HUNTER teachers are "extremely concerned" about NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's plan for students to start returning to schools from May 11, saying they need more detail about safety measures and the remote learning they implemented at the end of term one.
Ms Berejiklian said on Thursday the first two weeks of term two - which begins on April 27 - would be "the same as the end of term one", but from week three she would like to see "more face-to-face teaching for students".
She said the government was speaking to "stakeholders" and there needed to be "adequate social distancing for the adults in particular".
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the National Cabinet had agreed on seven "national principles" on education.
The first is education is "best delivered by professional teachers to students in the classroom on a school campus", but the second accepts "alternative flexible, remote delivery of education services may be needed".
He said on Wednesday it was "so important that children are able to keep physically going to school".
NSW Teachers Federation regional organiser Jack Galvin Waight said teachers and families were navigating muddy waters.
"Teachers in Newcastle and across the Hunter are extremely concerned about the ongoing mixed messaging when it comes to education by both the Prime Minister and the Premier," Mr Galvin Waight said.
"These announcements are most unhelpful and come only in the second and third days of the students' school vacation period.
"Term one saw teachers go beyond the call of duty time and time again - they now deserve to spend their holiday break recouping and re-energising after having spent the last weeks of term dramatically shifting pedagogy and practice."
He said Ms Berejiklian suggesting a timeline without details on when restrictions around large gatherings would be eased was "disappointing and has not been helpful in allaying the anxieties of an already stressed teaching workforce".
"When restrictions are lifted or eased, federation supports a model of a staggered, orderly return to normal school operations," he said.
"The work, health and safety of students and teachers must be prioritised before any return, as it is extremely difficult to enforce safety and social distancing measures in schools - particularly in large schools and ones that cater for a high number of students with disabilities and complex needs."
NSW Secondary Principals' Council acting president Craig Petersen said it was "unclear whether we are looking at getting everyone back really quickly or stretching it out over the term before business as usual in term three".
"We feel that decisions are being made for political or economic reasons rather than in consultation with educators," he said.
"The problem we've now got is having spent the last two weeks of last term in an online environment - which we had to switch to overnight - it's heightened people's apprehension about whether it's safe to be at school.
"We're not confident it's going to be safe and workable.
"A lot of teachers are older and a significant number have underlying health issues or are caring for someone who is older or with health issues.
"We're talking about the low risk to kids being at school, but we're not hearing much talk about whether it's safe for staff to be at school."
He said while there may be low transmission rates between children, it was "unclear to us at what age that becomes more problematic".
Independent Education Union Australia NSW/ACT secretary Mark Northam said he would like the chief medical officer to deliver a school-specific briefing about managing the return.
He said staff would want assurances about soap and sanitiser and "whether we use contactless thermometers".
"Why can I go to the supermarket and there is flexiglass to protect workers but no such devices in schools?"
He said staff would want "effort they put into online learning to have currency for a period of time".
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