COVIDSafe Guidelines

The current COVIDSafe guidelines for our school community are 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 COVID19 pandemic. The guidelines were updated on 16 August 2022. 

If your child is unwell then they should remain at home until well. If they become unwell at school, parents will be contacted and are expected to collect their child as soon as possible. They must test negative on a RAT/PCR and have no symptoms to return to school. COVID-19 symptoms include:

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

Face Masks:  The current advice from the Victorian government is that it is recommended face masks are worn in indoor settings (except for close contacts, who must wear a mask indoors unless an exception applies). 

Face masks are recommended, but not required. The exception to this is if a student is a household contact but at school during the period that would previously have been the seven day isolation period (required for students 8 years and over, recommended for those younger than 8 years).

Screening requirements:  Students who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for four weeks after their release from isolation. 

Household contacts:  Students who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are not required to quarantine. They may return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) five times during their 7-day period (each school day recommended). Parents are required to notify the school that their child is a household contact. 

Students aged 8 years and above who are household contacts are required to wear face masks when indoors at school unless they have a valid exemption. Students under 8 years are encouraged to wear a face mask. 

If a student household contact returns a positive RAT result, they must isolate for 7 days from the date of their positive test.

Vaccination requirements:  The School Operations Guide now includes the changes to vaccination requirements for mainstream schools that came into effect from 11.59pm Friday 24 June, which mean there are no longer any mandatory vaccination requirements for staff or visitors working or attending mainstream schools.

Expanded eligibility for fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose:  The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has updated its recommendations around fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccination. From Monday 11 July 2022, people over 30 years will be eligible for a fourth dose. ATAGI recommends that people aged 50 to 64 years should have their fourth dose, while those aged 30 to 49 years may choose to have a fourth dose. For further information see the ATAGI website.

Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) Screening Program:  RATs will be supplied until the end of the 2022 school year to support the early detection of COVID-19 in our school community, providing three kits (15 tests) in Term 3, and three kits in Term 4. 

Students are only required to test if they have symptoms or are a household contact and must test every day they attend school for the 7-day isolation period of the household contact. 

If you report a positive test result, please inform the school (phone 9807 4944) and the Department of Health.