Call for students and teachers to be allowed to study and work from home
Fed up state and independant school teachers have broken ranks with the Department of Education to call for flexible study and work options, with many flagging concerns for their safety as virus cases spiral out of control.
Education
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The Education Department is facing further mutiny from teachers, with the independent education union joining calls for a review of on-campus teaching.
Under current lockdown rules, students from years 11 and 12 and those at specialist schools must be taught on campus, and cannot be taught remotely from home. Unless they meet certain criteria, staff are required to be on campus to teach them, along with those whose parents cannot teach them at home.
Deb James, the secretary of the Independent Education Union, has written to Education Minister James Merlino expressing concern that the requirement that “staff are required to attend for duty at their school in accordance with normal arrangements” is at odds with the ruling that those who can work from home should do so.
She argues that “it is essential that individual schools are equipped to make proactive decisions around the delivery mode of senior classes based on an assessment of risk factors in the school community”.
The Australian Education Union has expressed similar concerns, and urged state school senior teachers and specialist school staff to be allowed to work from home where they feel unsafe.
In the letter to the Minister, Ms James said that the union accepts “that some staff are required on campus to supervise students who cannot remain at home and to support school operations, but believe that these workers are safest if contact with colleagues is minimised”.
“We ask you to review Departmental advice and to encourage schools to ensure that only those staff who are operationally required physically attend the workplace.”
Principals have the right to decide in some cases which staff work from home, but disputes have arisen in many cases about that the operational needs of the school are.
The Minister’s office has been contacted for comment.
The push for a more flexible approach comes as up to half of all teaching staff from some specialist schools catering for children with disabilities are refusing to work on campus because of safety concerns.
Student numbers at such schools are down to 50 per cent as parents also choose to keep their children at home due to concerns about the high number of infections in Victoria.
Australian Education Union president Meredith Peace said flexibility was needed to ensure a high-quality public education was provided and meet the needs of staff, students and parents. Those arrangements may include remote learning on set days or for set students.
Ms Peace said the department’s approach led to “drop-offs in attendance rates, particularly in our special schools, and because schools have not been authorised to make local decisions, those kids who aren’t physically attending school are getting limited, if any education”.
A Department of Education spokesman on Thursday said “all our Year 11 and 12 students and students in specialist schools will benefit most from being taught face-to-face in the classroom by their teachers”
“We want to make sure our Year 11 and 12 students and our students with additional needs have the best opportunity to be supported during this challenging year.
“Being taught face-to-face in school with the support of their teachers and friends provides that.”
He said schools were subject to extended cleaning, temperature checks and face coverings to limit the spread.