AFTER a week of remote learning, some of Canberra’s non-government schools have announced a plan to transition back to classroom teaching. 

It comes after federal Education Minister Dan Tehan offered to bring forward funding if independent schools opened for physical campus learning in term 2, with a plan to completely reopen classroom teaching by July 1. If they meet this criteria, schools will eligible for 12.5 per cent of their annual funding, and a further 12.5 per cent if they commit to having 50 per cent of their students attending classroom-based learning by June 1.

ACT shadow minister for education Elizabeth Lee says: “This will be very welcome news for families in these school communities.”

“To have certainty and clarity of a concrete plan back to classroom teaching is something that will be valued by these families particularly in these unsettling times,” she says.

“It is good that these schools have listened to the concerns of parents and to the prevailing health advice, and we hope that other schools will follow suit.

“The health advice consistently provided by the experts is that our schools are safe.”

As for public schools, the ACT government continues to use a hub site model for parents with children who need them to physically attend school. They will still be learning from the remote, digital curriculum but from the selected hub schools.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Education Minister Yvette Berry say they are in no rush to go back to face-to-face learning.