‘So many mixed messages’: School start delay likely for all Qld primary and high schools

Anxious parents are waiting on ‘concrete decisions’ on a possible delay to the start of the school year due to Covid, with both primary and high schools likely to be impacted.

Back to school plans are in chaos for hundreds of thousands of Queensland families after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s bombshell announcement to potentially delay the beginning of term 1.

As the state remains gripped by surging Covid case numbers, the Premier said she would not be sending Queensland schoolchildren back to class during the peak of an Omicron wave.

With school scheduled to return on January 24, Ms Palaszczuk said a potential delay of one to two weeks would allow more time for children to be vaccinated, with kids aged 5 to 11 eligible from Monday. The likelihood of severe staff shortages as teachers inevitably become unwell after being struck down by Covid, or branded close contacts, was also a factor.

The Courier-Mail understands the delayed start would include both primary and high schools, but the details were still being finalised.

Ms Palaszczuk said more “concrete decisions” would be announced in the coming days. But the announcement has rocked parents, school staff and medical experts, with some questioning the decision and its potential impact on families.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk during a press conference in Brisbane on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Following days of speculation over the race against time to get thousands of children vaccinated before the January 24 return-to-school date, Ms Palaszczuk said yesterday the timing of school reopening was actively under consideration, with a “concrete plan” to be announced in the coming days.

“I’ve got sisters who’ve got young children, they’re concerned and they want to make sure that their kids are vaccinated before returning to school, but also too we’re heading towards a peak,” she said. “We’re doing modelling in relation to the peak of this Omicron wave and let me assure parents that we will not be sending primary school students back during the first week of school if we are heading towards a peak.”

It was understood details about potential arrangements for children of essential workers were also being finalised.

Almost half a million Queensland children will become eligible for their first vaccine from Monday, with eight weeks the current recommendation between first and second doses.

Kristy Frappell with her seven-year-old son Lachlan Frappell who is due to start Year 2 at the end of the month. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Mum Kristy Frappell said her 7-year-old son Lachlan was due to start year 2 at the beginning of the year, and was scheduled to receive his first Covid vaccination this Monday.

She said she had booked him at the earliest possible time ahead of the school year, and was concerned about the potential impact of school being delayed.

“On one hand I completely understand the logic of potentially delaying the return to school, but on the other, if you don’t have very few people have flexible working arrangements where they could take more time of to be home for their children,” she said.

“The first thing I did when I heard the announcement was ring my mum and ask her ‘what are you doing the first two weeks of February’.”

Ms Frappell said she had been contacted by Lachlan’s school who said, “we don’t know much more than you”.

“We are getting so many mixed messages, first (Prime Minister Scott) Morrison says kids will go back day one term one, then Palaszczuk says it’s not likely kids will go back the first one or two weeks.

“Lachlan is an only child, it’s a long time to keep him at home – he can’t get back to school quick enough.”

Kristy Frappell and her son Lachlan are waiting to hear if the start of the school year will be delayed. Picture: Zak Simmonds

But the move was welcomed by the state’s education unions, with Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson saying the decision “just makes sense”.

“Right now we need to make some smart decisions, some common sense decisions and some decisions based around keeping as many of our vulnerable Queenslanders in our schools safe,” she said. “Like everyone else in Queensland we are watching daily case numbers grow. We can’t have Omicron explode in our schools. We have the time to make smart decisions right now.”

Independent Education Union Queensland branch secretary Terry Burke said the announcement was “most welcome in these uncertain times” and said he looked forward to hearing further details on the plan.

Mr Burke had earlier warned this week that schools had the potential to become “superspreader hubs”, as teachers and school staff mingled with large numbers of unvaccinated children.

“This plan needs to deal with how schools will manage staff and student exposures and return to school policies, enhanced pandemic leave arrangements as well as air quality and ventilation to name just a few major concerns our members have right now,” he said.

But a leading infectious disease expert and paediatrician said kids were “better off at school” and the risks of Covid was low.

“Only one per cent of children will be hospitalised with Omicron and even if they only have one Covid vaccine they get an 80 to 100 per cent protection from the virus,” Professor Robert Booy told The Courier-Mail.

“Children benefit from being at school. They need to socialise for their mental health and they get more exercise. It’s a massive detriment to children if they are kept away from the classroom.”

Professor Booy also said keeping children at home was adding to the stresses of already overwhelmed parents who were trying to hold jobs during a pandemic. And as parents struggle to secure a vaccination appointment for their 5- to 11-year-old children, he offered his reassurances that Omicron symptoms are mild in children.

“Even if they get Covid most will just have what seems like a cold, some will have no symptoms at all. ” he said.

He did insist that all children with serious illness like cerebral palsy or chronic heart conditions or cancer must be pushed to top of the vaccination queues on Monday when the rollout begins.

Originally published as ‘So many mixed messages’: School start delay likely for all Qld primary and high schools