Coronavirus Sydney: What north shore, eastern suburb schools are doing to support students
School fee relief, temperature checks at the school gate and even mass rollouts of masks and gloves for staff — these are some of the measures to be put in place when students return to school for term two. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM ALL NSW SCHOOLS IN TERM TWO.
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A select few of Sydney’s most prestigious — and expensive — schools are going to extreme lengths to support struggling families and get students back into classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From bursary and waiver programs to assist the payment of student enrolment fees, to temperature checks at the school gate and even mass rollouts of masks and gloves for staff — these are some of the measures that will be put in place to fight coronavirus when students return to school for term two.
Elite schools stretching across the eastern suburbs, north shore and western Sydney are preparing for staggered returns to school for students and teachers, with NSW Independent Schools Association chief executive Dr Geoff Newcombe telling NewsLocal several schools are offering fee relief to families that have lost income during the pandemic.
But Mr Newcombe said it up was at the school principal’s discretion when it comes to financial support.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
To help parents keep up-to-date with the latest information on term two, NewsLocal has developed a comprehensive list of programs being offered to students in some of the state’s most elite schools, as well as independent, catholic and public schools.
Cranbrook School Headmaster Nicholas Sampson said Year 12 students and boarders will have priority access when returning to classrooms in term two, while kinder to Year 11 students will be brought back through rotations and remote learning to “enable social distancing”.
“We will continue to welcome to campus students of essential workers and preschool to Year 11 parents unable to support distance learning from home,” he told NewsLocal.
The headmaster of the elite eastern suburbs school said a “hardship register” had been established to support families in paying school fees, which exceed $34,000 per year.
St Catherine’s School headmistress Dr Julie Townsend said students will be separated into year groups across the school and receive temperature checks when arriving to school.
“As families’ confidence returns we envisage more girls coming into school. We want to get back to face-to-face teaching as soon as practicable,” Dr Townsend said.
“Online learning is a stopgap, but no substitute for traditional classroom teaching which enables nuanced interaction that online cannot.”
The school has established a bursary program to support families in financial difficulty, ensured all students had laptops to complete work from home and assured staff no-one will be stood down.
Students at Barker College on the upper north shore will experience a “reimagining of their 2020 academic year", with the introduction of two final terms in 2020 rather than the usual three.
College head Philip Heath said students would still receive the 37 weeks of teaching in line with the original school year, despite the current school holidays being extended to May 10.
“We have developed an orderly plan to push the remaining terms out a little in order to increase the chances of maximising face-to-face teaching later in the year, as society (hopefully) returns to a level of normality,” Mr Heath told NewsLocal.
“Parents who are experiencing financial challenges in the light of the current COVID-19 crisis have been encouraged to be in contact with the School so that we can support them.
“The School’s council has established a schema to assist families facing hardship.”
Meanwhile, a Catholic Schools NSW spokesman said returns to face-to-face learning in close to 600 schools in term two would be guided by the NSW Government.
The spokesman said fee relief was available to families who require it with “measures in place to ensure that no parent or family will be turned away from a Catholic School because of financial difficulties”.
The bid to protect students, and strained household incomes, comes as Education Minister Sarah Mitchell laid out her plan for term two — starting with getting students back into physical classrooms.
“This has to be done in a way that aligns with health advice and community expectations,” the minister said. “While the medical advice indicates that schools are a safe place for students, we have to ensure that returning to face-to-face learning in our schools is done safely.”
She said measure will be put in place around school drop off and pick up times to protect at-risk teachers.
An Education Department spokesman said 95 per cent of students were learning from home at the end of Term 1, with schools reopening from April 27 for Term Two.
“It is anticipated that most students will continue to learn from home for the first two weeks of term, with more face-to-face teaching taking place from Week 3,” he said.
“NSW public schools have actively worked to provide additional devices to students where they are able to and loaned school devices where possible.
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“In the last two weeks … the Department has provided more than 4,200 devices including computers, modems and 4G internet devices on top of the devices loaned out by schools locally.
“Many more deliveries will be taking place across the State at the start of Term 2.”
The spokesman said the department was focused on getting resources to students in need as soon as possible, “with priority for Year 12 students and disadvantaged students in rural and remote schools”.
The Department has been working closely with principals to gain advice on the number of additional devices and hardware needed.
A further 17 of the state’s most expensive independent schools, including Sydney and Macquarie Grammar, Ascham, SCECGS, The King’s School, St Joseph’s and St Paul’s International, Kambala, The Scots College, St Catherine’s, Wenona, Pymble Ladies’, Ravenswood, Queenwood, Knox, Presbyterian Ladies’ College and SHORE were contacted for comment.