Executive Director’s Update to Principals #21: COVID Update - 5 April 2022

God of the seed and God of the branches, you promised that a grain of faith
would be enough to move a mountain,
or better yet, to make a nest for roosting.
May we now see the ripe fruition
of seeds planted long ago
by grand, motherly types
who sang us hymns we still can hum,
who showed us kindness
and quiet strength.
May we then grow in this new season
to plant a mountain-moving seed ourselves, a shelter for tomorrow’s wings.

Amen.

Thank You

Principals and school communities are to be congratulated on the way that you have managed to provide continuity of learning throughout Term 1 of 2022.  The disruptions caused as COVID has moved through the community and the efforts.  Your efforts in planning and preparation are greatly appreciated by your school communities and Catholic Education Ballarat.

Vaccination Register

Thank you to those schools who have provided their vaccination registers to DOBCEL, as requested via COVID Update #18 (28 March 2022).

We appreciate the many competing priorities, but if you are a DOBCEL school and have not yet done so, please send a copy of your local vaccination register for all education workers in your school to covid@dobcel.catholic.edu.au (Preferably in Excel format) as early as possible. RI&MPJP schools are not required to provide your register.

Support remains available in ensuring employees are compliant with the vaccine mandates and the collation of information is important for our collective response.

Support in managing non-compliance with the vaccination mandate

In consultation with CECV we have created some templates to assist principals where a worker may not be compliant with the Order.  

This matrix (please click here for link) outlines the various scenarios and the required high-level approach.

For support and to access the appropriate template letters and talking points, principals should contact;

Maree Baker (HR Manager)
mbaker@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
Mobile: 0436 460 275

Maree with the Education Consultant will assist principals to navigate the situation particular to the circumstances and ensure procedural fairness and consistency in approach.

Parents/Carers on School Sites Guidelines

We are aware that schools have received enquiries from parents and school community members regarding the requirement in the DOBCEL Schools for Parents/Carers/Visitor to be vaccinated to attend school activities onsite.  We know that these guidelines will not provide substantive support for the rest of this term, but will hopefully assist with school events next term.

The guidelines state that that:  

Parents, carers and other adult visitors attending a gathering at school, such as a fete, school play or other school ceremony, whether indoors or outdoors, need to show evidence of vaccination on arrival.  

We have developed a template response via this link to assist you in managing those enquiries.

You are also able to share the DOBCEL Parents/Carers on School Sites Guidelines via this link should a parent or member of the school community ask to see them.

If you are an RIMPJP school, please feel free to adapt any of the documentation to support your school community or adjust to reflect your governing authority.

Updated Vaccination Policy and Requirements

The DOBCEL Vaccination Policy has been updated to reflect the updated pandemic orders (‘Orders’) issued by the Victorian Government to be more flexible to accommodate future Orders. The updated policy has been approved by Board pending the final ratification by Bishop Paul. Once ratified it will be published on the CECV website and shared with you via the Weekly Newsletter. 

As the updated policy is broader to accommodate changing Orders, any new staff should also be provided with the DOBCEL Vaccination Requirements document and FAQ which describes the current requirements pertaining to booster deadlines.

COVID-19 Leave Types

The following information has been published previously in COVID Update #7 (1 February 2022), and is now republished for your convenience.

Schools have expressed challenges classifying types of leave related to COVID 19.  The following simple table may assist with leave classifications. 

Please refer to the CECV School Operations Guide.  For more information or guidance refer to the CECV School Operations Guide or liaise with the HR Team:

Maree Baker (HR Manager)
mbaker@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
Mobile: 0436 460 275

Jo Huntly (HR Advisor)
jhuntley@dobcel.catholic.edu.au
Mobile: 0429 598 163

Other leave types are available in accordance with the VCEMEA.

Next COVID Update