Executive Director's Update to Principals #45: COVID Update - 5 Aug 2021

In this time of COVID-19, we pray:
When we aren't sure, God,
help us be calm;
when information comes
from all sides, correct and not,
help us to discern;
when fear makes it hard to breathe,
and anxiety seems to be the order of the day,
slow us down, God;
help us to reach out with our hearts,
when we can't touch with our hands;
help us to be socially connected,
when we have to be socially distant;
help us to love as perfectly as we can,
knowing that “perfect love casts out all fear.”

COVID Update

Following the Premier’s announcement this afternoon, all of Victoria will enter a snap lockdown at 8pm this evening, Thursday 5 August, for 7 days.

Due to the short notice of this lockdown, we provide the following advice to schools should regional Victoria go into lockdown.

Schools are expected to move to a remote learning platform starting tomorrow. Schools should be flexible in their arrangements to ensure continuity of learning. This can include digital learning platforms and/or the provision of learning materials.

Where necessary, students should be provided with access to digital devices to enable access to learning programs being provided by the school.

Schools must continue to provide on-site supervision for students in the following categories:

• Children whose parents are considered essential workers as listed, cannot work from home and where no other supervision arrangements can be made
• Vulnerable children, including children in out-of-home care, children deemed by Child Protection and/or Family Services to be at risk of harm and children identified by the school as vulnerable (including via referral from a family violence agency, homelessness or youth justice service or mental health or other health service).
• Where a parent/carer indicates that a student with a disability is vulnerable because they cannot learn from home, and/or informs the school the student is vulnerable due to family stress, the school must provide on-site supervision for that student. This may apply to students enrolled in specialist schools and students with a disability enrolled in mainstream schools.
  

As always, we are very grateful for all of the work schools are doing to provide continuity of learning for students under these stressful and exceptional circumstances. We will continue to update schools once further information is forthcoming. 

The HIVE Remote Learning Resources

The HIVE has a link to last year’s Remote Learning Resources back on the homepage and in the top site menu for teachers to use as required.

Table of Restrictions and List of Essential Workers

The updated Table of Restrictions and List of Essential Workers is now available. 

Updated School Operations Guide

We anticipate that an updated version of the School Operations Guide will be available in due course. We will circulate this when it becomes available. 

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