COVID-19 Information

Information and advice for Parent Associations

School operations

Students MUST stay home if unwell.  

Parents MUST report COVID-positive students to the school. 

Details for parents on the Education Directorate website. 

The ACT Education Directorate have planned three Tiers of COVID restrictions in order to respond to changing conditions. 

We begin Term 1 2023 at Tier 1, which means: 

  • Schools are "business as usual"; COVID safety measures are integrated into everyday planning. 
  • There are no visitor restrictions.
  • Assemblies, excursions (including international), work experience, graduations and carnivals can all go ahead. 

P&C operations 

Answers PC COVID

At the current Tier 1 (see below for details on Tiers), P&C activities are also "business as usual".

There are no restrictions to visitors or parents on site.

To mitigate risks for their volunteers and any staff, P&Cs should: 

  • make it clear that volunteers/staff who are unwell should stay home. Those testing positive for COVID must be well before returning. 
  • encourage people to physically distance with signage and careful consideration of any confined spaces (eg uniform shops) or events where queues are likely to occur 
  • provide hand sanitiser and encourage hygiene, eg through signage 
  • touchpoint cleaning is encouraged, and should be built into ongoing cleaning routines, eg in canteens.

Events 

Large events are permitted and do not require a COVID plan, but note the dot points above for everyone's safety. 

COVID workplace & volunteer safety 

Employers and volunteer managers such as P&Cs have obligations to make workplaces and volunteering as safe as reasonably possible.  

P&Cs wanting more information about volunteering obligations should read the Not-for-profit Law  information on volunteers and COVID-19. 

Note that the vaccination mandate no longer applies in schools. This means that the vaccination status of employees/volunteers cannot be collected without the consent of the staff/volunteer - they are not obliged to reveal their vaccination status. The Fair Work Ombudsman's website has FAQs to help, and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner provides information on privacy requirements. Conversations about vaccination should be conducted sensitively. 

The Three Tiers 

  • Tier 1 - Moderate - Schools self-manage COVID-19 response requirements, with safety measures built into operations. No public health restrictions in place.
  • Tier 2 - High - Schools to self-manage COVID-19 response and pressures with a combination of emergency/public health measures (like the conditions throughout 2022). Events will need a COVID plan and may not be permissible or subject to sudden cancellation, depending on size. Visitors on site will be subject to Directorate advice. Public Health measures such as mask wearing, case notification, cohorting etc are possible. May be temporary periods of remote learning. 
  • Tier 3 - Extreme - Schools manage COVID-19 response and pressures in line with emergency public health measures (like the conditions in Terms 3 & 4, 2021). Community-wide lock-downs may be in place, masks compulsory, parents not permitted on site. Periods of remote learning are likely. 

Movement between tiers may occur for all schools or for local settings. Conditions that would influence movement from Tier 1 to 2:  

  • staff shortages caused by COVID-19 that can no longer be effectively managed
  • public health determination / public health restrictions put in place. 

Last updated 30 January 2023

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