Covid NSW: Sydney’s return to school virus plan revealed

The road map to get NSW students back to face-to-face classroom learning has been revealed. Here’s everything you need to know.

A staggered return to face-to-face learning will start in October, the HSC will take place in November, and school staff must be vaccinated under the government’s return-to-school plan. 

Kindergarten and year 1 students will return from October 25, the fourth week of term four. Years 2, 6 and 11 will return from November 1, and all other years will return from November 8.

HSC students are able to return in a “limited way” now and are expected to be back full-time by October 25. The government has promised their final exams have been moved for the last time, to November 9.

Hayden Pidgeon, of Dee Why, is not thrilled about the new HSC timetable. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

If stay-at-home orders lift before these dates then schools can resume face-to-face learning earlier, and if cases in an LGA increase “significantly”, learning from home will resume. 

From September 6, school and early childhood staff will be vaccinated as a priority group at Qudos Bank Arena, with mandatory vaccination for teachers by November 8.

The government said least 70 per cent of education staff had already had their first vaccine.

In-school vaccination hubs could also start as early as next month under the plan, which would see schools move to level three restrictions.

Masks will be mandatory for teachers, staff and high school students, while primary schoolers will be “encouraged” to wear face coverings.

School life will be altered, with canteens and before and after-school care in place, but assemblies and other large gatherings won’t go ahead.

Classes will not be able to mix and breaks will be staggered to avoid students mixing.

Choirs, extra-curricular sport, bands and ensembles, school performances and school camps will be cancelled, and parents will not be able to visit schools.

Since the outbreak started in June, 88 government schools have been shut down with Covid cases connected to the school community.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the plan was the safest way to get kids back into school.

“Every day I think about families that are struggling with home learning, working and doing all those things during the lockdown to keep us going,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said it was important for children’s social wellbeing to get back into the classroom.

“This is a safe and sensible approach to getting back to school,” she said, adding that the HSC plan was devised with stakeholders and student feedback offering “a consistent view that the written exams are important and that we should be doing everything we can to have them occur”.

“For our year 12 students, I’m really conscious of the fact that they’ve had a tough couple of years,” she said.

“I think it’s really important to give them something to focus on and to work towards. And I think for their mental health and wellbeing to know that they are working towards that exact goal has really helped to keep them engaged.”

Northern Beaches Secondary College student Hayden Pidgeon said he reacted “pretty negatively” to the move.

The changes mean he will likely finish school in December instead of early November, as originally scheduled.

“I just want to finish Year 12,” he said.

“I’m going to be less motivated to study because the exams are such a long way away.

“A lot of my friends had Schoolies planned, and now they’ve had to reschedule, which is also going to cost them a lot of money.”

“Personally I think they should just cut out the HSC and average year 12 and 11 results … some of my friends have to babysit siblings, so it’s harder for them to study.”

Ms Mitchell said all exam supervisors would be vaccinated, and social distancing and alternative venues would be implemented.

“Part of the decision to delay the exams by a few weeks was to ensure we have Covid-safe exam settings, and there was more confidence (we could achieve that) from the ninth of November,” she said.

“We have had a vaccine program for those Year 12 students already and they will be double-vaccinated by that time.”

“Special provisions” would be provided for students who caught Covid or were classed as a close contact amid their exams, and procedures would be in place for outbreaks at schools, but marking would have to take place over the Christmas school holidays, she said.

The new exam timetable will be released mid-September, written HSC exams will start from November 9, and results are expected to arrive mid-January.

Covid cleaners at Bondi Beach Public School earlier this month. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Gaye Gerard

Some families welcomed the clarity brought by the announcement after months of homeschooling and care.

North Ryde mother Kristyn Haddon has juggled work and three young children — Chelsea, five, Zach, eight, and Adelle, six — since lockdown began.

While she welcomed the plans to return children to school, she said she hoped the goalposts wouldn’t be moved once again.

“Now we have a date to aim for it gives you a bit of energy to keep going … if it wasn’t for the date, the stress levels would be higher,” she said.

“I just really hope the date (the government) said is the date it’s going to happen.”

The back-to-school timetable could be brought forward if vaccination rates keep growing quickly.

“There is that potential but what we need to do was give parents the absolute certainty as to when things will happen and we’ve done it in a very cautious way,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Once we get to 80 per cent dose we will have enormous confidence that we are going to hit those targets and also when we are going to have them, but irrespective of that we are confident that the vaccination rates will be much higher than what they are now by that time.”

She added: “It is a very planned way moving forward and I’m just hopeful that this brings joy to many children and parents who are really doing it tough.”

A school-based vaccination program is being “thought about”, the Premier said.

Zac Haddon and sister Adelle are looking forward to getting back to school, as is mum Kristyn. Picture: Toby Zerna

Some families welcomed the clarity brought by the announcement after months of homeschooling and care.

North Ryde mother Kristyn Haddon has juggled work and three young children – Chelsea, five, Zach, eight, and Adelle, six – since lockdown began.

While she welcomed the plans to return children to school, she said she hoped the goalposts wouldn’t be moved once again.

“Now we have a date to aim for it gives you a bit of energy to keep going … if it wasn’t for the date, the stress levels would be higher,” she said.

“I just really hope the date (the government) said is the date it’s going to happen.”

It comes as NSW recorded 882 new Covid cases and two deaths in the latest reporting period.

Union seeks ‘urgent discussion’ over vaccinations

The public school teachers union is seeking “urgent discussions” with the Department of Education over mandatory vaccinations for its members.

NSW Teachers Federation boss Angelo Gavrielatos said the union had been pushing for priority vaccinations for educators since last year but access “remains an issue” in some parts of the state.

But he said the union was also assessing the implications of Friday’s announcement that any teacher who refused a jab would not be able to work in school.

“If there is a public health order that requires teachers to be vaccinated, it’s a public health order,” he said.

“There are implications surrounding that. And similarly there are workforce implications surrounding that. The announcement was made today and we will be seeking urgent discussions with the Department of Education.”

Mr Gavrielatos also said he cautiously welcomed the return to school roadmap.

“Health and safety must come first. We said at the beginning that ultimately we acknowledge the health advice and that’s what we continue to do,” he said.

Hotspot LGA students

Officials haven’t yet decided whether students in the 12 hotspot local government areas will be allowed back for face-to-face learning.

Gladys Berejiklian speaks on Friday. Picture: Getty

“We need to look at that advice closer to the date, October 25, eight weeks away,” Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said.

“I can’t pre-empt the advice.”

She also said it would not be compulsory for students to be vaccinated, despite making it a rule for teachers.

“Anything to protect our school communities is important, we recommend for students but will strongly encourage anybody eligible to get their vaccine — and that includes anyone aged 12 and up,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Teachers know across the state by November 8 that will be mandatory and they have 10 weeks to ensure they have their vaccine.”

Ms Berejiklian also refused to confirm whether kids in hotspot LGAs would be left out of back-to-school plans, despite education estimates saying they wouldn’t go back yet.

“We have to await closer to that time what the situation is before we make any definite statement,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“It would be unfair to families and unfair to communities to make definitive statement. October 25 is still some time away in the Covid world.”

Kindy and year 1 kids ‘need to get back to school’

Getting younger year groups back at school fast was what’s “most important”, the Education Minister said.

“Those formative years are just essential, and if you are a student in kindergarten or Year 1, you haven’t had a year at school that hasn’t been disrupted by learning from home, it is significant,” Ms Mitchell said.

“That’s why our decision to bring kindergarten and Year 1 students first back is important.”

She said support was available for multilingual families teaching their children at home.

“I’m conscious of wellbeing support for families who have struggled, and they are things we will keep working on,” she said.