It has almost been 200 days in Lockdown in Victoria, with no end in sight. Our children are suffering in so many ways and reopening schools in Victorian is essential.

- Parents working from home need to work to earn money, and can not appropriately supervise children, especially in younger year levels. 

- These are stressful times for even the most stable homes. Children are being exposed to seeing their caregivers under stress all day every day and carrying the weight of these feelings.

- Going to school is not a luxury, it is a necessity. School should be "AN ESSENTIAL REASON TO LEAVE HOME"

- Social skills, relationship building, independence, mental and physical exertion are all vital parts of a developing child's daily needs. Locking them in their homes is starving them of these basic rights.

- Disengagement and depression are inevitable and becoming more obvious with every new lockdown for children from Prep to Year 12. The ripple effects of this will be felt for years to come and will impact on study patterns and future endeavours.

- Teachers cannot be expected to adapt to this puppetry, with less than 24 hours notice given before a lockdown. How can they plan relevant and meaningful lessons under this pressure? 

- Only 'vulnerable' children are allowed on-site for school supervision during lockdowns, but every child in this current climate is VULNERABLE.

Vulnerable to sadness, vulnerable to losing hope and drive to participate in extra curricular school activities, vulnerable to not wanting to look forward to things, vulnerable to mental health issues that they would not have been if these lockdowns weren't ongoing.

SCHOOLS NEED TO OPEN WITHOUT THREATS OF FURTHER LOCKDOWN CLOSURES.