Coronavirus: Catholic schools overruled on closures

The national head of Australia’s 1800 Catholic schools has overruled calls from Sydney leaders for an urgent shutdown.

Waverley College in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

The national head of Australia’s 1800 Catholic schools has backed the federal government on its call for schools to remain open, overruling calls from Sydney Catholic school leaders for an urgent shutdown amid coronavirus fears.

National Catholic Education Commission Executive Director Jacinta Collins released a statement on Wednesday insisting that Catholic schools would adhere to the Australian government’s advice to remain open and operational.

“While there is significant concern and debate regarding school closures in Australia to minimise the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus),” Ms Collins said.

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Posted by The Australian on Tuesday, 17 March 2020

“It is our view that the government and public health authorities are in the best position to determine whether schools should remain open and we will adhere to this advice.

“The government and Australia’s Chief Medical Officer are in agreement that this is the best course of action currently to protect those in the community who are more likely to experience serious impacts of the virus, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, and to ensure that health workers and other critical frontline staff can remain at work.”

Ms Collins is a former Labor senator who took over running the NCEC a year ago. Her comments put her at odds with those of the heads of Sydney Catholic Schools and the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta who have called for school buildings to close as “a matter of urgency” as COVID-19 cases rise across the country.

“The first priority for all Catholic schools is the health and safety of our students and staff, and as such, the Catholic sector is monitoring and responding quickly to the advice of federal, state and territory governments and medical authorities as the situation develops,” said Ms Collins.

“Should it become necessary for schools to close in some states or territories, or across Australia, our school communities will follow this advice and seek to minimise the impact on student learning as much as possible.

“While this is an uncertain period for our communities, it is important that we remain calm and alert as we monitor this health risk, and for our families and staff to be well informed about the health advice and protocols to reduce this risk,” said Ms Collins.

Nationally, Catholic schools educate more than 764,000 students – or one in five Australian students.

‘Close school buildings urgently’

Earlier, the heads of Sydney Catholic Schools and the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta have called for school buildings to close as “a matter of urgency” as COVID-19 cases rise across the country.

The diocese represent about 230 parish schools combined and are among the first school systems to publicly speak out against current policy for schools to remain open.

Sydney Catholic Schools Executive Director Tony Farley denied any of his schools were set to close immediately, but said many were well advanced in their plans to continue to provide continuous education to students remotely.

Mr Farley said wanted Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan and his state and territory counterparts to “move this along”.

“We’re experiencing reduced student attendance and parents are becoming increasingly agitated.

“Business is sending people home for two weeks, sport and large gatherings are being cancelled and there’s a desire to align schools with that.

“I’m not here to offer a counter argument to the health experts but I do think there’s a need to be responding to the fact that the community is not on board with this.”

So far only one school in the Sydney diocese — St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School — has been forced to close for cleaning after an adult who attended a professional development session last week later contracted COVID-19. There are no NSW state schools currently closed and a handful of independent schools are transitioning to providing remote online learning. It is understood that Wenona School in North Sydney conducted a remote teaching trial on Tuesday.

Several Melbourne schools have also announced closures, including Toorak Primary School. Trinity Grammar and Ruyton Girls School will join about a dozen schools in Melbourne’s eastern and bayside suburbs to make the transition to remote online learning.

Mr Farley said the closure of school buildings would not come at the cost of children’s education.

“We are looking at a range of delivery platforms including video, audio and printed materials which we are engaging our teaching workforce around,” he said.

“Of course, this requires commitment from teachers, parents and students to find new ways of learning and we are developing a clear framework to support these endeavours.

“Managed carefully, this shift will build resilience of students by giving them the skills to adapt to learning in a new environment. It will also build the capacity of teachers and the system to create contemporary learning experiences.”

Greg Whitby, head of the Parramatta diocese schools, said his 80 schools were working hard to prepare to support student learning should there be extensive school closures.

“Our local schools are expert in the different needs of each of their communities,” Mr Whitby said.

“As the likelihood of the closure of schools increases, schools are using everything they know about the needs of their families to prepare to help them continue their learning from home if needed.”

Catholic education leaders in NSW are due to meet with Mr Tehan on Wednesday. He defended the schools policy on Tuesday, saying that medical experts have said, at this stage, the best thing was for children to be at school.

Health officers have warned that pre-emptive school closures would need to be prolonged to be effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19. They advised that closures might still be considered later in the outbreak in anticipation of a peak in infection rates, for a shorter period of time.

“The Government has supported that, state and territory governments support that, but ultimately in the end parents will make decisions according to their wants and needs,” Mr Tehan said.

“We’ll listen to the advice of the medical experts and then decisions will be made accordingly.”