Jeremy Rockliff,Acting Minister for Education
The Government has been open and upfront with Tasmanians as we transition into living with COVID-19, and Labor needs to stop scaring people and playing politics with the pandemic.
As part of a wide-ranging return to school plan, the Department of Education undertook internal workforce modelling to look at the impact of a broad range of scenarios.
I am advised this internal modelling was developed last month and was primarily designed as an assessment tool, rather than a predictive tool, to help the Department understand the impacts on schools under different scenarios and to consider appropriate workforce strategies.
This assessment indicated that a 5 per cent absence rate for staff and students would be considered at the lower end of impact, and that while there would be significant pressure at a 20 per cent staff and student absence rate, the combination of strategies at the school and Department level would mean core learning for students would be maintained and impacts appropriately managed.
Thanks to the broad range of workforce strategies we have put in place, the community can have high levels of confidence in our Plan and in the ability of schools to maintain services.
We have made it clear on a number of occasions that we have access to a pool of 1,700 relief teachers including 353 in the North-West, 466 in the North and 952 in the South.
The Government has also made it clear that any relief teachers engaged to undertake one or more shifts and contract COVID-19, or are required to isolate as a close contact, will be granted COVID-19 leave with pay.
I understand that while voluntary leave revisitation is listed as one of the potential strategies within the Operational Plan for Managing COVID-19 in schools, this would only be pursued in the event of high levels of workforce capacity concerns.
In addition the following items will be delivered before school returns as part of our COVID-19 in Schools Plan:
*4,500 Portable Air Purifiers;
*1,560,000 Surgical Masks;
*600,000 Junior Surgical Masks;
*200,000, Rapid Antigen Tests for Teachers and Students with more than 1.5 million available to supply our schools in the coming weeks; and
*64,000 Student Care Packs.
Importantly, all schools will have sufficient supplies of RATs so that staff can take a test if symptomatic or become a close contact, in line with the Public Health advice which has informed Tasmania’s Operational Plan for Managing COVID-19 in Schools
Public Health advice is that children have a lower risk of hospitalisation than adults, and with lower transmissions in Tasmania, children should only be tested if they are symptomatic.
All school students will be provided with access to two RAT tests a week to use if they are symptomatic or become a close contact.
Finally, I can advise that there are more than 95 per cent of department staff who have provided their evidence of vaccination.
The Department continues to proactively work with staff to ensure they are supported to provide documentation before school returns on 9 February.
