Back to School COVID Plan

The Victorian Government has today announced a 6-week extension of the COVIDSafe measures for schools. These measures were introduced for 4 weeks at the beginning of Term 1 and will now be in place for the remainder of Term 1, subject to any changes in health advice.

Department Correspondence - Updates

Department Vaccination Letter for Parents of students aged 5-11

schools-5-11-vax-letter-to-parents.docx

COVIDSafe measures extension 17 February 2022

schools-covidsafe-extension-newsletter-content.docx

Staying Safe

In 2022 there will yet again be a number of processes we need to employ as a school to help stop the spread of Covid and keep all members of our community safe. It's important to take the time to read and understand these so your family can play their part. These may differ from previous protocols so please take the time to read them carefully and contact the school if you have any questions regarding them.

Symptoms

The best tool we still have to manage the spread of Covid remains isolating when we have symptoms related to this disease.

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/symptoms-and-risks#what-are-the-symptoms-of-covid-19

The symptoms to watch out for are:

fever
chills or sweats
cough
sore throat
shortness of breath
runny nose
loss or change in sense of smell or taste.

Some people may also experience headaches, muscle soreness, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Please, do not send your child to school if they display these symptoms. If students present at school with these symptoms the current advice for a symptomatic person in the community who is experiencing Covid-19 symptoms should undertake a Covid-19 PCR test as soon as possible.

I fully understand for families managing work commitments that having to continually leave work or take time off work can be frustrating. However, we need your support in managing the prompt collection of students if they do display the mentioned symptoms at school. This can also be a timely reminder for families to have up-to-date Emergency Contact details. If parents are at work we will happily use an emergency contact to collect students. Simply put, students who display symptoms related to Covid-19 are not to attend school.

RAT Tests

Free rapid antigen tests are available for Term 1 2022.

Twice-a-week testing is strongly recommended for both students and staff.

If you have been unable to collect tests they will be available from the office Monday morning. Children are still able to attend school even if families cannot collect tests on Monday.

Students and staff will do the tests at home; they only need to report their result if it is COVID-positive.

What to do if you test positive

A COVID positive result must be reported to:

the school by phone or the RA Test Portal; this is so the school can support them, record that they will be absent while in 7-day isolation, and let the rest of the school community know there has been a positive case onsite and that they should monitor for symptoms
the Department of Health via the COVID-19 Positive Rapid Antigen Test Self-Reporting Form or call centre on 1800 675 398.

Information about how to do a test and how to read RAT results, including a how-to video translated into 33 languages, is available online.

Vaccination

Parents and carers must have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or have a valid medical exception (with limited exceptions) to enter school buildings. All staff working in schools need to be fully vaccinated or have a verified medical exception.

COVID-19 vaccinations for students are not required for them to attend school but vaccination for students is highly encouraged. For more information on how to book a vaccination, including important information about vaccination for children aged 5 to 11, visit Vaccination information for children and teenagers.

Masks

Mask wearing will continue as compulsory in years 3-6 unless students have a lawful medical exemption. In years Foundation to Grade 2 masks remain a recommendation. Staff will continue to wear masks indoors with the exception of communicating when teaching.

Both the wearing of masks and student's vaccinations status are private and confidential information. Students were extremely respectful in understanding this last year, and this will need to continue this year. Enquiring about other students vaccination status or mask-wearing is not respectful. Please remind students of this before the commencement of the school year.

Ventilation

We will also make sure that classrooms are well ventilated by opening windows and doors to minimize the risk of infection. We have received air purifiers, which will be used in all classrooms around the school as an added safety measure.

Drop Off and Pickup

Under our current operational guidance, we will be welcoming families back into the school grounds at pick-up and drop of times. Parents are permitted on-site at drop-off and pickup times, however not in school buildings. If you need to attend the office you must sign in with a QR Code and wear a mask. QR code scanning isn't required for simply attending on-site at drop-off and pick-up times. Density limits still apply in internal spaces, so we ask that families refrain from entering school classrooms at these times. We also ask at this time that families exit the school promptly after drop off and pick up.

Staffing our school

I know many of you will have questions about what happens if your child’s teacher gets COVID-19. We will be able to bring in extra teachers and other staff if we need them, and we will be doing everything that we can to make sure our school stays safe and open. We are very fortunate to have a strong pool of Casual Relief Teachers available to use at Ballan Primary that know our students and routines well.