12 MayELAA CEO update 12 May 2020
Dear ELAA members and friends
I hope you are all well and day-by-day navigating through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as effectively as possible. ELAA continues to respond to record levels of enquiries on issues around governance, financial sustainability and workplace health and safety. Our efforts in the coming months will increasingly shift towards supporting members to recover post-pandemic with an eye to the continued implementation of the kindergarten expansion program across Victoria.
As you are no doubt aware, Victoria is now moving to a staged and cautious process of trialing reduced restrictions in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. In summary, the key changes include from 11:59pm tonight:
- outdoor gatherings permitted with up to 10 people
- indoor gatherings at home are permitted, with 5 visitors able to visit the normal residents of a household
- the ability to leave the house for exercise will be expanded to include outdoor recreational activities. These activities can occur in groups of up to 10 people outside, but the requirements on physical distancing remain
- for weddings 10 guests are allowed, plus the couple and the celebrant
- for funerals, 20 people will be allowed at an indoor ceremony and 30 people at an outside ceremony. This is in addition to the minimum people required to conduct the funeral
- religious gatherings and ceremonies will be permitted with up to 10 people, plus those required to perform the ceremony.
Return to face-to-face teaching in Victorian schools
All Victorian school students will be learning in classrooms again by June 9, under a staggered return plan announced by Premier Daniel Andrews today with the key points listed below. I would like to remind members that current advice from the Victorian Department of Education and Training is that the following points have been announced in respect of Primary and Secondary schools only. As you aware, sessional kindergarten and childcare services have remained open throughout the COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria. Further clarification on the status of early childhood education and care services during the process for re-activating schools can be found, along with updates on other operational matters, in this update from the Victorian Department of Education and Training. The key points in relation to Victorian Primary and Secondary schools announced today include:
- state school students in prep and grades 1, 2, 11 and 12 will resume classroom learning on May 26
- grades 3 to 10 will return to school campuses on June 9
- all specialist schools will fully reopen on May 26
- the state’s Catholic and independent schools are expected to follow a similar plan for the staged return of students
- drop-off and pick-up times at schools would be staggered along with lunch breaks, in order to maintain physical distancing.
- teachers will have a pupil-free day on May 25 to prepare for the return of students to the classroom.
Parents who need to send their children to school due to their work or special circumstances will continue to be able to do so throughout the transition. Please stay in touch with ELAA and the latest news and, if you have time, enrol in one or more of our free professional learning opportunities in the coming months (see further in this week’s eNews for more detail).
David Worland
CEO – ELAA
