Why parents are dreading return to school ‘whiplash’
A surprising number of Victorian parents have expressed fear about their children going back to face-to-face learning.
Education
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Less than one third of Victorian parents think it is safe to send their kids back to school in two weeks’ time despite efforts to boost paediatric jabs.
New data from advocacy group the Parent Hood revealed about 72 per cent of mums and dads in the state either feared their kids are still at risk of contracting Covid in the classroom, or remained unsure about their return to school amid surging Omicron cases.
Victorian parents’ concerns mirror a national trend, with 20 per cent of parents around the country ready to send their kids back into the classroom.
Surveying 3000 Aussie parents, including almost 900 from Victoria, the data showed just 28 per cent of Victorian parents believe their kids will be safe when they go back to school.
Mother of three and The Parent Hood’s executive director Georgie Dent said many parents have experienced “whiplash” adjusting to face-to-face learning after two years of remote learning and school-wide closures amid differing approaches between states.
“It’s not realistic to expect that parents will suddenly feel comfortable to send their children back to school, when for the bulk of the last two years, we’ve all been operating on the assumption that we have to suppress this virus,” Ms Dent said.
“What is really clear, is that parents are scared and unsure, and I think what that points to is the state of confusion,” she said.
The data comes after an early surge in demand for child-friendly vaccine appointments in Victoria, while supply chain challenges threatened to delay the delivery of 51,000 air purifiers to every Victorian state school by the start of term one for high-risk school settings such as sick bays and canteens.
Education Minister and acting Health Minister James Merlino on Wednesday addressed parents’ concerns but ruled out a return to home learning, vowing the remaining 30,000 air purifiers would be delivered before school began.
“We made a commitment to the people of Victoria: get vaccinated, and then we can move beyond remote learning,” he said.
Pascoe Vale South mother of two Terrie Said has been monitoring son Jacob, 12, and daughter Sierra, 10, for Covid symptoms daily upon their return home from school for almost a year.
She said while her children were vaccinated and knew to socially distance in potentially crowded settings such as classrooms, she remained concerned about transmission between kids at school.
“We’ve been nervous, like most (people) from the start.”
“Sometimes kids are dropped off when they’re really rundown and very snotty.
“That’s just germs passing from one to another. I’m sure teachers will also clean but it’s not possible after every moment of touching.”
While parents reported difficulty securing a vaccine appointment for their primary school aged children at one of the 30 on-site jab hubs set up at state schools, a Department of Education and Training spokesman said Victorian students were well placed to return to school on day one of term one despite the new findings.
“We’ve delivered more than $190 million in initiatives in schools right across Victoria to keep students and staff safe and prevent any more learning disruption in 2022,” the spokesman said.
“Our school workforce and students over 12 have done an amazing job getting vaccinated quickly to protect their school communities, and we expect families to be just as keen to protect their younger children ahead of term one.”
Ms Dent said: “I think what this points to is the absolute urgent imperative for our federal and state leaders, to give parents and teachers and schools, certainty and confidence.”
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