Thousands of Year 12 HSC students have been vaccinated at Qudos Arena.

Thousands of Year 12 HSC students have been vaccinated at Qudos Arena.Credit: AAP

This plan will allow students at least six weeks at school before the Christmas holidays begin.

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For schools outside the hotspot areas,Ms Harrison said the back-to-school plan could be contingent on the rates of community transmission remaining below 50 cases per 100,000 people. She said NSW Health was considering that benchmark based on United States definitions.

“Any LGA that is identified in the public health orders as an LGA of concern will not be returning under this plan,until they are removed from being LGAs of concern,” she said.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell refused to be drawn on which LGAs were least likely to return on present case numbers.

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“I can’t pre-empt what advice that will be this far out,” she said.

If stay-at-home orders are lifted,schools can resume straight away,meaning students in some regional areas could go back to class this term.

A condition of schools resuming is community vaccination rates reaching 70 per cent. The government expects that to happen in mid-October and has chosen October 25 to give schools time to plan. Teachers will be asked to run check-in assessments to work out how students’ learning has progressed.

The new HSC timetable will not be announced until September,principals were told. The NSW Education Standards Authority is still deciding whether all exams will run,or just some of them. Results are likely to be delayed until January,and universities have agreed to adjust the timing of their offers.

There will be a teacher vaccination drive from September 6 at Qudos Arena. NSW Health is working on prioritising teachers at other hubs across the state.

Schools will use a restriction system developed in July,which will involve masks for all teachers and high school students,separating groups,and staggering play times. Masks for primary school students will be strongly recommended.

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