Sharing from Universal Access to Kindy SA regarding the fast tracked implementation of the discriminatory No Jab No Play laws:
Friday 19th of June 2020 – 7 weeks out from the implementation date of SA NJNPlay policy.
Today we have heard from Early Learning Centre’s who received a hastily put together Communication from SA Government regarding the roll out of NJNPlay (link attached). The basic document advises that from Friday August 7th 2020 children will need to provide their formal immunisation status from the National Immunisation Register (NIR) stating they are “up to date” in order to enrol in or continue attendance at an early childhood service.
The document offers two links at the bottom: FAQs for Educators and FAQs for parents.
Both are redundant. The link for educators goes to the outdated phase 1 information. The link for parents goes to a non-existent webpage.
It is deplorable that this policy is being fast-tracked for roll out when UAKSA have confirmed with the Government’s public health team that it was intended for implementation at the start of the school year 2021.
SA Government: Premier Stevan Marshall, Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade MLC and Minister for Education John Gardner MP are all culpable for the serious failure to prepare educators, families and children for the detrimental impact awaiting children who do not meet the “up to date” standards.
Currently 5% of children are not up to date with their vaccinations at 5 years of age. That means 1 in 20 children face being expelled from kindergarten on August 7th (week 3 of term 3). That’s only 7 weeks away and as it stands:
• NO information has been sent directly to families with children who do not meet the immunisation requirements advising of the new requirements and penalties,
• NO information has been provided to public kindergartens
• No ‘FAQs’ information is available to help parents and educators understand the policy, rationale and penalties.
• NO information has been provided by the Department for Education on how essential quality preschool education will be offered to unvaccinated children/what alternatives there will be
• NO information has been provided by the Department for Education on the importance of complying with the NJNPlay policy in order to access early childhood education and what the detrimental impact will be on children for non-compliance,
• NO information has been provided by SA Government on how to support unvaccinated children through their sudden expulsion from kindergarten in Term 3, the disruption of their routine and social role/identity and the erosion of their first experience and foundation for learning and education.
As the Government acknowledged in their own ‘Discussion Paper’ for NJNPlay, there will remain children who will not meet the vaccination requirements following the implementation of the policy. Do these ‘unvaccinated children’ not matter?
UAKSA call for immediate public accountability of this lack of preparation and an explanation of why Stephen Wade MLC has insisted the policy be rolled out immediately when the intended date was January 2021. What has spurred this callous move that will have such a detrimental impact on up to 1 in 20 children??
On behalf of unvaccinated children, families, educators and the South Australian public UAKSA request that SA Government returns the roll out date of NJNPlay to January 2021, the intended date. This will allow more time to prepare families and educators and will avoid the unnecessary negative and detrimental impacts on children already at kindy this year.
Steven Marshall
Stephen Wade MLC
John Gardner MP
Chris Picton MP