Students across Greater Sydney and remaining areas of NSW have returned to school, bringing the curtain down on at-home learning for hopefully the final time.
500,000 students from Years 2 to 11 were welcomed back to classrooms across the state, as the NSW Government confirmed that restrictions on school sport would be lifted, and HSC special consideration extended for students most impacted by the learning from home period.
From Monday, November 1, school sport can resume on site, schools can utilise external sport facilities in line with community sport guidelines, and schools can engage in inter-school sport outside of school hours.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said he was thrilled students were finally all back in the classroom and returning to normal life and praised students, teachers and parents for their patience.
“The majority of students returning today have not been in the classroom since the end of Term 2 and it is fantastic they are back where the best learning happens,” Perrottet said.
“Now that we’ve achieved our goal of returning students to the classroom as quickly and safely as possible, our focus is on helping students settle back in and catch up on their education.
“It’s important life gets back to normal as quickly as possible for students, and school sport resuming is a big step towards this goal.”
Other restrictions will similarly be reviewed over the next few weeks, with a focus on continuing to ensure the health and safety of children and families as NSW is progressively re-opened.
Schools are also now able to make applications on behalf of HSC students who have experienced severe disruption during the learning from home period through the NSW Education Standards Authority’s (NESA) new COVID-19 Special Consideration Program for HSC written exams.
The program is open to students whose learning was significantly compromised for six weeks or more due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Subscribe to Education Matters for the latest education news.