NSW Teachers Federation is calling on the NSW government and Department of Education to provide adequate resources for children and teenagers studying at home next week.
Deputy president Henry Rajendra said this week's announcement that schools in the Greater Sydney area, including Wollongong and Shellharbour, won't go back next week will have a significant impact on teachers, students and their families.
"Again teachers have had to pivot and adjust the way they do their job dramatically in a very short period of time," Mr Rajendra said.
"We are also very cognisant of the fact that many of our students may not necessarily have the hardware, the technology and the equipment to go onto online learning successfully.
"The Education Department and the government have to make sure they provide the necessary resources to our schools to make that work."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Mr Rajendra said in cases where one or two parents were working from home with one computer or mobile phone, it was going to be difficult for their child or children to keep up with their studies without access to more devices.
"For some people the notion of going online is a simple task but in other cases it is far more complicated than that. So the government and the department have to be really on top of this.
"It is our teachers who will be having the initial and deep assessment on the learning requirements and needs of their students. And that is not smooth sailing in the vast majority of cases."
Mr Rajendra said the Teachers Federation had also made the case that teachers should be considered as frontline workers for the prioritisation of the COVID vaccination rollout.
"We recognise the priority that is necessary for aged care workers and those working in the quarantine system and program," he said.
"But beyond that teachers need to be considered frontline workers. Particularly considering now we have positive COVID cases among young people. When teachers go back to teaching face-to-face they have to be a priority."