Executive Director's Update to Principals #19: COVID Update - 28 May 2021
Keep us, compassionate God,
in the loving embrace of your mercy.
In this time of uncertainty and distress.
sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen
COVID Update
Student attendance on site
Schools must continue to provide on-site supervision for students in the following categories:
- Children where both parents and/or carers are authorised workers who cannot work from home, work for an essential provider and where no other supervision arrangements can be made:
- Where there are two parents/carers, both must be authorised workers, working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision
- For single parents/ carers, the authorised worker must be working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision.
- Children experiencing vulnerability, including:
- children in out-of-home care
- children deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family violence service, and is assessed as requiring education and care outside the family home
- children identified by a school as vulnerable, including via referral from a government agency, or funded family or family violence service, homeless or youth justice service or mental health or other health service.
Students attending on site must be supervised at all times by staff with either current Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registration or a Working with Children Check.
Education Support staff can provide direct support to and supervision of students, provided they have access to support from a VIT-registered teacher.
COVIDSafe principles for schools should continue to be followed for on-site supervision, including staying home when unwell and getting tested, practising good hygiene and wearing a mask both indoors and outdoors when outside of home. With these COVIDSafe measures in place, schools continue to be safe environments for staff and students on site.
Ensure physical distancing
Density limits no longer apply in areas only accessed by staff (i.e. staff rooms, lunchrooms). However, staff are encouraged to continue to physical distance where possible.
Density limits of 1 person per 4 square metres apply in areas generally accessed by the public, such as school reception. For these public areas, signage must be displayed to indicate the maximum number of persons that may be present in the space at a single time. (School Operations Guide p. 12).
Staff attendance on site
School staff who are not required to support on-site supervision should work from home for this period.
Recording attendance
Schools should record attendance daily, both for those who are on site and for those who are learning from home.
Outside School Hours Care
Outside School Hours Care programs must follow these same directions.
School boarding premises, medium term residential programs and school camps
Students and staff residing in school boarding premises, medium term residential programs or currently on a school camp are permitted to ‘shelter in place’ with appropriate staff supervision and care and no visitors to the residential or camp site. Schools may choose to return from camps earlier than expected but are not required to do so.
Other arrangements for Victorian border communities
Students and staff who live in regional Victoria and are enrolled in or work in a school in a bordering state will be able to attend on site if they meet the eligibility criteria as per the above categories.
Students and staff who live in bordering states and are enrolled in or work in a school in regional Victoria can attend onsite if they meet if they meet the eligibility criteria as per the above categories.
Online learning and digital devices
During this period, schools should, to the extent possible, enable continuity of learning from home. This can include remote learning programs 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.
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.
New template letter for parents and carers
A new version of the template letter is available to assist principals with communicating the changes to parents and carers. The new template letter is available as a Word document.
Permitted school activities
Download the latest Quick reference of permitted school activities as a one-page PDF.
Updated School Operations Guide
A new version of the Term 2 School Operations Guide has been created to support schools with the transition to remote and flexible learning. It is available on CEVN.
The first eight pages of the School Operations Guide are new, with key changes summarised in the above information. Other changes are highlighted in yellow in the guide.
Next COVID-19 Update
We will continue to send out COVID-19 updates on an as needs basis. Please liaise with your Education Consultant with any questions or concerns.
Stay safe and continue to look after each other…
Ever blessings.