Schools desperate for information on how they'll operate under Alert Level 2

Some principals are concerned about how they will meet health and safety requirements.

The Education Ministry says it’s expecting to update schools and early learning centres about Alert Level 2 requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic over the next two to three days once information has been confirmed.

Education Secretary Iona Holsted said this will be done to give the sector as much time to prepare as possible and to work with them on planning for the change.

“Those details are not available yet, but in the meantime they can continue to plan to ensure they have a focus on hygiene in their schools and learning services, have planned for regular cleaning of hard surfaces," she said in a statement.

"And, have plenty of information for young people and parents around good health and hygiene."

The earliest the decision for the country to move to Alert Level 2 during the Covid-19 pandemic could be made by the Government is next Monday, with a 48-hour notice period to follow.

Ms Holsted told schools in a written update last Friday that the Ministry expected to have public health requirements for schools under Alert Level 2 from the Health Ministry early this week.

The Government’s alert level summary states at Level 2 schools and early learning centres will be open, with distance learning in place for those unable to attend school for reasons such as that they are self-isolating.

At the moment, schools are only open for students who cannot learn at home.

Today, 22,144 kids attended schools and early learning services, an increase of nearly 3000 from last Friday.

At Mana College in Porirua, just two students were present today, but Year 10 student Sayonara Taupau said she prefers being at school to learning from home, where schoolwork wasn’t the priority.

“Online school, it’s not very easy when you don’t have the support you need and having the support I have from these teachers is very easy to manage,” she said.

Her principal John Murdoch said he’s concerned about the impact of being away from school for some students’ wellbeing, and wants those kids back learning onsite as soon as possible.

“It might be overcrowded, there might be no devices, there might be little food in the house,” Mr Murdoch said.

He said he’s sure there will be flexibility under Alert Level 2 for schools to plan for a wider opening that meets the needs of their community and students.

“We're going to need to transition students back into school… senior students and students with some social needs, definitely want to get them back and support them in school.

“This will be the most complex time for schools as they move from three to two,” he said.

Mr Murdoch’s planning for a staggered return for students so expected physical distancing requirements can be met, and also because around 30 per cent of his staff may not be available for health or personal reasons.

Auckland’s Macleans College is also considering a roster system or a staged return for its 2500 students.

“The biggest concern is if we're expected to keep physical distancing, how do we manage that in school?” Macleans College principal Steve Hargreaves said.

“These are plans we can't make up overnight... if we need to re-timetable, relook at how teachers are deployed, how labs and practical spaces are being used, it's going to take us days and days to get that all in order.”

He said the approach needs to be suitable and efficient from the first day of the wider opening, with health and safety the priority.

“Until we get some more high-level guidance, we're all speculating on how we might run it and these plans might get thrown out the window possibly and it'll all be a waste of time.”

National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye is also joining the call for Government information to be released for schools and early learning centres urgently, so plans can be made to keep sites safe.

“They may have to phase students for safety, that means communicating with large numbers of parents, that’s why we need to know within the next 48 hours,” she said.

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