Flat Bush

School Special Bulletin – COVID-19

2 April

Term Two

The start date of term two has moved to Wednesday 15 April. Currently the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 is due to remain in place until Thursday 23 April. Schools and kura will open for instruction from 15 April with instruction taking place remotely.

Online support for distance learning
The Ministry has launched its Learning From Home and Ki Te Ao Mārama websites which provide advice and resources to support parents, whānau and teachers. The websites will help early learning centres, schools and kura to develop online learning plans that they can share with their parents and whānau.

We have set up a Connected Learning Advisory helpdesk to assist leaders, teachers, kaiako and whānau to make full use of the online environments and resources, as they provide for a continuity of learning for their students and tamariki. CORE Education, which runs the helpdesk, will provide this and other online support from 8 am to 5 pm on business days.

• To contact the Helpdesk, call 0800 700 401.  To speak with the Helpdesk in te reo Māori, call 0508 294 462
• The Helpdesk numbers are available on  https://learningfromhome.govt.nz/updates/helping-you-distance-learning and https://www.kauwhatareo.govt.nz/mi/news-holder/support-with-distance-learning-at-home/
• Technical advice for teachers and whānau in response to their Helpdesk enquiries
• Online supportto assist:
  1. whānau to understand how to use the IT tools they have and how to engage safely in collaborative spaces
  2. principals, leadership teams and teachers to select and use appropriate tools and strategies to communicate, maintain learning programmes effectively across their community, and manage online safety
• Community liaison: connecting early learning services/school/kura leaders and whānau with networks and resources.

Wellbeing information updated including new tip sheets for families, caregivers and whānau

We have slightly updated the wellbeing information on our website to better reflect how the COVID-19 response has changed over the last weeks. Included in there are three new tip sheets for parents, caregivers and teachers:

• Tips for teachers, parents and caregivers – supporting toddlers
• Tips for teachers, parents and caregivers – supporting children
• Tips for teachers, parents and caregivers – supporting young people

If you know someone who might be struggling in your school or early learning service community, there are a large range of supports in place that may be able to assist including:

• Mental wellbeing
• Supporting children and young people at home
• Manging self-isolation
• Care options for children of essential workers
• Financial support for employers and employees
• Staying safe online
• Preventing harm from bullying
• Family harm
• Responding to discrimination – through the Human Rights Commission
• Accessing healthcare
• For people vulnerable to COVID-19

Information in languages other than English:

• COVID19.govt.nz
• Office of Ethnic Communities

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call the Police on 111
If you are worried about a child and want to make a referral or report of concern, call Oranga Tamariki using 0508 EDASSIST (0508 332 774) or Email edassist@ot.govt.nz

 
Improving internet connectivity
Our IT team has put together some tips for improved connectivity at home.
For home internet connections
 It is important to eliminate performance/speed issues with the home wifi setup first, rather than assuming there is an issue with the connection from the house to the internet. To check this:

• Run a speed test at www.speedtest.net to establish a baseline, and repeat after making any change below to check for improvement
• Power off home router every morning, leave off for 30 secs before powering back on (don’t press the reset button this will reset the device settings!)
• Turn off, or disable Wi-Fi on, unused devices where possible, especially older devices that run at slower Wi-Fi speeds
• Decrease the physical distance between your device and the Wi-Fi router, line of sight is best
• Use an Ethernet cable on devices where possible, to reduce Wi-Fi load (especially smart TVs, gaming consoles) – plug these into a spare LAN port on your router

Data Allowance/Cap issues

• Check you are not already on an uncapped data plan as previously communicated in the bulletin (applies to Spark, Vodafone, Vocus/Slingshot, and 2Degrees, Trustpower). If unsure contact your provider
• Some providers have made uncapped offers to rural and remote customers for off peak (night time hours only). Consider shifting non time critical downloads such as computer patching to these time periods
• Check what options are available for the address at https://broadbandmap.nz/ and if not on the cheapest/best option suggest changing provider as an option (this is covered as an essential service)

 In some remote areas speed of connection AND the amount of data is a hard technical constraint based on the capacity of the technology used such as satellite or “point to point” wireless.

• As a very rough indicator if it requires an externally mounted antenna or dish it probably falls into this category
• If this is the situation for a teacher delivering distance learning, consider non-digital alternatives in the short term
  For mobile phone connections
• The data plan on mobile phones is NOT covered by the removal of data caps
• Individual data plans vary significantly – high data usage on some plans over the allowance is very expensive
• For personally owed phones consider changing to a different plan that better reflects new usage patterns. Often this can be done at no/little additional cost
• Use the app provided by your mobile phone supplier to track usage
• “Hot spotting” from a mobile phone is less efficient than using home Wi-Fi (aerials are smaller) so this will be slower
• If using for voice calls and running out of minutes consider alternatives where possible such us email/messaging systems.

Additional COVID-19 update 

Tuesday 31 March

Technology is great whether it’s for information, learning, keeping connected or for games, music and videos. This bulletin provides a reminder about how to keep young people safe in an online world where, unfortunately there are some predators.

We have also covered managing a suspension process during the lockdown, some more information about access to school and kura sites and the addition to the list of essential services for aspects of education; namely those providing services to support online and distance learning – our printer of curriculum material for example.

Keeping on line safe
  You may want to encourage your parents, caregivers and whānau to discuss internet safety with their children - of all ages. They should agree with their children what they can do online including sites they can visit and appropriate behaviours including:

• reviewing and approving games and apps before they are downloaded
• reviewing privacy settings of sites and applications
• checking children’s profiles and what they are posting online
• check the sites your child is accessing
• reminding children that anything that is posted online will be permanently on the internet
• taking the time to understand what sites they are visiting and who they are talking with and check in regularly
• some social media sites have age restrictions to join, check these before letting your child use them or join them
• monitoring a child’s use of the internet and consider having them use it in an open, common area of the house
• making sure your children know to report any activity they don’t feel comfortable with to parents and caregivers straight away.

There is a unique opportunity during the lockdown of families going out together, albeit it close to home, but if your child is going out on their own it’s still important to check where they are going.

• Netsafe continues to be available to provide you and your parent and caregiver community with support for online safety. They have information for parents and caregivers and have pulled together their top tips for online safety during the lockdown.  To report an incident To Netsafe - https://www.netsafe.org.nz/reportanincident/
• If you think a child in your care is the victim of online exploitation or abuse, report it to Police - if you or a child are in danger or a crime is being committed, call 111 or visit your nearest Police Station immediately.

If we all work together to make sure children are safe online, we can make the internet a great tool for people of all ages.

Suspension process in a lockdown
There have been a number of queries about the suspension process and how you can manage this in an environment where face to face meetings cannot take place.

Because of the difficulty with face to face meetings and as students are currently unable to be enrolled elsewhere it would be best practice to allow the suspension to lift until after the lockdown.

If Boards do want to continue with the suspension process then they will need to ensure they can meet via tele/video conference and that the student, their parents/caregivers and advocates can dial in. It should also be noted that even if a student is excluded from your school just prior to or during the lockdown, as the excluding school the student remains on your roll and you remain responsible for providing distance learning to that student during this period.

Learner access to assistive technology
When Ministry of Education funded assistive technology has been allocated to a student for use to access their learning curriculum, schools are able to decide if the technology is able to be used at home. During this unusual time, and where possible, you are encouraged to enable students to continue to use the assistive technology to access their learning. This equipment is already included in your insurance.

We are aware some students may not currently have their assistive technology at home with them. If this is the case please contact your local Assistive Technology Coordinator.

Flutracking
As noted yesterday by the Ministry of Health, Flutracking is an online survey which asks if you have had a fever or cough in the last week and which can help us track COVID-19. Registering online will help our surveillance efforts by providing early detection of community spread of the flu and also of COVID-19 symptoms.

We encourage people to register online at https://info.flutracking.net/

This is a practical thing everyone can do to help us monitor flu and COVID-19 symptoms throughout NZ.

Update on access to school sites
Alert Level 4 means New Zealanders not working in essential services must stay at home and stop all physical interactions with others outside of their household. Schools and early learning services are not considered essential services under Alert Level 4.

We have responded to a number of requests for access to school property. Now that the Secretary for Education has established the appropriate boundaries for acceptable decisions, she has delegated this to the regional Directors of Education. If you need emergency access to school property, please fill out the request form [Word Doc] and send to your local Director of Education who will make a decision and get back to you.

Because of the seriousness of Alert Level 4 it is essential that access to school property is very tightly managed. We are doing this both to encourage people to stay at home by placing school property off-limits, as well as ensure as much as possible that school property is secure.

 A reminder that the only circumstances where the Directors will consider approving access are for:

1. Securing the site
2. Access to IT servers
3. Essential contractors in the event of damage at a school
4. Removing fire hazards
5. Use of school’s site for health purposes relating to COVID-19

Such access must be essential and cannot be precautionary. Requests for grounds and or pool maintenance, and school cleaning for example do not meet this criteria.

Other essential services
In addition to the specific approvals delegated to the Secretary for Education as noted above, there are already a number of essential services listed on the Covid19 website which may apply to those wanting to access school sites for other reasons (please read through the additional decisions and exemptions list which is updated regularly). For example under Public safety and national security, NZ Police and Fire and Emergency can access a school site without having to gain permission from the Secretary for Education. Further examples relevant to schools include:

Security - we have had questions about situations that need immediate attention. Security is considered an essential service, even if security services are being provided in relation to a premise for a non-essential service (i.e. a school). This includes night patrols or usually contracted security providers. An example of this would be an alarm that has been activated in the middle of the night.
We have clarified with MBIE the situation for schools which don’t have contracted security services to respond to alarms. If your alarm is activated, a principal or designated staff member can enter school grounds to shut off the alarm system. In doing so you must take the necessary health measures, comply with any region-specific travel measures and should not have to travel far to get to your school (i.e. travel locally).

Locksmiths - can undertake essential work on emergency call-outs and essential activity to maintain the security of premises/personal properties.

Travel to look after animals - is allowed, as long as you take the necessary health measures and comply with any region-specific travel measures.

Turf maintenance, on the other hand, is not considered an essential service and should not be undertaken at this time.

Only essential people to go on site
Remember in any situation only essential people should go onto the site. They must stick to the rules around physical distancing (ie 2m from anybody) and good hygiene and they must do so only when absolutely necessary.

For health and safety risks to do with construction that occur during the lockdown period, schools should contact their Property Advisor in the first instance for advice.

Essential Service providers for online and distance learning
Over the weekend the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment added to the definition of entities providing essential services:

At Alert Level 4 under Education this comprises:
“Any entity or individual determined by the Secretary for Education as required to provide distance or online learning (e.g. printers, devices, IT)”. This includes supply chains.

The Secretary for Education has made determinations that a number of providers fall into this category. For many this will be for a particular purpose only and will not mean that they operate the same way as they would outside of Alert Level Four. The letters from the Secretary for Education to these essential service providers remind them that if they need to access school property, permission will need to be requested through the request form [Word Doc] process.

What these decisions do mean is that those essential service providers will be there to support your school with preparing for and delivering online and distance learning.

If a provider is unclear whether they can operate during Alert Level Four they can find more information on the COVID-19 website. If they are still unclear after that they can email essential@mbie.govt.nz or call 0800 22 66 57 (9 am to 5 pm). MBIE will refer any questions to do with the education sector through to the Ministry.

Healthy Relationship Education (HRE) survey reminder
In the 16 March Bulletin, teachers and leaders responsible for delivering or making decisions about years 9 – 13 HRE were invited to complete the HRE teachers' survey.

This was due to close on 3 April, but has been extended due to Covid19. The survey will now close 24 April – although we would be grateful for responses from you as soon as possible.

The survey is being coordinated by the Ministry on behalf of the Sexual Violence Prevention Advisory Board, a cross government initiative, to update curriculum resources and guide support for schools/kura to tackle New Zealand’s high rates of sexual violence.

The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. If you have any questions please email Kara Scally-Irvine (kara.scallyirvine@education.govt.nz) who is the researcher for this project

Travel restrictions
 Under Alert Level 4, international students cannot take a domestic flight to connect with an international flight. If students have a confirmed booking on a commercial international flight and can be driven to the airport by car in five hours or less, they may travel by car to the airport, as long as their “bubble” is maintained. We are aware that a few countries might look to repatriate their citizens by making special flights and have been in contact with students directly via email. At present, no repatriation flights have been approved by the New Zealand Government. We will update you if this situation changes. With no repatriation flights approved, students should remain with their homestay or accommodation providers and not attempt any travel.