Learning from home

The ABC will expand television education lessons to help children learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a partnership with state and territory governments.

02 April 2020

A child and father watching television. — Image: Students learning from home will be able to switch on to new ABC Education programming from April 14.

The educational programs will run from 10am to 3pm on ABC ME from April 14, and will include shows such as Ecomaths, ScienceXplosion, Numberblocks and English on the Go. Teacher-led sessions will be developed with the assistance of education departments, complementing 4,000 free videos and interactive resources.

ABC managing director David Anderson said the national broadcaster was ready to launch the extra resourcesExternal link, in line with its charter requirement to broadcast programs of an educational nature.

“With so many Australian children now studying at home or preparing to do so, the ABC is boosting its support for students, teachers and parents to help young Australians receive the education they need,” he said.

The Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell, told ABC Radio that the TV education offerings would provide more options for parents “trying to juggle working from home and supervising their child’s learning”.

“We’ll be working with the ABC to give access to the educational materials we have for support around programming,” Ms Mitchell said.

“For parents, it gives them another option of something they can do with their child that they know is educational and coming from a really reliable source.”

Latest advice

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to COVID-19 (novel coronavirus).
Explore the department's learning from home resources for teachers and parents to support both online and offline learning for all students.

Restrictions begin as schools move towards online learning

23 Mar 2020

Restrictions begin as schools move towards online learning

New COVID-19 restrictions begin as schools move towards online learning.

23 March 2020

The NSW Government has taken significant new steps to increase restrictions across the state - triggering the next level of enforcement necessary to fight COVID-19.

Following the decisions made by National Cabinet, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the shutdown to protect NSW citizens.

"I understand many in the community are worried, and these changes will affect everyday lives, and may be upsetting," Ms Berejiklian said.

"But these decisions will make us all safer, they are taken with the health of all citizens in mind, and they must be taken now.

"If you have the capacity to work from home, you should do so."

In line with health advice, from midday today, the following non-essential activities and businesses will be temporarily shut down:

pubs, registered clubs
gyms, indoor sporting venues
cinemas, entertainment venues, casinos, and night clubs
restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway and/or home delivery
religious gatherings, places of worship (excluding small weddings and funerals that comply with the 4m2 rule, which can proceed).

It is important to note essential gatherings at places such as hospitals, workplaces, constructions sites and for public transport are exempt and will continue.

As confirmed last night by the Prime Minister schools will remain open, based on health advice, which has not changed.

But from tomorrow, in NSW, for practical reasons, parents are encouraged to keep their children at home.

"Because nearly 30 per cent of children are already being kept out of school, for practical reasons NSW is encouraging parents to keep their children at home," Ms Berejiklian said.

"This will ensure there is only one unit of work, whether the student is at home or at school.

"No child will be turned away from school."

Latest advice

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to COVID-19 (novel coronavirus).
Explore the department's learning from home resources for teachers and parents to support both online and offline learning for all students.

Media releases

Prime Minister announces schools will stay open

19 Mar 2020

Prime Minister announces schools will stay open

The Prime Minister and the Chief Medical Officer have announced that Australian schools will remain open based on health advice.

18 March 2020

The announcement was made at a media conference in Canberra today. The following is an ABC Online transcript of comments made in relation to schools.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Brendan Murphy

"This is quite different to influenza and other respiratory diseases which have quite severe disease sometimes in children. We know that even in influenza, school closures are a controversial issue. We believe very strongly that it's in the best interest of our children and the nation at this time to keep schools open.

"There may be occasions when there's a big outbreak in a community that some local school closures might be necessary. But at this time, across the community, our view is that schools should stay open.

"Now, there obviously are measures that we can take to reduce potential transmission in schools. It's interesting in China that again, most of the children infected were reported as having picked up the virus from adults in their household. But we don't know whether children may be a vector of asymptomatic or transmission with low levels of symptoms.

"So we need to make sure that our schools are made as safe as possible. We need to make sure that no sick child goes to school. We need to make sure that no sick teacher goes to school.

"We need to try and avoid large assemblies and other gatherings at schools. We know also that it's not really possible for children in a classroom to keep 1.5 metres apart from each other, and we know that we've got to be practical about that. But schools should practise very good hand hygiene, too. Very hard to do in a school, but we can trust our teachers to do it. Children should be washing their hands regularly, particularly when they're eating and particularly when they're touching common areas."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

"The health advice is that schools should remain open. That is the health advice. Interestingly, this is also what Singapore has done. Singapore has been one of the more successful countries. In Singapore, the schools are open. In Singapore they have been quite effective in managing and limiting the transmission of this virus in that country.

"The health advice here, supported by all the premiers, all the chief ministers and my Government is that schools should remain open.

"There are a number of reasons for this. The first one is that the virus operates very differently amongst younger people. It has a different manifestation amongst younger people and that presents a very different health challenge to the broader population.

In terms of the health and welfare of our children, many of us here are parents and obviously we are concerned about the health of our kids and the health advice that I'm happy to follow for my kids, for Jenny and my kids, is the same health advice I am asking all other parents around the country to follow.

"We all love our kids and there is nothing we wouldn't do for them. I am telling you that, as a father, I'm happy for my kids to go to school.

"There is only one reason your kids shouldn't be going to school and that is if they are unwell. As parents, you are in the best position to know if your children are unwell. Don't leave it to the teacher to work that out when they arrive."

Schools to implement distancing measures

16 Mar 2020

Schools to implement distancing measures

The NSW Department of Education is introducing proactive measures to limit the impact of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in our schools.

15 March 2020

Mark Scott, Secretary of the Department of Education, today announced that schools would adopt social distancing measures requiring them to cancel assemblies, excursions, travel, some events and conferences.

Mr Scott said these measures are precautionary and designed to reduce exposure via non-essential gatherings.

"Schools have been a focus of the community and the government as the impacts of coronavirus have developed globally," Mr Scott said.

"From Monday onwards, I expect school assemblies and substantial gatherings to be cancelled, along with all excursions.

"The community expects schools to be as safe as possible. We are implementing these measures to provide peace of mind for students, parents and staff."

"These cancellations also extend to inter-school arts, sports, initiative activities and events.

All major arts, sports and initiative activities and events will temporarily be ceased until further notice. This includes whole-school sporting events and inter-school events involving three or more schools.

"Local inter-school sport and other activities can proceed, but we ask organisers to ensure that as far as possible, reasonable precautions are taken," Mr Scott said.

"I trust our principals and staff to show leadership during this time."

Schools will be provided with more detailed advice and suggestions on how they can adjust their day to day activities with minimal disruption.

The department is continuing to prepare for further closures if necessary with scaling up of technology, additional training of staff and preparation of offsite lessons.

Families and students in self-isolation can find useful information to continue learning from home.

For the latest information, check COVID-19 advice for schools.

COVID-19 and public schools in NSW

16 Mar 2020

COVID-19 and public schools in NSW

Find out how you can keep up to date, engage best practice hygiene, and about learning continuity in the case of non-operational schools

14 March 2020

Father helping son to wash his hands — Image: Help your children wash their hands properly.

Communication during COVID-19

You can follow updates on novel coronavirus (COVID-19) using a number of channels. As always, your school will be the primary source of information relating to COVID-19 and your specific school.

Keep updated

Visit our COVID-19 page for all the latest updates from the department including temporarily non-operational schools, as well as current advice from NSW Health and the Australian Government.
Download our NSW School Updates app to get alerts straight to your phone.
Our School safety page provides all the latest updates on any schools that have temporarily ceased operations.
Join the department's FacebookExternal link page.
Join your school's Facebook page and follow their website.

Health advice for our schools

The best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is the same way you would protect yourself from catching flu or other respiratory illnesses.

1. Wash your hands

Clean your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol.

Helpful hygiene heroes Piper and Hunter are here to teach you how to wash your handsExternal link.

2. Cough etiquette

Cover your sneeze or cough with your elbow or with a tissue (and dispose of it immediately). Avoid close contact with people who are ill. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

3. Stay home if you are sick

If your child is unwell with a respiratory illness they should remain at home until symptoms clear up.

More information from NSW Health

COVID-19 resourcesExternal link - all the latest updates from NSW Health.
COVID-19 resources in different languagesExternal link - includes posters, fact sheets and FAQs in several languages.

Learning at home

The department has contingencies in place to deliver distance learning options using existing platforms and strategies. Our remote strategies are designed to enhance connections during these challenging times and ensure continued access to quality education.

Routine communication methods such as email, phone and social media will also keep students and families informed. Students in Year 11 and 12 will be given access to a range of additional teaching and learning resources.

For parents and carers, supporting their child to learn at home will be a new experience. We have developed a range of resources to support them to plan and monitor their child's learning throughout the day.

The safety and wellbeing of our teachers and students are our key priorities and our solutions will evolve around them.

More information on learning from home

Visit our continuity of education page for more information on distance learning.
Our Digital Learning Selector can provide your child with online learning tools and information to help them smoothly navigate this journey.

Fire Safety

12 Nov 2019

Many schools will temporarily cease operations on Tuesday 12 November due to fires. Keep updated at education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/school-safety

If you have children at non-operational schools, please do not leave them unattended at home.

Holroyd is open today 12 November

Welcome to our new Website

30 May 2019

We hope you like our new website. Any feedback is appreciated.