Premier crushes plan by Education Union for school term to finish early as Covid cases spike, but says he will consider ‘all options’

The Premier has quelled a push for schools to close early for Term 1 as Covid cases spike, and is considering a number of options.

Premier Peter Malinauskas has crushed plans for the school term to finish early as Covid cases spike, but is open to negotiations if circumstances become worse.

The Australian Education Union representing the state’s public school teachers earlier this week called for students to finish this term a week early, and said the large number of staff absences was “not sustainable”.

At least three schools have closed as principals and teachers flag growing concerns about burnout amid escalating Covid cases and isolation rules.

But on Friday, Mr Malinauskas said he was “fundamentally opposed” to the proposition of schools beginning holidays one week early, which would provide a circuit breaker.

“Closing down school for a week is a big deal,” he told reporters as he prepared to lead the first meeting of the Emergency Management Council (EMC) from 9am.

“There is a legitimate concern, our teachers are under the pump,” he said.

“When we think through the conveniences of closing our schools early, they are profound.

“We need to think these things through very carefully, not just through the perspective of teachers, but parents and students alike.”

Earlier he said the “the amount of disruption” caused would put unnecessary pressure on parents.

“Under my government, the contemplation of extending the school term by an entire week was essentially watered out as an option,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.

Mr Malinauskas did accept that if situations changed, such as a new variant, he would be willing to examine alternate options.

“If something huge and unforeseeable occurs, if we have a whole new variant and the like, then clearly during Covid you can’t rule anything out,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“But what I’m saying is the idea of shutting down school for a week would have to be the option of the most last of resorts, and I don’t think we’re anywhere near that.”

It comes after the Education Department on Wednesday said whole school classes will be sent home if 10 or more children catch Covid.

A survey by the union found 76 per cent of sites had between 1 and 10 teachers away each day, and 15 per cent had more than 11 away.

Mr Malinauskas said he would be examining “every option” before closing schools.

“I’m looking at every single option that we can get our hands on, and I still believe there are a lot out there before we contemplate shutting down school for it,” he said.

It says the cost of a previous approach to keep schools open regardless of case numbers had come “at the expense of the physical and mental health of educators” who were working into the night as they were covering for other staff.

More than half of the members who responded said they had lost time to prepare for lessons, assess students’ work and write reports.

Up to 71 per cent of sites reported they had combined classes of up to 55 students.

In response, Union SA branch president Andrew Gohl said schools were already experiencing “huge disruption”, with people “exhausted”.

It followed a statement from Mr Gohl that said: “The AEU applauds the heroic work of all educators to maintain classes. However, this is not sustainable.”

“The AEU recognises that (the Education Department) has finally responded to the (union)’s persistent calls to implement ‘circuit breakers’ by suspending classes and age cohorts,” the union said.

It called upon the department to declare every day of Week 11, beginning on Monday, April 11, as pupil a free day.

“As a demonstration of goodwill toward fatigued educators this break will provide much needed time to reset in preparation for term 2,” the union said in a statement.

Education Department chief executive Rick Persse on Thursday told ABC radio there was “the possibility of having student free days towards the end of the term”.

He will discuss pressures on state schools with new Education Minister today.

However, he said the department must balance children’s learning needs with safety and staff’s ability to deliver educational programs.

Would you like to see schools finish a week early this term?

The Education Department had a pool of 4000 temporary relief teachers to call upon earlier this year, but Mr Persse conceded that many had since taken up contracts and filling all roles was now “challenging”.

“We’re certainly utilising the bulk of them,” he said.

“If we have a need to fill a specialised teacher in Whyalla it’s not possible to deploy a primary teacher from the city to do that.”

Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said as Covid continued to surge in schools, the importance for students to be vaccinated has never been higher.

She said about 57 per cent of students have received at least one dose, and called for “a huge area of improvement”.

Students need two doses to be fully vaccinated, and do not need boosters at this stage, Prof Spurrier said.

Students are being encouraged to get vaccinated, as cases continue to rise across SA.

The Education Department on Wednesday told The Advertiser if there were five cases of the coronavirus in a classroom, every student would be required to get a PCR test, and if an additional five tested positive, the whole class would be sent home for several days.

Mr Persse said he would prioritise the safety of staff or students and would not rule out closing a whole school where needed.

The department’s latest data showed on Tuesday, 482 staff members were absent due to Covid-19 infections or isolation requirements, and 258 school services officers.

About 3.4 per cent of students were absent due to Covid-19.

SA Health on Wednesday reported two Covid-19 related deaths – a man in his 60s and a woman in her 90s – along with the second highest daily rise in cases.

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Originally published as Premier crushes plan by Education Union for school term to finish early as Covid cases spike, but says he will consider ‘all options’