Official briefing from Premier McGowan

I know the situation around our public schools has been causing angst for parents, teachers, staff and students.

I understand that it may be confusing, but we’ve kept them open consistent with the best medical advice at hand through the National Cabinet process.

Today, as the pandemic situation moves forward, we move to the next step.

Firstly, from Monday, March 30, we will now encourage parents to keep children at home if they can, and access the online learning resources we have made available.

However, all children who do attend public schools will continue to be taught.

Where parents need children to attend school to enable them to maintain employment, and for those children in vulnerable families, like children living with grandparents, they are encouraged to continue to attend school.

Public schools will remain open from Monday, March 30 to Friday, April 3.

In addition, formal classes will now finish at the end of Friday, April 3, one week earlier than planned.

Teachers and education assistants will now use this time to plan and prepare for a new way of teaching from the start of Term 2, with work continuing through the school holidays.

However, arrangements will be in place in schools to supervise children who need to attend school on the last four days prior to Easter, where parents require it to maintain their employment, or due to a personal situation.

It is crucial for us to strike the right balance between keeping the community safe, allowing essential services to continue and provide a quality education to our students in this difficult time.

I want to reassure parents that our schools are well prepared to continue to provide education for their children.

Thank you to the parents and carers of Western Australian children for their understanding and support for school staff as we navigate our way together through this unprecedented situation.

And thank you to our teachers, education assistants and all school staff for the essential work they do across our State.

This is an incredibly difficult situation, thank you for your patience, and we will let you know about plans for Term 2 as soon as possible.

We understand that parents are concerned about their child's health as well as their schooling during this time. Please be assured the school is maintaining a healthy environment. We have extra cleaning occurring, sanitisers on site and are asking students to appropriately social distance.  It is important that students feel as much routine and connectedness as possible to promote their wellbeing. 

Non-ATAR

The School, with the advice of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA),  are working towards putting processes in place to assure all students are supported. Parents and students will be advised of the processes as soon as possible. 

ATAR

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) is working across systems to ensure support for students regarding assessments and adjustments will be made. 

For students currently at home and for those who will be at home from next week, students can use the online resources that have already been shared with them through Connect and OneNote.

Parents may also find the following resources useful: 

• Helping students to keep mentally healthy when isolated: https://www.actbelongcommit.org.au/news/Keeping-mentally-healthy-when-isolated-or-spending-a-lot-of-time-at-home 
• The Department of Education have prepared work packages for students at home, these have been prepared by Year Level:

 https://www.education.wa.edu.au/learning-at-home/learning-resources-by-year-level

Please be advised that the Food for Thought Cafe will be closing from Monday, 30 March. Please ensure your child brings sufficient food with them to school. A vending machine located in the Refectory with some healthy options will be available on site throughout the day. Please note availablity of vending items cannot be guaranteed and are limited.