Students, teachers and school staff across the Territory return to the classroom today for the first official day of Term 3, according to a media release from Minister for Education, Selena Uibo.
Learning in NT schools in Term 3 will be delivered face-to-face, it says.
However, students who have travelled from interstate who are required to quarantine will be supported by their school to engage in remote learning from the start of the term.
Students and staff who have completed quarantine will be required to produce a negative COVID-19 test result letter before returning to the classroom.
Schools are managing their own COVID-19 response at the local level, with all having developed individual pandemic preparedness plans earlier this year. This plan will also guide learning delivery in the event of community transmission of COVID-19.
To date, there has been no community transmission in the Territory.
Currently, 24 teaching staff and one non-teaching staff member are completing mandatory quarantine after returning from designated coronavirus hotspots.
A further 27 teaching staff and three non-teaching staff are undertaking self-isolation, in compliance with directions from the Chief Health Officer relating to interstate arrivals prior to 17 July.
In Term 3, schools have been provided with an extra $1.3 million in funding to help cover the costs of additional and/or specialist cleaning. It follows $1.7 million in extra funding provided to schools for cleaning in between March and June.
Northern Territory schools were the first in Australia to return to face-to-face learning from the beginning of Term 2.
Across the Territory, average school attendance in Term 2 was nearly 80% – about two per cent higher than Term 2, 2019, says the release.