The return to school for term one has been delayed for South Australian students as the COVID vaccination ‘strollout’ puts children at risk.

The state government will implement a staged return over three weeks to reduce risk, following consultation with the health and education sectors.

Under the plan, students in pre-school, Reception and years One, Seven, Eight and 12 will start face-to-face learning at school on Wednesday February 2.

Other year levels will begin their school year learning from home from Wednesday 2 February and will be return to the classroom on Monday 14 February.

January 31 and February 1 will be additional preparation days for teachers to get briefed and ready for online teaching.

Vulnerable students and children of essential workers, no matter their school grade, will be able to return to school from January 31 for two days of supervision and then learning from February 2.

Premier Steven Marshall says that while the first term back in 2022 will look a lot different to what parents and students are used to, the government has put students first in this back to school plan.

“This plan is all about balancing the learning needs of our kids, while also ensure they stay safe,” he says.

“Because of the restrictions we put in place on Boxing Day, we have got on top of this outbreak, made sure our hospitals have not been over run and now – we announce that our key year levels will go back to school in week one.

“While we understand there will be disruptions to the start of 2022 and it’s going to be challenging for a lot of families, we have put our kids first with this schools plan – they learn better face to face and that is what we’ve worked hard to achieve.

“This back to school plan is fully supported by the health and education experts in our State, and I’m certain it is the right way to go,” Premier Marshall says.

Parents will be contacted by their schools directly over the coming week with all of the information they will need ahead of February 2.

The Department of Education website will also soon have all of the answers to questions parents, teachers and the wider public will have about the start of the 2022 school year.