week.

Mr Andrews said there was "simply no alternative but to go this footing" if the lockdown is to achieve its goal of suppressing transmission of the virus.

"We can't have the best part of 700,000 students, as well as parents moving to and from school, roaming around the community as if there wasn't a stay at home order or as if there wasn't a lockdown," Mr Andrews said.

"That'll put at direct risk us achieving our aim and that of course is to drive these numbers down at the end of the six-week period."

Mr Andrews said he expected that Catholic and independent schools would follow the same remote learning regime.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said it would have been irresponsible of him to send all students back to schools, given the state faces the biggest health crisis since the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago.

He said the pandemic had not yet peaked in Victoria.

“We have to throw absolutely everything at it; it’s the biggest public health challenge of our lifetime,” Professor Sutton said.

“It would have been irresponsible of me to have gone into a phase where we might even have increasing numbers day on day, to have kids going back to school.”

He said masks were useful in classrooms, but all students should stay home if they feel sick.

“I would make it clear that students who are unwell shouldn’t be in the classroom,” Professor Sutton said.

Professor Sutton said it was not recommended for teachers to wear masks while in the classroom.

“Teaching is pretty tough with a mask on, they require those facial expressions, they need to be heard clearly," he said.

Early childhood education will remain open as normal.

Schools outside of lockdown zones will also open as normal this week.

Any student with special needs who attends a mainstream school will be permitted to attend school, where they will learn remotely.

All teachers and school staff will attend schools this week, and from July 20 the default setting will be that staff will attend school, flipping last term's arrangement where most teachers worked remotely.

"The default will be staff at school but each school will have the flexibility to have a number of teachers and staff working remotely," Education Minister James Merlino said.

The principal of a leading non-government school in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs said he feared “some kind of revolt coming from teachers” over the requirement to be in the classroom with year 11 and 12 students.

The principal said “social distancing cannot happen in a classroom environment” and that, after the outbreak at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina, few teachers would accept the official line that schools are a low-risk environment.

Senior students at the college are believed to be a major contributor to the cluster, which reached 134 people on Saturday, making it the state’s largest cluster.

“There is a time bomb starting on Monday,” the principal said.

“We’ve got community transmission, we’re putting 20 to 25 adults together in a room all day. I don’t know why they are not looking two or three weeks down the line.”

The union for Catholic and independent school teachers argued teacher numbers on site should be minimised rather than expecting most teachers to work at school.

Independent Education Union general secretary Debra James said schools should set on-site staffing levels at a minimum required to teach year 11 and 12 students and run supervision programs for the children of essential workers.

"Schools have a legal duty to provide a safe and healthy workplace, and it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that there are very clear hygiene and distancing protocols in place for staff and students," Ms James said.

Australian Principals’ Federation Victorian branch president Julie Podbury said it had become apparent that students could transmit the virus, but that school would be the best place to work for many teachers.

“I’m sure that is a risk but we’ve still got to go forwards and we’ve still got to educate our kids the best we can, so that when we resume everyday school they’re not too far behind,” Ms Podbury said.