This bulletin item provides further guidance that will apply as the Auckland region moves to Alert Level 3 on 22 September.

See full guidance on staffing matters in our bulletin last week.

Staffing in Alert Level 3 – School Bulletin 14 September

Please consider the following as you plan for your school or kura to open for limited onsite instruction at Alert Level 3.

Under Alert Level 3, teacher aides can go into homes to support learners with additional needs, by mutual agreement between the family, the teacher aide, the principal and the school board.

For some students, face-to-face support from a teacher aide while learning from home could be of significant benefit to their learning and engagement with education.

Arrangements should involve a single teacher aide going into a single household to provide learning support for a learner. The teacher aide effectively becomes part of the household’s family bubble (a slightly enlarged bubble). It means they cannot join any other school bubble. The teacher aide must be in the Alert Level 3 area – that is, they should not travel from an Alert Level 4 area to visit a household which is now at Alert Level 3.

If the teacher aide would usually work with more than one household, they can be provided with alternate duties including working from home (where appropriate). Staff members should not be put on a leave of absence, stood down or have their hours of employment reduced due to the need to work with only one household at Alert Level 3.

At Alert Level 3, staff members (including both teachers and support staff) do not need to be fully vaccinated to work on site.

The exception to this is any staff members who have a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, including those over 65, need to be fully vaccinated to work on site if they are not yet fully vaccinated, they should not work on site at Alert Level 3.

Generally, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they have received two doses of the vaccine. However, staff should work with their GP or specialist if they need help understanding their own level of risk and how best to stay healthy. 

Further information is available from the Ministry of Health. 

How COVID-19 vaccines work – Ministry of Health

Many people who are higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 will already be fully vaccinated. However, where a person cannot work on site because they are higher risk and not yet fully vaccinated, they should provide you with appropriate medical evidence to support this (such as a medical certificate obtained at the employer’s cost if required within the first three days after a request to return to work on site, and at the employee’s cost after that). Staff at high risk who are not fully vaccinated should work from home. If work is not available at home they should be provided with discretionary paid leave.

Information for people considered at higher risk from the effects of COVID-19 can be found on the Ministry of Health website.

Higher risk people – Ministry of Health

Please remember that your board must fund the relief cost of the first eight days of paid sick leave or paid discretionary COVID-19 leave each school year. To make a request for additional relief teacher funding use the Education Resourcing System (ERS) link.

Request additional relief teaching funding – Ministry of Education

Schools can claim for additional relief teacher funding after the first eight days if relief cover is required for a teacher who is in isolation for a specified period because they:

• are sick with COVID-19, are unwell generally, or are caring for a dependant who is sick with COVID-19
• are self-isolating or are caring for a dependent who is self-isolating, on instruction of public health advice
• may be more vulnerable to COVID-19, are living with someone who is recognised as vulnerable or have medical reasons that prevent them from attending work on site.

Up to two weeks’ cover is available for schools that need to employ additional non-teaching staff who are in isolation for the same reasons. To make a request for additional non-teaching staff funding, email resourcing@education.govt.nz with details including:

• the details and days the additional staff were employed
• a letter from GP or local health authority outlining diagnosis or need for isolation.

Further information, including answers to frequently asked questions about managing staff at Alert Level 3 is available on our website.

Managing staff at Alert Level 3 – Ministry of Education

Further to our item in yesterday’s bulletin, we understand the new COVID-19 Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order will require at Alert Level 3 that face coverings are worn in a registered school that provides secondary education.

New requirements for face coverings in Alert Level 3 – School Bulletin 20 September

This will include middle and area schools. The requirement will only apply to students receiving secondary education (Year 9 and above) and any staff member working to provide, or support the provision of, that education.

Our advice for middle schools and area schools yesterday only recommended face coverings are worn. It will however be a requirement as noted above, from 11.59pm tonight when at Alert Level 3.

To assist in managing this requirement, in area or middle schools, it is recommended that Year 9-13 students are grouped together in bubbles, with all students and staff wearing face coverings.

We know you’re busily planning for a return of some children, students and staff at Alert Level 3, or might already be open for onsite learning. So that we can best support you, it is helpful to know the numbers that are attending.

To make this as easy as possible for you, we’ll use Mataara to send you a text message on Thursday 23 September at 9.30am.

Mataara emergency contact tool – Ministry of Education

All we need from you is to send a text response of the number (in digits, not words) of children/students you have on site (and no other words or messages if you can avoid it please).

The number this message will come from is 8707.

Please reply by 1pm if you are able to and, as always, please contact your education advisor if you need any assistance.

We’ve had feedback from Tāmaki Makaurau that some families are struggling with basics, such as access to food. There are a range of support services available, please see below. 

If, however, you are aware of people in this circumstance who need help to get the support they need, please contact your regional office.

Please take a look at this fact sheet with information and contact details for the many ways of getting food and other essential items.

Access to food or essential items [PDF, 79 KB]

It covers:

• food delivery
• what people can do if they can’t get food delivered
• staying safe when getting food delivered
• financial help to buy food
• foodbanks.

Please note, we’re aware some foodbanks have been experiencing high demand. If there is a need for financial help to buy food, Work and Income may be able to help.

Help for you and your whānau during COVID-19 – Work and Income

We have some requests to keep you up to date with public health messages so that you can pass these onto your communities.

This is one of the key messages from Dr Ashley Bloomfield about the goal for vaccinations, as of today:

A total of 79% of Aucklanders have now received one dose, with a goal of 90% by the time Cabinet considers the next alert level change in two weeks.

We have arranged for a series of new extension dates due to the alert level restrictions.

• The 2021 Decile Review applications will now be accepted up to Monday 4 October and changes to funding will still be in the January operational funding instalment.
• The collection of family survey information will be extended to Friday 22 October. Efforts will be made to complete the calculations so that resulting changes to funding can be included in the January operational funding instalment. 
• A further extension for schools in the Auckland region to complete family surveys will be possible. When the region reaches Alert Level 2 a final date in 2021 for accepting applications will be set. Resulting changes to funding will be updated in the April operational funding instalment.

If a school applies for a decile review that results in them becoming eligible for the donations scheme, they will be advised by letter. School boards will have until 1 March to consult with their communities and let us know their decision by the online declaration form.

Donations scheme opt-in form – Ministry of Education

Schools will receive their donations funding as part of their April operational funding instalment. The funding will be calculated based on the previous year’s July roll return.

Please note: If a school applies for a decile review and anticipates that they will be eligible to opt in to the donations scheme, they must not ask families for donations from the start of the school year.