Here's When Victorian Students Will Return to School Under the State's Coronavirus Roadmap

Years 3 to 10 may not be back in the classroom this year.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has unveiled his state's roadmap out of strict coronavirus restrictions.

Considering Metropolitan Melbourne has been in Stage 4 lockdown for weeks, it's safe to say Victorians have been feeling pretty deseprate to find out when the state's COVID-19 restrictions will begin to ease.

Well, as reported by the ABC, the four-step plan will start from 11:59pm on Sunday 13 September, but residents will remain in Stage 4 lockdown for another two weeks. Although, they'll have a few extra freedoms.

From 13 September, Victorians will be able to exercise for two hours instead of one, and they'll be allowed to hold outdoor public gatherings of two people or one household. 

Furthermore, 'social bubbles' can be created for people who live alone, playgrounds can be reopened, and the curfew time will ease from 8.00pm to 9.00pm.

Steps 2, 3 and 4 of the plan are all subject to health advice, and totally rely on the number of daily coronavirus cases continuing to decrease. 

If everything goes to plan, Step 2 would be introduced from 28 September, while Step 3 could be implemented from 26 October. Following that, Step 4 would start from 23 November.

Of course, if you're a Victorian student, you probably want to know when you'll be able to go back to school.

Well, let's take a second to explore that. 

When will students be allowed to go back to school?

Firstly, it's important to note that Melbourne will only move to Step 2 of the coronavirus roadmap if the city reaches an average daily case rate of 30 to 50 cases over the previous 14 days. If the state does achieve this, Step 2 will be introduced from 28 September.

From there, childcare and early education will reopen, but schools will mainly remain in remote learning. 

However, there will be a phased return of onsite learning for prep to grade two, VCE and VCAL students and specialist schools in Term 4. 

If the state moves to Step 3 on 26 October, that'll see a potential staged return to school for grades 3 to 10.

Except, Melbourne will only move to Step 3 if the state records an average of fewer than five daily cases and five "mystery cases" with unknown community transmission, on average over a two-week period.

That means that if the number of coronavirus cases don't continue to decrease in Melbourne, students in Years 3 to 10 may not return to in-person learning this year.

As reported by news.com.au, Victoria's Education Minister James Merlino said every decision the Victorian government has made has been about ensuring 2020 is "a year of meaning" for Year 12 students and "that their results are a fair reflection of their ability and their performance". 

Last month, it was revealed that every Victorian Year 12 student will be individually assessed so that the impact of coronavirus can be reflected in their ATAR.

As reported by The Guardian, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) will introduce a wide-ranging "consideration of educational disadvantage" process to calculate each student's ATAR. 

Header Image: ABC