Getting back to school will help vulnerable kids most

Out of the coronavirus misery, there have been a few bright spots, such as building national resilience and a renewed focus on essentials. COVID-19 has produced a “teachable moment”, as they say in education, an opportunity for adapting to new modes of teaching and learning. That’s been enabled by technology, with experienced teachers skilling up on wonderful tools. For digital natives, who roam and soak up content platform to platform, the education system is finally evolving from the models of last century to meet the world students will be looking to thrive in. After the crisis, classrooms won’t be the same, nor will community expectations. We are at an embryonic stage in a brave new world of education. Right now, however, we need to get students and their teachers back to school as soon as possible.

Five separate studies released by the federal Education Department on Monday reveal online education is holding back students, with vulnerable children and those in early years facing severe long-term impacts. Literacy and numeracy results are set to slide by one-sixth if pupils are kept at home for six months. More than one million at-risk students face social, emotional and behavioural setbacks. Some Year 5 students would effectively lose six weeks of learning in reading and almost 11 weeks in numeracy if schools failed to reopen this year. The University of Tasmania’s Peter Underwood Centre found the shutdown was especially hard on already disengaged students and those from non-English-speaking backgrounds. Many families simply lack the physical space, technology and other resources to support home schooling, while less-educated parents faced even tougher challenges.

Of the 3.9 million students studying across the nation, 20 per cent come from low-socio-economic households. A study by Melbourne University’s Graduate School of Education warned that those living in poverty would have “exacerbated risk”, finding it more difficult to catch up after schools returned. It’s likely the number of vulnerable people will increase. The Centre for International Research on Education Systems pointed to increased stress and behavioural issues for at-risk kids, who would struggle due to lack of teacher supervision. Another study foreshadowed a widening gulf between education haves and have-nots; many parents do not have the skills or experience to support home learning. Yet we have the power to reverse or ameliorate disturbing trends.

The medical advice to national cabinet is clear: students should return to school. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy declared classrooms posed no risk of spreading COVID-19, adding there was no need for students to observe the 1.5m social distancing rules. Scott Morrison is also eager to have children in school, and is nudging teachers to get back to the classroom. The danger to teachers was not there, the Prime Minister noted, but in the staffroom. Besides, bus drivers and supermarket staff were showing up each day despite the risk of infection. Education Minister Dan Tehan has waved a $3.3bn carrot for Catholic and independent schools, who educate 1.4 million students. Those schools will get fast-track access to vital funds if they open campuses immediately and return to at least 50 per cent classroom teaching before the end of May.

Teachers’ unions, as well as a recalcitrant Victorian government, see Mr Tehan’s move as provocative, if not “bribery”. It’s also dividing schools and school systems, with rebel groups in regional areas asking to be allowed to conduct their own risk assessments in areas without a COVID-19 case in the past month. As Rebecca Urban reported on Wednesday, a powerful network of Victorian private schools is demanding discretion to reopen campuses. As Mr Morrison says, it is up to each state to follow the advice of its health chief and premier. As with a range of restrictions, what’s right for Ballarat, Bonython, Burnie or Bunbury may not fit Balmain or Bowen Hills.

Yet there is a risk students in state systems could be left months behind in learning by not following suit with non-government schools that reopen due to Canberra’s financial incentives. Would state education officials block schools from reopening? It’s possible, but imagine the outcry and confusion. That may not be all that different from the current jumble. NSW, for instance, is making a staggered return from May 11. Parents in Queensland are getting conflicting views, but the government has not committed to a decision on reopening schools until after May 15. Victoria’s advice is students who can learn from home must do so for the duration of term two, even though the state’s top health adviser said he was open to opening schools before the end of the term. Both South Australia and Western Australia are encouraging students back to class.

We understand unions are worried about members’ wellbeing. Even at the best of times, classrooms can be germ hothouses and personal space is at a premium. Schools should use common sense in how they assign older and illness-prone teachers. Students in senior years must be a priority. On the balance of risks, reopening schools is necessary to return to normal, for families and the nation. Providing peace of mind for educators will be the news that key medical safeguards are falling into place: broad testing, quick tracing and capacity for rapid response to outbreaks. With the virus suppressed a revamped economy is in prospect. On the sunny side of the curve, we see the possibility of a rebirth for learning, teaching and prospering, as long as we take the right lessons from this crisis.