Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Whanganui school staff contemplate mandatory vaccination as World Teachers Day celebrated

Vaccination for Covid-19 may become mandatory for teachers if Cabinet votes in favour. Photo / Greg Bowker

Teachers and other school staff could be facing compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations next week if the Government votes in favour of the proposal.

The Government is facing a backlash over plans to reopen Auckland's classrooms after the school holidays and teachers' union NZEI Te Riu Roa had received many calls from Auckland primary and intermediate school teachers worried about the prospect of reopening.

A spokeswoman for NZEI said the teachers' union has committed to following public health guidance through the Covid pandemic.

"If the Government decides to put in place a health order mandating that all staff in schools are required to have a Covid-19 vaccination NZEI Te Rui Roa will respect this decision," she said.

"We have always encouraged our members to get vaccinated to help protect themselves, their colleagues and in particular, our younger tamariki who are currently unvaccinated. The public health evidence is that adult to child transmission of Covid-19 is more common than from child to adult."

The spokeswoman said the union would continue to engage with the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies on the issue and provide guidance to members when a decision is made.

"If mandatory vaccination is implemented NZEI Te Rui Roa will represent members who need employment support."

The current Ministry of Education guidelines state that vaccination is recommended although employees are not obliged to share their vaccination status.

The guidelines state that if a staff member chooses not to disclose their vaccination status the school may assume they are unvaccinated, but should inform the staff member of this assumption.

Whanganui teachers have juggled the demands of online teaching while catering for children of essential workers during Covid-19 alert level restrictions. Photo / Bevan Conley

Lynette Tutty, chairwoman of the Whanganui NZEI branch, said Covid-19 restrictions had taken a toll on teachers' mental health and wellbeing.

"Teachers are always concerned for the wellbeing of their students and school whānau so facilitating remote learning has been very challenging at times," Tutty said.

"I think it has been better this time around but last year the lockdown exposed a digital divide where some families were not well-equipped for remote learning. When there were several children in the household and parents also needing to use devices while working from home there was a lot of pressure for families and teachers."

With children of essential workers able to attend schools at level 3, teachers often had to juggle classroom teaching with facilitating remote learning and many teachers also have their own children needing care and support, Tutty said.

"When teachers are working remotely, they are missing the collegial support which is so important.

"At school, with your colleagues around you can 'download' often whereas there can be a lot of build-up of stress when working remotely."

World Teachers Day was celebrated on Wednesday this week and the theme for 2021 is a recognition of the vital role of teachers during the Covid-19 global pandemic and their place "at the heart of education recovery".

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and Education International issued a joint statement of acknowledgment of teachers.

"On World Teachers' Day, we are not only celebrating every teacher. We are calling on countries to invest in them and prioritise them in global education recovery efforts so that every learner has access to a qualified and supported teacher."

Tutty said she was not aware of any events held in the Whanganui region to mark the occasion, although she was aware that one school board of trustees had recently hosted a special dinner for staff.

"It was organised as a celebration of all the work done by staff to facilitate good learning outcomes and support school whānau since Covid has been here," she said.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins said Cabinet would vote on Monday on making Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory for teachers.

The plan already had the support of the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA). The union's executive voted this week to support any public health order mandating vaccinations for teachers.