Students need to get back to school more than one day a week

Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s decision to send students back into classrooms for one day a week is not based on the advice of health experts and is inconsistent with her previous stance, writes John Rolfe

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For the past couple of years, on Friday mornings during school terms I would read with my son’s kindergarten — and then grade one — class. When a child finished their book, or at least a few pages, they would nominate who was next to come out to read. Typically they selected a friend.

The next most common choice was whoever they thought was the best reader in the class.

When that happened I would usually suggest picking again. That kid didn’t need the extra practise, I would say. They were already so good.

I would then steer the child ­toward selecting an average ­reader — the group I felt I was there to help.

Parents are no substitute for teachers, says John Rolfe.

At the public school my son goes to, he had two excellent teachers in his kindy classroom on some days, with one concentrating on the kids who needed the most assistance.

I doubt my son’s school is unique in putting extra effort into those little people.

Don’t get me wrong: I think all school students deserve more than the one day a week of class NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is promising from week three of term two.

But in my opinion it’s completely unacceptable that children who find learning particularly tough aren’t getting more face time with trained educators.

As much as parents try, we are no substitute.

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Last week the Prime Minister said in a prepared statement that the National Cabinet had agreed with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee that “on current evidence, schools can be fully open”.

He explained that the National Cabinet had agreed to a set of principles for school education, the first of which said, in part: “Education is best delivered by professional teachers to students in the classroom on a school campus.”

While it was “accepted that during the COVID-19 crisis, alternative flexible, remote delivery of education services may be needed”, decisions on schooling “must continue to be ­informed by expert, official, national and state-based public health and education advice, consistent with these national principles”.

The final point in the principles was “the health advice consistently provided by the AHPPC is that ­attendance at a school campus for education represents a very low health risk to students”.

However, this week the Premier decided one day a week after another fortnight of no school was the right way to go.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced a staged reintroduction of students to the classroom in NSW. Picture: Joel Carrett/AAP

As bad a call as I believe that was, it’s better than in Victoria, where Daniel Andrews has ruled there will be no kids at school in term two. ACT schools will remain shut as well.

Not all leaders are totally ignoring the principles they signed up to in the National Cabinet.

WA Premier Mark McGowan and SA’s Steven Marshall, to take two examples, have both decided to open schools to all children.

Now you can disagree with me about Berejiklian’s call. You may think she has made the right decision.

But it’s not based on advice from people who know what they are ­talking about.

As she said this week, “schools have been deemed safe by the health experts, but we are doing some extra measures over and above to make sure everyone isn’t just safe but feels safe.”

Like keeping kids out of school four days a week.

The Premier’s stance is also inconsistent with her position going into lockdown, when she said children needed to stay home to “ensure there is only one unit of work”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says that ‘on current evidence, schools can be fully open’. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Unless it’s the case that teachers won’t be running normal classes, now there will be two “units” — proper lessons at school and parents’ best ­efforts at home using online material.

The wildly varying attitudes to the return to school demonstrate the ­National Cabinet is proving less useful on the PM’s metaphoric road out of the coronavirus crisis than on the road in.

Certainly, it did encourage consistency as the pandemic took hold. It could have been potentially disastrous had there been the usual COAG-style wars among the different jurisdictions and with the ­Commonwealth.

But the uniformity is breaking down.

Morrison needs to be firmer with some Premiers and territory leaders, not just on restarting schools but on reviving the economy.

Otherwise we may see businesses that operate nationally able to reopen in some states but remain closed in others.

As the PM told Sky News’ Paul Murray on Wednesday night: “I want to see kids back at school and people back at work and we want that to happen as soon as that can happen, because that’s how this show should be run.”

But is that how the show is being run here in NSW?

The evidence suggests not.

While I think the Baird/Ber­ejik­lian era has been good for our state, it has also been characterised by a lack of conviction — think greyhounds, stadiums and council mergers for starters — which has engendered a timidity towards making tough decisions.

Premier, please follow the expert health advice and immediately get our kids back in school more than one day a week.