Don't ‘let it rip’: schools need better protections to reopen, expert warns

Sarah Duggan

By Sarah Duggan
Published January 20, 2022

Teachers should be provided with the same safety protections against COVID-19 as hospital workers if schools are to reopen on schedule, a leading epidemiologist has warned.

Dr Moe Assoum said teachers should be given access to surgical grade N95 masks “at the very least”.

Dr Moe Assoum, founder of Mercy Global Health, said a “lot needs to be done” before schools can reopen safely ...

Teaching Assistant - 1:1 Support (Reception & Year 2)

Veritas Cockermouth

Teaching - Early childhood / Apr 22, 2026

Multi-Skills Teacher - SEN School/College (Ages 11-19)

Veritas Burnley

Teaching Aides & Special Needs / Apr 22, 2026

Early Years Practitioner

Teaching - Early childhood / Apr 22, 2026

School news / Consumption gumption: schools’ new push to get kids eating more vegetables

Nutritional intake by children in Australia is well short of where it needs to be, with 96 per cent failing to eat enough vegetables and more than 40 per cent of their daily energy intake often coming from unhealthy “discretionary” foods, but a ma...

Community / WHAT MATTERS to young Australians in 2026? A national What Matters? Writing Competition helps young students to find their voice!

In classrooms across the country, the most powerful moments often begin quietly. A question. A pause. A student finding the words to say something that matters to them.

School news / Sweet Swahili: award-winner promoting community harmony and social cohesion

You might not know it, but you can speak a tiny bit of Swahili. Who doesn’t know the words ‘Hakuna Matata’, from Disney’s 1994 animated feature film The Lion King?

Community / Five classroom strategies to help build calm in a chaotic world

Hasn’t the world seen more than its fair share of upheaval in recent weeks?

School news / Priced out: ‘Key worker housing’ for NSW teachers could save the profession

A housing affordability crisis is derailing Australia’s efforts to tackle chronic teacher shortages and poses a significant threat to the future of the profession, with researchers warning that median house prices in Sydney are now more than 13 ti...

School news / Ex-teacher appointed as first Minister for Men and Boys, experts urge for schools focus

Tackling the harmful influence of the manosphere will the main goal of Victoria’s new Minister for Men and Boys – an Australian-first portfolio that has been broadly welcomed by experts who say a close focus on schools should be the priority.

School news / ‘A mystifying position’: AERO CEO calls out critics of explicit instruction

A cohort of ideologically-driven academics opposed to the idea that evidence should inform teachers’ practice pose a threat to the progress Australian schools have made over the last five years, AERO’s CEO has warned.

School news / Burning below the surface: Australia’s high schools far from sun smart

When it comes to sun safety and skin care Australia’s high schools are worryingly uninterested and hopelessly ill-equipped when it comes to actively teaching sun safety and skin care.

School news / Single school mental health checks may miss students in need: new research

Schools relying on one-off wellbeing surveys may be overlooking students who need mental health support, new research suggests.

Opinion / Teachers ought to be better protected from violent and abusive students

As a University Liaison, I was visiting a young student teacher on her first placement. She revealed that while she was on yard duty she had been kicked and spat upon by a boy in Prep. I was shocked on two counts!

Comments