New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced a new pathway back to face-to-face learning for school children, a day after announcing freedoms for vaccinated adults.
From October 25, there will be a staggered return of students to the classroom.
Kindergarten and year one students will return on the 25th, followed by Year 2, 6, and 11 students from November 1, and Year 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 students from November 8.
Year 12 students have already made a partial return to the classroom and attend school for two hours a day, which will continue to the end of term three, before returning fully on October 25.
HSC exams will also be pushed back until November 9, with a new exam timetable to be released in September.
The Premier has also announced mandatory vaccinations for staff working on school campuses, asking staff to be vaccinated by November 8.
In the leadup to the November 8 deadline, a vaccination day will be held for teachers and school staff on September 6 and they will have priority access to jabs.
Ms Berejiklian has also clarified that any areas of NSW that leave lockdown before October 25 will see all students returning to face-to-face learning.
However, students may be required to return to remote learning if the number of cases in their LGA exceeds 50 per 100,000 people.
The new rules come after Ms Berejiklian announced 882 cases of COVID-19 to 8pm Thursday and following the addition of 12-15 year olds to Australia’s vaccine rollout.
