BENDIGO principals say the conflicting message around school closures is creating unnecessary stress for students, parents, and teachers.
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The federal government has been increasing pressure on states to return schools to normal face-to-face teaching as soon as possible.
But Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday said people should assume the current COVID-19 restrictions would be in place until the end of term two.
"We've tried to give people as much certainty as possible," he said. "If we get evidence to say that those policy settings should change, then we will give people as much notice as we possibly can."
Marist College Bendigo principal Darren McGregor said while Mr Andrews' messaging was consistent, the conflicting media commentary and political opinions was creating unrest.
"I think it's frustrating for parents," Mr McGregor said. "We're trying to remove that frustration by saying the Victorian Premier is who we are listening to.
"We will reopen our school when instructed to by the Victorian government. We will not do that until we have that direction."
Bendigo Senior Secondary College principal Dale Pearce said his school was also following the advice of the Victorian government.
But Mr Pearce said he was concerned many were ignoring the impact on teachers when debating school closures.
"Even if schools are safe for students, it doesn't necessarily mean it is safe for teachers and other staff," he said.
"There would be more adults in the one space, which could increase the risk for teachers and staff. That's a concern for me and it's driving a lot of anxiety for teachers all around Australia."
Mr McGregor agreed that safety of staff needed to be considered.
"When you bring students back, schools once again become a place of work," he said. "We will have 140 staff members interacting with each other.
"We will have social distancing and hygiene measures in place so we are confident we can keep them safe.
"But there would be a number of staff who would have anxiety around coming back into that environment."
Mr Pearce said he believed when schools did reopen, it would be a slow process to ensure the health and safety of staff and students.
"We would all like to be back at work and our students would like to be back at school," he said. "The sooner we can get there the better, but this is not going to be a 'snap the fingers' moment.
"It's going to need to be staged. There is going to be steps taken progressively and somewhere in that mix schools will reopen."
Mr Pearce said he believed schools would be consulted on the appropriate measures.
"I have confidence that before a decision is made about reopening schools, there will be some dialogue between the state government and schools," he said.
"Whether that is at an individual or representative level, I'm not sure. But I am confident there will be that conversation."
A series of research papers commissioned by the federal government have raised concerns some vulnerable students could be worse off learning from home.
Mr Pearce said while remote learning was challenging, ultimately health needed to be prioritised for the time being.
"Clearly there are some students who are really thriving, while some are only managing," he said.
"There is no reason to doubt what the studies are saying. The longer students are away, the greater the risk to their learning progression.
"But it's a question of how you balance that to the health concerns of children and schools."
Mr McGregor said schools would continue to support all students and families with remote learning.
"I think it's important to recognise the great work that parents are doing," he said. "It's an incredibly stressful time.
"Across the state, millions of parents are doing really great jobs helping their kids learn.
"We would like all of our kids back to learn at school. We just need to do that when it's appropriate and safe to do so."
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