Term 2 2022 COVID- smart measures

Dear parents and carers

Welcome to the start of a brand-new term, after hopefully enjoying a safe and restoring break. I want to give you an overview of how we are continuing to ensure our school remains COVID-safe through our updated Term 2 settings.

Some of the layered COVID-smart measures you’ve come to know in recent months will continue this term. These ‘baseline measures’ are aligned to the NSW Government’s general community settings and include:

• rapid antigen testing for symptomatic students and staff
• vaccinations – including booster shots (from 3 months after your child’s primary COVID-19 dose) are encouraged for all eligible students and their families. Staff and volunteers on school grounds are to follow vaccination guidelines
• ventilation
• good hygiene practices
• enhanced cleaning.

Continuing these baseline measures allow us to prioritise student and staff wellbeing while giving our learners a consistent and productive learning environment this term.

As we head into the cooler months, our COVID-smart measures have been updated in consultation with NSW Health, to provide additional protection to our school community.

• Change to close contact isolation requirements. On 20 April the NSW Premier announced that from 6pm 22 April 2022, close contacts (including household contacts) could leave home isolation with certain restrictions. The announcement means that from Week 1 of Term 2, students and staff who are identified as close contacts will be able to attend school with the following risk mitigations in place:
  • You must notify the school and/or early childhood education (ECE) service provider (including their outside of school hours care provider) if you are intending to return to school.
  • You/your child should conduct a daily rapid antigen test (RAT) and receive a negative result each morning before attending school for 5 subsequent school days as part of your personal responsibility to minimise the risk of transmission.
  • Staff members and high school students must wear a mask indoors at all times except when eating or exercising. Primary school students are recommended to wear a mask indoors at all times (except when eating or exercising).
  • No student or staff member identified as a close contact will be permitted to participate in overnight excursions, including school camps.
  • Students and staff in SSPs or support classes or utilise assisted transport who are identified as close contacts must not attend school during this time.
  • Visitors in contact with students including volunteers, allied health partners and staff providing professional learning who are close contacts should conduct a daily RAT and return a negative result before attending a school or ECE site. They must also wear a mask indoors at all times (except when eating or exercising) if they are 12 years old or over. If attending a school site and interacting with students for an extended period of time, the visitor should advise the school that they are a close contact.
  • In line with these changes, students with health conditions should speak with their treating medical practitioner or specialist to review their health support plan or COVID-19 action plan and speak with the school around any local considerations.

Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs). The department will continue to supply RAT kits to students and staff to support symptomatic testing and testing for close contacts returning to school (as mentioned above). Within the first three weeks of term we will provide 1 multipack of rapid antigen tests per student and staff member.

The latest NSW Health advice recommends wearing a mask for people who have recovered from COVID-19 and recently completed their 7-day isolation period for an additional 3 days (from days 8 to 10 after receiving a positive COVID-19 result). Additionally, as outlined in the above section on close contacts, mask wearing is mandatory for staff and high school students returning to school as close contacts for 5 days and recommended for primary school students returning to school as close contacts for 5 days. Where students or staff are unable to wear a mask, they should be supported to learn or work remotely.

• We will continue to liaise with NSW Health and the department’s Health and Safety case management team to ensure our COVID-smart settings keep-up with the latest developments. If local conditions require it, this may mean temporarily reintroducing some additional COVID-smart settings including:
  • mask wearing for all staff and students in Year 7 and above
  • directing cohorts to learn from home for short periods of time
  • postponing or limiting non-essential activities like excursions, indoor assemblies and visitors to the school.

We will make sure to update you at the earliest opportunity if any of these additional measures are required in Term 2.

The NSW Department of Education is reviewing environmental differences across NSW as part of their winter ventilation planning, ensuring that local climatic conditions at each school are considered. The department will provide local guidance to schools, including advice on maximising natural ventilation while balancing thermal comfort and the use of indoor and outdoor learning areas for school activities to support schools to adapt to local climate conditions through the winter months.

• Finally, it’s important to note NSW Health’s advice to reduce our risk of not only COVID-19, but also other illnesses that may affect our school this winter like the flu. We can all protect our loved ones and our community by:
  • taking a RAT before visiting vulnerable loved ones or going to large gatherings and events.
  • staying home if unwell
  • keeping up to date with our vaccinations – including the flu vaccine, which is available from your local GP, pharmacy or Aboriginal Medical Service now. Flu vaccines are free for all children aged 6 months to under 5 years, or for a small charge for those aged 5 years and older
  • getting tested immediately for COVID-19 if you become symptomatic and isolating until you receive a negative result
  • practicing good hand hygiene by washing regularly with soap and water