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- President's message: Mamma Mia, here we go again...
- APC ''Parent concerns about vaccines and children returning to school in 2022" survey results: Parents want choice over sending kids to school or remote learning
- Strategies to help your child cope with back to school anxiety
- Free workshops for parents, carers and grandparents of children with Autism
- Healthy Lunchbox Week - 6-12 Feb 2022
- Safer Internet Day 8 February 2022
- Parents and Guardians Guide for School Leavers
- New 'How to help your child find Vocational Education and Training Opportunities' Podcast
President's message: Mamma Mia, here we go again...
Buckle up for the start of the 2022 school year. It looks like we're in for a bumpy ride. All the uncertainty and anxiety is not exactly the year we'd hoped for.
Not knowing what's going on, the lack of agreement at the federal, state and territory level, the lack of communication, the lack of access to information and the lack of flexibility to accommodate vulnerable children and families is only adding to our anxiety.
We were all optimistic last year that things would settle down, and then the Omicron wave came crashing in. Restrictions were abandoned in most states and territories just in time for the festive season. Cut to the chase, hopes of a back to normal school year have now been consigned to the dustbin.
As Abba famously put it "Mamma Mia, here we go again" and those lyrics and that tune are now annoyingly stuck in head, however inappropriate they are in a global pandemic. Perhaps they reflect the frustration at the impossible choices so many are facing at the moment.
APC is calling on governments and schools to:
- Publish Covid school safety operational plans to be published on school websites.
- A dedicated staff member for parents to contact in case of infection. This person becomes the subject matter expert for how cases are managed in school communities.
- Documented testing regimes and prompt updates on outbreaks in the school for families.
- Adequate supply of PPE, tests & ventilation for teachers in classrooms.
I wish you and your family a safe and happy school year. It's hard to predict what's going to happen, but some positive thinking won't hurt and may well ease the anxiety many parents and young people are feeling.
Jenni Rickard, APC President
Our recent survey, Parent concerns about vaccines and children returning to school in 2022, revealed a wide spectrum of views, unsurprisingly when Covid measures have stirred up such strong feelings in our communities.
We'd like to thank everyone who took the time to complete it.
Many parents and carers want to be able to choose whether to send their kids to school and opt for remote learning to suit their individual situation.
Parents and carers told us:
- "Flexible learning options are required as we head into this crisis. There are numerous problems. Childhood vax program...is fraught with supply issues...Ventilation status is unclear. There are many secondary school students yet to be eligible for boosters, the same for teachers...The clinically vulnerable population is being disregarded...those with vulnerable family members are marginalised...Teachers will fall ill and have caring responsibilities. This push to go back to school is negligent...Omicron is new and there is not enough known about its severity or long-term effects. Parents need to be assured that they can make their own decisions based on their unique family contexts. Schools should not resume until majority of 5-11 year olds are vaccinated."
- "We just need good leadership - people need to be informed of contingency plans especial for rural schools if there are teacher shortages."
The vast majority are planning to vaccinate their kids or have already done so. 46% said they were worried about not being able to get my child fully vaccinated before school starts A minority, under 20% of those surveyed, are worried about vaccine mandates. Some were at pains to point out "We're not anti-vax, just anti this vax". Of the 20%, many said the risks of the vaccine outweighed the risks of Omicron 'given children rarely got seriously ill'. Others described being nervous about a vaccine that had 'no long-term safety data' or what they described as ‘experimental'. 57% were concerned about the unknown long-term impact of Covid on children.
The responses - listed below in descending order - illustrate parent priorities and the areas of disagreement.
- My child getting sick (and possibly infecting other family members) 67.17%
- Unknown long-term impact of Covid on children
57.00% - Teachers getting sick
52.02% - Managing work and family exposure and rolling extensions of quarantine time
51.52% - Not knowing how school closures will work after an outbreak - and possible return to remote learning
48.99% - Further disruption to my child's education
46.86% - Not being able to get my child fully vaccinated before school starts
46.86% - My child's mental well-being
40.10% - In school safety measures like ventilation in classrooms
36.71% - Vaccine mandates
19.81%
The most frequently used words in the comments in the survey shown as a word cloud tell their own story. The darker the colour and larger the print the more frequently they popped up in the comments.
Despite a diversity of comments, there were common themes that emerged.
1. Parents and carers worry most about their child physical and mental health, teacher's health and other family members being put at risk
Comments from parents:
- "I have frail parents and my child had asthma, so we have been in self imposed isolation during Omicron outbreak, until my child is double vaccinated in another 8 weeks time"..."I have cancer, a disabled child and a vulnerable parent in my household"..."Whist the economy is important...the welfare of our children is more important. They can only return to school when a safe environment is provided i.e. staff fully vaccinated & students also fully vaxxed."
- "I don't know why this is even a problem. Just send your kids to school!"..."Just let kids live normally."
- "Teachers are...as worried about catching Covid, the impact on their family, their teaching and mental health as much as parents are worried for their children and effects on family. Schools need the government and education authorities to make swift decisions...children need to be at school for best learning and educational/social/mental health generally. Back and forth onsite - offsite has taken its toll on everyone".
2. Anxious about managing work, isolation, caring responsibilities, school closures, and further disruption to children's education.
Comments from parents/carers:
- Concerned about "managing my caring role for disabled child and elderly parent if Covid infected our household"
- "I think we need to all play our part in...accepting that Covid is part and parcel of our lives. Yes, it carries risks but we can't keep putting the whole world on hold. Vulnerable people may need to take extra precautions but the rest of us need to get on with it. Just let our kids live normally."
3. The majority are opting for their child to be vaccinated
- Two and a half times as many parents/carers are worried about not being able to get kids fully vaccinated before the start of term than are worried about vaccine mandates.
- 14.63% respondents said they were not planning to send their children to school until they are fully vaccinated.
- We also received comments from parents who said they'd pull their kids of school if vaccines were mandated.
- 74% of parents and carers of 5-11 year-olds said they were planning to get them vaccinated. 22% said they weren't. The rest were already vaccinated.
- Parents and carers of 12-18 year-olds 61% said they were fully vaccinated, 39% said they weren't.
- A significant minority, in direct responses and comments throughout the survey were opposed to vaccines and/or vaccine mandates.
Comments from parents/carers:
- "Comfortable to get my children vaccinated because they are of good health, but the stress living regionally trying to get them vaccinated before school starts is a huge stress. Feel that we are disadvantaged living regionally."
- "We would like to see an improvement to the child vaccination program so that parents have a clear path to follow if they wish to…Our children are ready and willing to be vaccinated because we are all responsible citizens and we care for our friends, family and education providers."
- Not vaccinating a healthy child with experimental injection with no long term safety data and not effective.
On access to vaccines and mandates
- 58% said they were able to book an appointment easily
- 23.58% reported having difficulty booking an appointment
- 19.5% said they were unable to book an appointment before the start of the school year
Comments from parents/carers on access to vaccines
- Vaccinated today!!!
- Although I have been able to book vaccination there isn’t time for it to be effective before school returns and the risk is higher than it has ever been
- I know people who are really struggling to find 2nd 5-12 vaccine appointments. I believe all children should be fully vaccinated before returning to school
Comments from parents/carers on mandates
- "Hope the government will NOT impose a vaccine mandate on children. The current vaccine is only optimised for the Wuhan strain. Its efficacy for Omicron is very low. So, current vaccines ...cannot prevent infection anyway. The long-term impacts of vaccine for kids... are yet to be seen. The risk of heart inflammation on boys is higher. Since kids are largely not affected by Covid and ...Omicron is milder, the risk vs benefits of vaccines is heavily tilted towards not having vaccination for young kids. Having said that, vaccination is probably much more crucial for kids in high-risk group."
- "Why is vaccination mandatory for teachers but not for students? Where is the duty of care for staff - especially ageing, immune compromised high school teachers who will be in classrooms with 18 year-olds."
- "If vaccination mandates come in for 5-11 year-olds, I will be pulling my children out of school"
Read Less
Strategies to help your child cope with back to school anxiety
Our great friend @drjodirichardson has an awesome podcast for facing down those back to school anxieties.
You can find her podcast from your usual podcasting platform including apple and spotify or on her insta page, https://www.instagram.com/drjodirichardson/
Free workshops for parents, carers and grandparents of children with Autism
There are a number free workshops for parents, carers and grandparents of children with Autism coming up in Term 1, both in person and online.
The workshops give families the chance to learn more about autism and ways to strengthen the home-school partnership.
- Working Together
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- examines ways for parents to strengthen partnerships between home, school and community
- increases awareness of support and services for families and how they can be accessed
- explores ways parents can advocate more effectively for their child’s needs
- helps parents develop a plan for moving forward
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- Understanding Behaviour
- Understanding sensory processing
They are presented by Positive Partnerships, a national project funded by the Australian Government through the Helping Children with Autism program.
Read LessHealthy Lunchbox Week - 6-12 Feb 2022
Healthy Lunchbox Week is an initiative of Nutrition Australia.
It aims to inspire Australian families to create healthy and enjoyable lunchboxes.
Did you know children consume around 30% of their daily food intake at school?
Most of this comes from the contents of their lunchbox. What children eat during their day at school plays a crucial role in their learning and development.
Occurring at the start of Term 1, it provides timely information for families as they return to the routine of daily lunchbox packing and it supports schools and teachers to share healthy lunchbox messages within their school community by:
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inspiring healthy lunchbox ideas and recipes
- informing a healthy lunchbox balance across core food groups
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awareness of lunchbox food hygiene and safety.
Do you have Australia's healthiest lunchbox?
Win one of six $250 Woolworths e-Gift cards by sharing a picture and explanation of your healthy lunchbox creation with Life Education.
Entries close 12 February 2022.
Read LessSafer Internet Day 8 February 2022
The global initiative brings families, schools, organisations and governments from 170 countries together to raise awareness about online safety.
Explore eSafety's range of resources to find out how you and your community can get involved.
Read LessParents and Guardians Guide for School Leavers
The Your Career Parents and Guardians' Guide for School Leavers summarises the resources and information available to help you explore all the education, training and work options available to your child.
Parents and Guardian’s Guide for School Leavers (PDF 851KB)
Parents and Guardian’s Guide for School Leavers (Word 426KB)
The Parents and Guardians' Guide has also been translated into additional languages.

If you have a child with a disability or special education need who is a school leaver, you can also contact the School Leavers Information Service for tailored support or guidance for your child. Call 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337) to speak with an Information Officer.
New 'How to help your child find Vocational Education and Training Opportunities' Podcast
This podcast format of our webinar on how to help your child find vocational education and training opportunities is a good listen, can be downloaded so you can listen anytime podcast that you can listen to anytime.