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SPECIAL EDITION - snap lockdown
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Take care
Please be kind to yourselves in this stressful time.
It has been so lovely to see the messages of support and encouragement so quickly being shared with school communities on P&C facebook pages. Thank you all.
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Updat es online
As the lockdown unfolds we will endeavour to update our COVID Information Page for P&Cs to provide our members with current information. Please check the page as needed.
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Your feedback
Do you have a problem or concern about the lockdown and how it affects schools, students, or you P&C?
 We are regularly given opportunities to express parent needs and feedback, so please let us know by email or our Facebook page. Or share this graphic on your Facebook page, tag us in, and we'll listen in to your parent's experiences.
We'd also love to hear of schools doing a great job in supporting families - please do let us know by email or our Facebook page.
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Communications to families
We are currently working with the Directorate to advise them on ,and urge them to provide, the best communications to school parents, especially if COVID cases are detected in school communities.
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No face-to-face P&C activities
The lockdown obviously means no face-to-face P&C activities like meetings or fundraising. We encourage you to stay in touch remotely and online.
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Canteens
School canteens are permitted to remain open where needed - discuss this with your school principal and canteen staff. We apologise for an error in our early information indicating that canteens must close.
If you are closing, to save your stock from spoiling during closure, this guide to freezing and reuse from the 2020 lockdown may be useful.
ACT Government assistance may be available to businesses affected by the lockdown - see item below.
We will continue to update information on assistance on our COVID Information Page for P&Cs
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If your P&C employs staff
Staff may be stood down without pay only in the case that your business is directed to close - see the Fair Work website for details. Otherwise (for most canteens and after school care services) part-time and full-time staff are entitled to wages over this period. Casual staff are not entitled to wages on days that they do not work. Please email us if you need further clarification.
Staff who have had their income and work hours reduced due to the lockdown may be eligible for a Services Australia payment through the Covid-19 disaster payment scheme. They can claim for this payment from 20 August and you can check the eligibility criteria and application process on the Services Australia website.
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Business assistance
The ACT Government has just announced COVID-19 Business Support Grants for small businesses (like P&C-run ones!) facing income loss due to the current lockdown. Grants of $3,000 will be available for businesses who employ staff (and $1,000 for those who don't employ staff) who have experienced at least a 30% reduction in turnover for the week 13 August to 20 August compared to the previous 7-day period. Check the website for the eligibility criteria and further details as they emerge. You can also express your interest in applying for the grants through the website.
The ACT Government has also announced a COVID-19 Small Business Support Grant of up to $10,000 in the form of credits for a range of business expenses including payroll tax, licence fees and utilities. Check the ACT Government website for further details as they develop.
The details of both of these grants schemes are still being ironed out but if you have specific questions related to your operations the ACT Government Business Liaison Line on 6205 0900 is a great source of information.
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If your P&C runs After School Care
All service providers will have received information from CECA about what they need to do at this time.
Please let us know of any specific difficulties with which you require assistance.
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