Dear ,
The latest COVID guidelines relating to schools and their operations were released by NSW Department of Education at 12.00pm today (8 June 2021).
The guidelines make a distinction between schools within Greater Sydney and those within Regional NSW, which are defined as existing in any part of the state that is not part of Greater Sydney.
Despite the less onerous restrictions outlined for Regional NSW schools, comment was made regarding overnight camps. Specifically, CAMPS AND OVERNIGHT STAYS ARE NOT PERMITTED “during school hours or on school grounds”. There was no reference to camps for schools in Greater Sydney as these, as much as possible, have been instructed to conduct remote learning.
I note that these restrictions apply to school camps only. All other camps/retreats in Regional NSW can proceed but need to operate in accordance with the general density and movement rules that are currently in place.
We are now seeking urgent advice regarding the timeline for review and subsequent relaxation of these rules, and commit to keeping you informed when more is known. For now, I would encourage you adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach to all group bookings scheduled for beyond week 1 term 3 (Mon 12 to Fri 16 July).
The one area of encouragement we can take from these new guidelines is the clear reference to COVID safe procedures in place during Sydney’s “stay at home” orders.
As before, CVA will be working with our partners to agitate and advocate for an easing of these restrictions as soon as possible.
In the meantime, we will be monitoring and working to ensure our members can gain access to any financial relief packages as they are announced.
The full detail of these new education rules can be found here.
Graeme
