Parents rally against government’s slow return to school
Over ten thousand furious parents have united against the Andrews Government’s plans to phase students back into the classroom, with a online petition gaining momentum among families.
Education
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Ten thousand parents have signed a petition urging the state government to open schools to all children from the beginning of term four.
The move comes as health officials continue to declare schools and early learning centres safe, with lockdown provisions only in place to restrict movement of Victorians.
Parents will be further frustrated by news that vacation care program operators have been told they can only operate in the upcoming holidays for children able to attend school in term three.
Community Childcare Association executive director Julie Price said before and after-school care services – which operate holiday care – expect to enrol a handful of children for up to 100 places.
“They need extra support to ensure their viability,” she said.
The change.org petition was started by Melbourne mother-of-three Phoebe Rolleston, among others.
Ms Rolleston said that after Sunday’s announcement – under which not all children will return to school until late October at the earliest – parents were “back at square one”.
“We wanted to stand up for the children and their right to an education,” she said.
The petition says Melbourne schoolchildren will spend more of the academic year excluded from the classroom than any other part of Australia – and likely more than any other country – “yet there has been no discussion, debate or proper evidence to support this decision”.
Balwyn North siblings Max, 15, and Isabella Robertson, 13, who are in years 9 and 7 respectively, will not be returning until at least October 26.
“The school year has been really tough for everyone – the teachers have done an amazing job,” Max said. “I’m not sure when I will be heading back to school as I think it will still depend on what the virus numbers look like.”
Isabella has missed much of her first year of high school but said she had enjoyed learning to use technology at home more effectively.
Their parents, Rohan and Linda, welcomed the road map as a small step towards the return of normality.
Education Minister James Merlino said Victorian teachers “have done an outstanding job ensuring our students continue to learn during incredibly challenging circumstances”.
“Families should have every confidence that Victorian schools are well placed to support their child’s learning, no matter how disrupted their year has been,” he said.
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Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged changes to the 2021 curriculum while batting away suggestions kids may have to repeat a year of school.
Mr Andrews vowed there would be “more to say” about what the academic year looked like next year.
“There’s going to be a big job of catch-up, particularly on those foundational basics, and we’re looking at some very innovative ways in which we might do that,” he said.
“It’s about changing curriculum, changing focus, and the school year will look different.”
Mr Andrews said international research pointed to the vast majority of children being better off staying with their peers, rather than repeating a year of school.
It came after a Real Insurance survey found one in five Victorian parents believed their child would have to repeat a year of school because of the pandemic.
Mr Andrews said even if the state hit the return to school targets of October 26 for year 3-10 Melbourne students, “there would be a significant amount of catch-up that needs to be embedded in all of our school-based learning next year”.
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