From hygiene to self-quarantine, here’s everything you need to know about Term 3

TERRITORY schools reopen tomorrow for Term 3. As restrictions across the NT have lifted and our borders have opened, here’s everything you need to know about going back to school

Here’s everything you need to know about going back to school. Picture: iStock

• NT closes its borders to another NSW hotspot
• 5200 travellers enter NT, almost 150 people in quarantine
• Calls to close Uluru airport and park due to hotspot flight risks
• Thirty teachers to go into forced quarantine after visiting VIC, NSW

TERRITORY schools reopen tomorrow for Term 3. As restrictions across the NT have lifted and our borders have opened, here’s everything you need to know about going back to school.

All information is from the NT Department of Education.

What happens to schools if there’s a COVID-19 outbreak?

All Territory schools have a pandemic plan.

In the event of a school closure for three to 14 days, primary school teachers are required to create a two week core literacy and numeracy program.

Middle and senior secondary teachers are required to provide two weeks work for their subject areas.

If schools close they will deliver learning either through a hard copy work package, existing online learning programs / provisions, or a blend model of hard copy and existing online learning.

Students who need to quarantine

Parents are asked to notify the school when students have been directed by the NT Department of Health to self-quarantine at home or enter mandatory quarantine at a government facility.

The school will provide the student with learning from home materials to ensure that they can continue to learn during this period.

Students who have been required to quarantine will need to provide the school with a letter of clearance from the Department of Health prior to their return to face-to-face learning.

Please note that all school staff who have been required to undertake quarantine will also need to provide the same clearance letter before they return to school.

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Visitors

Schools will be minimising the number of adults entering school grounds to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff.

Principals have the authority to allow visitors on school grounds case-by-case.

Visitors are required to comply with all physical distancing and hygiene directions from the school, and are encouraged to supply their own water bottle and hygiene products wherever possible.

No person including staff, students or visitors should come onto school grounds if:

– They are unwell;

– They are awaiting the outcome of a test for COVID-19;

– They have been directed by relevant authorities to quarantine or self-isolate;

– In the last 14 days they have travelled to a place identified by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee as a COVID-19 hot spot.

School events

Some schools may recommence large events and other activities that include visitors coming onto school grounds.

These activities will be carefully managed to ensure that the above principles regarding physical distancing and hygiene are maintained.

Year 12

Schools will adjust the way they deliver the learning and conduct assessments completed in fair way for everyone.

To support senior secondary students, schools will:

– Adjust specific assessment to meet curriculum requirements;

– Case manage students, enabling pathway completion;

– Modify learning to meet curriculum requirements;

– Flexibly collect evidence for learning;

– Ensure the NT is consistent with the changes at the national level.

Exams will still go ahead.

VET

VET courses will continue in Term 3, 2020, including courses run by Charles Darwin University in Darwin and Palmerston.

All Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) working in partnership with schools are expected to be operating in accordance with the NT Roadmap, and have in place COVID-19 safety plans.

Schools will be reviewing RTOS’ COVID-19 safety plans before engaging with them.

Structured Work Placement for students undertaking a VET course will continue if agreed to by the employer and parent, subject to school and parents being satisfied with the business’s COVID-19 safety plan.

Assignments

Assessment and reporting expectations remain the same. Every student in transition receives a comment and in Years 1 to 9 students must receive an A to E grade for each subject studied, and Years 10 to 12 will receive one written report each semester using A to E grades.

For students learning from home for health reasons, each school will develop an assessment and reporting schedule that identifies evidence of learning from Term 1 and 2 to make an assessment of the student’s progress and achievement.

These students can still receive an A to E grade for each subject studied. Each school to determine how teachers will collect evidence of learning if students are learning from home.

Boarding school students

From the commencement of Term 3 students enrolled in boarding schools are expected to return to their boarding schools either in the NT or elsewhere.

Students whose parents have made the decision not to return to previous boarding will be required and supported to enrol in either their local school, another boarding school, or

the Northern Territory School of Distance Education.

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Hygiene

To maintain the highest levels of hygiene, schools will:

– Continue to practise and promote good hygiene including implementing routine hand washing by all children and staff members, before and after class and before and after meal breaks;

– Consider moving classes outside, separating into smaller groups and/ or spreading into larger indoor spaces where possible;

– Encourage the avoidance of handshaking, hugging and kissing, or games that include holding hands or other physical contact.

All schools in the Territory have received additional funding to enable them to increase their current cleaning regime.

Schools have been provided a cleaning fact sheet which has been developed by the Department of Health to inform what enhanced cleaning practices should be undertaken during this time.

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