Your education reading cheat sheet
Need a quick primer on what’s making news in education ahead of the return to school?
Here’s your one-stop shop for all the latest.
Teachers, unions demand safe schools
IEU
Basic safeguards are not yet in place for education staff ahead of the 2022 return to school.
Should the start of Term 1 be delayed?
The Educator
Teachers in NSW and Victoria are urging their governments to delay the start of Term 1 amid fears that staff and student safety will be put at risk because of the high number of COVID-19 cases.
Outrage over school COVID breeding grounds
Independent Australia
Teachers are expressing concern over the Government's rush to send kids back to schools while the pandemic is worsening, writes Dr Marie Clark.
Workers have the right to say ‘no’ to unsafe work
SMH
Professor Anthony Forsyth reminds us that Labour laws protect workers in taking a strong stand to defend a healthy and safe workplace.
Teachers fight easing of isolation rules for close contacts
The Age
Teachers’ unions are pushing back against plans to allow school staff who have been in close contact with a COVID case to skip isolation and keep working on-site, warning the looming change will increase the risk of the coronavirus spreading through school communities.
Pop-up vaccination clinics for children will be rolled out at 30 primary schools
Herald Sun
Independent Education Union Victoria Tasmania general secretary Deb James said vaccinating students and staff on site at school would help drive up the number of kids vaccinated before they return to the classroom.
Victorian students’ return to classroom should be delayed, experts say
Herald Sun
Education Minister confirmed RATs are a ‘critical component’ of the back-to-school plan while others call for return date to be pushed back.
ACT teachers' union warns of staff shortages as start of Term 1 nears
The Educator
As the start of Term 1 nears, teachers’ unions in the ACT have voiced concerns over potential staffing shortages from exposure to COVID-19.
Twice weekly tests for all students part of back-to-school plans
SMH
Students would be asked to take rapid antigen tests at home twice a week before class under the NSW government’s preferred strategy for controlling the spread of COVID-19 when school resumes this month.
Why you should avoid Omicron
The Guardian Australia
“When your enemy uses a weapon that’s one-third as likely to kill you, but four times as many people are shooting at you, you’re now 1.3 times as likely to die!”
Protections for gay students to be delayed
The Guardian
Michaelia Cash’s department has defended religious schools’ right to sack teachers for their views on sexuality and appeared to confirm safeguards for gay students will be delayed until after the religious discrimination bill.
A year of living dangerously for vocational education and training in Australia
Pearls and Irritations
Will the Covid-19 Omicron variant devastate vocational education and training (VET) again in early 2022? Early indicators are not good.
2021 was a year that proved why our teachers should be valued
The Educator
Australia’s education system has shown its ability to adapt, and thrive, amid enormous disruptions to teaching and learning.
Omicron sh*tstorm, work & you
On The Job podcast
As 2022 begins it feels like we're back at square one with the COVID19 pandemic as the Omicron variant causes havoc across huge parts of Australia. Francis Leach and Sally Rugg speak to ACTU Assistant Liam O’Brien.