EHPS Contact

COVIDSafe Guidelines

The current COVIDSafe guidelines for our school community as defined in the School Operations Guidelines provided for all Victorian government schools by the Department of Education & Training (DET). We seek your support and cooperation to ensure that our school and the wider community remain as safe as possible as we navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

COVIDSafe measures extension

I would like to thank parents and carers for the great job you have done in keeping our school as safe as possible by following important COVIDSafe measures such as staggered drop off and pickups at the gates, mask wearing, physical distancing, getting vaccinated and rapid antigen testing.

This has meant that our school has remained open and our students in class. This is a fantastic outcome and a testament to the hard work of parents, carers, students and the school staff.

 

Rapid Antigen Tests

To keep schools as safe as possible, the Victorian Government has extended the COVIDSafe measures introduced for the beginning of Term 1. This includes extending the availability of free rapid antigen tests (RAT) for screening until the end of term. It is anticipated an additional 24 million RATs will be provided to schools and early childhood settings to continue to support early detection and prevent infection, for use at home.

The need for this program will continue to be monitored, and may end earlier based on health advice. This is great news and will mean we are able to continue identifying COVID-19 cases as early as possible, reducing the impact on our school and individuals.

Department of Health modelling indicates that in the first two weeks of school returning, the program has already prevented more than 21,000 cases in schools alone. Their modelling indicates, assuming a 75 per cent compliance rate with screening of students, that by continuing RAT screening in schools for the full 10 weeks of Term 1, we will prevent:

  • 61,000 COVID-19 infections in children aged 5 to 17
  • more than 150,000 COVID-19 infections in the overall community (on average 15,000 per week over 10 weeks, or more than 2,100 per day)
  • around 400 hospital admissions.

The Department will continue to supply RATs to our school for your use. More details will follow as they become available.

Twice-a-week testing continues to be strongly recommended for both students and staff. 

Testing will continue to be conducted at home. You must report any positive result. There is no requirement to report a negative result.

 

Vaccination

Vaccination is another key component to protect students and staff in school settings.

Vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 are open and third dose vaccinations for 16 to 17 year-olds are now available. There are lots of convenient options to access vaccinations. These include state-wide vaccination hubs, your local GP or pharmacy.

You can book your appointment in a few different ways, including: 

Ventilation

Improving ventilation is one of the most effective measures to keep education settings safe. 51,000 air purifiers were delivered to schools by Term 1 2022 to support COVIDSafe settings in schools.

Up to an additional 60,000 air purifiers will be rolled out to schools ahead of winter to supplement natural and mechanical ventilation during the cooler months. 

The winter allocation will provide enough purifiers to cover all classrooms in government schools and low-fee non-government schools, based on current enrolments. This includes general purpose classrooms and other specialist classrooms such as art and science rooms.

Mask rules will remain the same, with students in Year 3 and above required to wear masks – although they will not be required outdoors.

On behalf of the school, I would like to thank you again for your continued support in helping your child to complete the rapid antigen tests and other COVID Safe measures. As a result of these efforts our school can continue providing a safe environment for students and staff. 

Additional Information

Advice for Parents

Rapid Antigen Tests

 

Nasal Swab Technique
How to do a RAT nasal swab on children

 

Face Masks

Face masks are compulsory for all adults onsite and Years 3 to 6 students. Teachers are exempted only when teaching in the classroom; face masks must be worn at all other times.

 

Arrival & Departure at School

Each year level have specific locations designated on the school boundary for arrival and departure. Families with two or more students at EHPS are to arrive and depart from the location for the youngest sibling at school on that day. To assist with social distancing, the following departure arrangements apply:

  • Prep & Year 1 - depart at 3.20pm
  • Years 2 to 6 - depart at 3.30pm.

Delivery of Items to Students at School

We encourage you to ensure that your child has everything they require for school before they leave home each day. However, sometimes it is necessary to deliver items to school. Parents delivering items (e.g. lunch, water bottle, hat) must phone from the front gate in Essex Road to inform the Office that an item is to be delivered, and then come to the Office door but not enter reception, and wait for our staff (usually Cassy or Jo) to collect the item. If you enter reception, you will be required to sign into the Visitor's Register and for contact tracing (QR Code or manual register), including providing confirmation of your COVID-19 vaccination (preferably certification on your smart phone). 

 

Whole School Assembly

Our whole school Assembly occurs each week on Monday, commencing at 2.40pm in the Stadium. Parents/guardians are not permitted to attend, unless invited.