Schools navigating staff shortages
Some close and move to online learning
As the latest Covid-19 variant spreads quickly through the country, how are our local schools dealing with outbreaks in their communities? Last Thursday, March 3, Levin North School had 25 per cent of its students away, the most absentees the school had had so far this year.
Acting principal Hoani Perigo said the impact of Covid had definitely increased staff workload, having to take on operating online programmes, doing extra duties to cover separate school bubbles, and manning the school gates to reduce the flow of adults passing through.
“We are lucky enough to have no cases at Levin North,” said Perigo last Thursday, “but are aware it’s not if but when.”
Also on March 3, Levin Intermediate School sent an email to parents and students advising that, due to several positive Covid cases having been identified at the school, it was closing from Friday, March 4, until Wednesday, March 9.
The intermediate plans to open on separate days for different classes to attend, from Wednesday this week, and will remain open throughout for children of essential workers as required.
The email said staff and the board of trustees would re-evaluate the situation at the intermediate on Wednesday this week, and then get in contact with the school community to advise the next steps.
After moving to online learning for 10 days last month due to increasing Covid numbers, Horowhenua College has found the change to isolation requirements, being for household contacts only, a lot easier to manage from an administration point of view.
However, when speaking to college principal Grant Congden on Monday he said he’d just heard from two staff that morning who were household contacts and would be isolating for 10 days, which meant there were now four staff out of school — three classroom teachers and one admin.
“This is becoming an hour-byhour evolving situation,” Congden said. “We [also] have 35-40 per cent of our students away at present, with a sizeable number of them being household contacts
[as well].”
The workload for the teachers is increasing with having to cater for students isolating at home by providing livestreaming of classes, recording teaching slots, utilising online platforms as well as still doing face-toface teaching. “We’re doing all we can to stay open and being creative in our approach to teaching,” said Congden, “as there is a real benefit to face-toface learning that we don’t want to lose.” Foxton Beach School principal Hamish Stuart, who is also co-leader for Horowhenua Kahui Ako, said his school had been affected in only a minor way at this stage, with a few children away as household contacts but no teachers.
An email from Manawatu¯ College, in Foxton, was sent out to local families on Sunday, March 6, advising the school would be closing on Wednesday this week and moving to online learning, for possibly a few weeks, because they were struggling to find staff to cover classes.
Both Stuart and Congden believed teachers should be classed as essential workers and have access to rapid antigen tests (RATs) while isolating as household contacts so they can come to school, if they get a negative test, to help with face-to-face learning.
“If the Government wants schools to stay open then they need to provide easier access to RATs and reclassify our teachers,” said Stuart.
In his role with Horowhenua Kahui Ako, Stuart also said every school in the Horowhenua district had noticed that attendance by students was down significantly, which he believed had a lot to do with parents trying to keep their children and extended family safe.
There is also some concern, with the current red traffic light step three setting, that there is a big reliance on people being transparent and honest when they suspect they have Covid19, as isolating for 10 days could be a big financial burden for many families.
With cases of Omicron in the Horowhenua district now going up by at least 100 a day, it is only a matter of time before all the schools in our district are affected by staff absences.
MidCentral DHB has recommended that if you experience any Covid-19 symptoms, you should isolate and get tested.