Staggered return for high school students

All school students in metropolitan Melbourne are set to return to face-to-face learning this month.

Students in Years 7 to 10 will go back to the classroom along with those in other year levels, the state government has announced.

Year 7 students will resume face-to-face learning on Monday 12 October.

Students in Years 8 to 10 will return from Monday 26 October.The government is implementing the staggered return to help manage movement across Melbourne as the city moves out of restrictions.

There is a full 14 days between the stages  – the full incubation period of Covid-19.

Today (Monday 5 October) is the first day of Term 4 for Victorian students.

However, most are learning from home for the first week of term.

In metropolitan Melbourne, primary school students, VCE and VCAL students, and students attending specialist schools return to face-to-face learning from Monday 12 October.

Students in rural and regional Victoria are returning to the classroom in a staggered approach from today (Monday 5 October), with dates depending on year level and local circumstances.

“We always said we wanted to see students back in the classroom as soon as we can, as safely as we can, and we have been working with our public health experts to ensure that is the case,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.

The staggered return allows for schools to work with parents to support the safe return of students to on-site learning, and enable schools to review the implementation of risk-mitigation measures as all students return.

This includes staggered start and finish times, maintaining physical distancing at the school gate, and observing restrictions on the adults who can enter school sites.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Education and Training (DET) have strategies to ensure quick control of any outbreaks.

Any school attended by a student or staff member while infectious will be closed.

Before the school is reopened, there will need to be deep cleaning, contact tracing, and a review by DHHS staff.