Pressure for teacher vaccination increases as school return looms

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 2 years ago

Pressure for teacher vaccination increases as school return looms

By Jordan Baker and Josh Dye
Updated

Public schools will be asked to run “check-in” assessments for all students from years three to nine when they return to face-to-face learning next term to assess how 10 weeks’ worth of remote classes has affected their schooling.

It comes as public high school principals say teachers should not be called back to classrooms until two weeks after their second vaccination and all HSC and special needs students should be prioritised for COVID-19 shots as part of the return-to-school plan.

Teachers from the Fairfield local government area queue for their vaccinations in July.

Teachers from the Fairfield local government area queue for their vaccinations in July.Credit: Louise Kennerley

But some parents remain concerned about sending their children back to school at all this year, and, while schools have frequently said running online and face-to-face lessons simultaneously is too hard, some want a distance-education option.

The NSW government is planning to prioritise the youngest students from kindergarten to year 2, and year 11 students, who begin year 12 in term 4, as part of a staggered return to the classroom once vaccination rates hit 70 per cent, which is likely to be in October, around the time term four begins.

On Tuesday evening, the NSW Department of Education wrote to principals about plans for the check-in assessments. “As you begin planning for what will hopefully be a better term 4, we are offering the check-in assessments as part of return to school planning and face-to-face learning,” senior officials wrote.

“These check-in assessments will be very important in capturing learning lost or gained during the period of learning from home.” All schools are expected to participate, and timeframes for the assessments will be released in the next few weeks.

The government is still finalising details of the back-to-school plan. It will include a classroom safety strategy, which is likely to involve keeping groups of students separate so that if one student is diagnosed with COVID-19 only their group need to be considered close contacts.

It may also include students attending part-time at first and classroom ventilation measures.

Senior officials are also looking at how the state can safely run the HSC, as the October 19 start date looms. The examinations have already been delayed by a week, but there are calls from students and teachers for them to be delayed further, if not cancelled.

Advertisement

The Secondary Principals’ Council has also joined the NSW Teachers Federation in renewing calls for teachers to be given vaccination priority, saying many teachers in regional areas have not been able to book an appointment until September or October.

In advice to the government, the Secondary Principals’ Council says the return to classrooms should be based not only on vaccination rates - 70 per cent generally, and 80 per cent among the adult population, it suggests - but also the characteristics of a school’s local community.

“For our disadvantaged settings, the longer we stay locked down, the greater the wellbeing concerns for our communities,” said president Craig Petersen. “[The council] believes that an LGA-differentiated approach to the timing of return is necessary.”

Mr Petersen said some teachers - especially in rural areas - were still having to wait for their vaccination appointments, a point also raised by the NSW Teachers Federation.

“We advise that unless all teachers are fully vaccinated and there is a minimum two-week period following their second vaccination, many teachers will be reluctant to return,” he said.

Year 12 students wait for their vaccinations at the hub at Homebush.

Year 12 students wait for their vaccinations at the hub at Homebush.Credit: AAP

While HSC students in hotspot areas have been prioritised for vaccination, Mr Petersen said that should be extended to all areas, with other eligible student groups to follow, particularly those with special needs. For vaccinations to take full effect by the October 19 HSC start date, students would need to have their shots by mid-September.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said students aged 16 and older could already get their vaccination.

“For any other children, any other people between the ages of 16 and 39, you have priority in those local government areas of concern,” she said. “We also know through the various means that there is already a high take-up rate of teachers that are vaccinated.”

Some parents remain concerned about sending their children back to school without higher community vaccination rates, or a vaccine for children. No vaccination for under 12s is available yet. Trials have begun overseas, but a safe vaccine is many months away.

“I’d like the option to keep my kids home for homeschooling if I don’t believe they’ve considered the risks enough,” said one parent, who wanted to remain anonymous but reflected the views of many who contacted the Herald. “Last time we returned to school the [Department of Education] cut off any access to the ability to homeschool.”

    Up to 15 per cent of COVID cases have been children during this outbreak, although the hospitalisation rate remains less than 2 per cent for those aged nine or under, and none have been to an intensive care unit. Health experts warn being kept home is contributing to other significant health issues for children.

    Loading

    Some countries are mandating vaccinations for teachers, with medical experts saying the best way to protect children was to vaccinate the surrounding adults.

    NSW cannot compel teachers to reveal their vaccination status and has not made vaccinations mandatory, as it has for health workers. However, the NSW Department of Education is surveying teachers on their status and intentions.

    Julie Leask, a public health professor who studies attitudes to vaccination at Sydney University, said high vaccination rates among teachers would protect both them and their students.

    “Most teachers will want that,” she said. “It will be very difficult to require teachers to be vaccinated in order to work.”

    However, a temporary solution could involve requiring teachers to have evidence of vaccination, a medical exemption, or a recent negative test, Professor Leask said.

    “Vaccination is more invasive than usual public health measures, you have to have a good reason to mandate it for workers,” she said. “There is a good reason to protect kids in school, particularly when they are the population that cannot be vaccinated.”

    The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

    Most Viewed in National

    Loading