Executive Director’s Update to Principals #102: COVID Update - 19 Oct 2021

God of the protective fold, God of the abundant life: you did not form us                    
to live in fear of others
or in want of simple joys.
In your keep may we find
the abundance you came to provide: a constant supply of the love we need and an ever-opening expanse of a life that is ours to explore.
Amen.

~ The Corrymeela Community

COVID Update

Vaccination Updates

Principal vaccination forum

A forum will be held this Friday 22 October at 9am for principals who have been affected by staff declining to be vaccinated. The forum will be for approximately one hour and principals can join via this Zoom link.

Recording visitor vaccination status

Regular visitors – eg. music tutors
Regular visitors, such as music tutors, should have their vaccination status collected, recorded and stored in the same manner as staff members. 

Irregular visitors – eg. specialist support staff
Irregular visitors are required to be vaccinated in the same timeframe as school staff. They need to show evidence of their vaccination status upon checking into a school, which should be recorded and stored in a spreadsheet such as this template circulated last week, to be referred to for future visits. 

This is in-line with Public Health Directions No. 6, which states that the education operator must collect, record and hold vaccination information (page 2).  This applies to any person contracted to work at an education facility and who will or may be in close proximity to children, students or staff, whether or not engaged by the education operator including casual relief teachers, Breakfast Club suppliers, IT personnel, NDIS providers and auditors, but does not include delivery personnel) (page 10). 

Managing vaccination enquiries from families and the public

We understand parents and community members may be requesting confirmation of the vaccination status of staff members. CEB and schools will continue to meet our obligations to collect, record and hold vaccination information in keeping with the Directives of the Chief Health Officer. For privacy reasons, however, personal vaccination information cannot and will not be shared with parents or community members.  

If asked to confirm vaccination status by a parent or community member, CEB recommends the following response:

The information about an individuals vaccination status is personal information.  The school/CEB cannot provide personal vaccination information about staff members. However, I can assure you that we continue to follow the COVIDSafe requirements prescribed by the Chief Health Officer, including the COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Workers) Directions.  

Reminder: School vaccination statistics survey

The DOBCEL Board and CECV require a snapshot of the vaccination status of its staff, so DOBCEL principals are asked to complete this short survey by tomorrow, COB Wednesday 20 October. 

Thank you to those schools who have already responded.

Employee family or household members in isolation

A frequently asked employee entitlement FAQ page is available on CEVN to provide guidance in relation to employee entitlements that apply to circumstances surrounding COVID-19.

We have received enquiries about the following scenario, covered in FAQ 17: 

What happens if an employee’s immediate family or household member is in self-isolation?
If an employee is living in the same household as a person required to self-isolate due to current self-isolation advice, it is recommended that the employee does not attend work until there is confirmation the household member has not contracted COVID-19, or the self-isolation period has concluded. In this instance, it is recommended that discussions should occur in relation to work from home arrangements. If working from home is not reasonably practicable, the employee will be provided with up to 10 days of paid miscellaneous leave until such time as it is confirmed the household member has not contracted COVID-19, or the required self-isolation period has concluded.

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