Appendix 3 | Applying the CRIA tool to COVID-19 pandemic policy and legislation relating to the closure of schools and early childhood education and care in Australia Question 13: Are there specific measures or safeguards included in the policy/legislation to address impacts on specific groups of children who may be more adversely affected? If yes, explain. • Schools and ECEC remained open to children experiencing adversity to mitigate potential negative issues of remote learning. Principle 3 of the National Framework for Managing COVID-19 in Schools and Early Childhood Education and Care states that ‘no vulnerable child or child of an essential worker is turned away’ from school.239 • Nationally, many schools provide breakfast programs in partnership with Foodbank. During the Victorian lockdowns, innovative ways to continue providing the School Breakfast Club programs, classified as an essential service, were developed. In addition to providing the program for students attending on-site, participating schools were urged to consider options for distributing provisions to students and families during remote and flexible learning including packaging up supplies in small parcels for students to take home, packaging up supplies for collection by parents/carers from the school, providing ‘grab and go’ options such as fruit, fruit cups, mini milks or lunch bowls for any students attending school on site, facilitating contactless delivery of supplies to students homes (such as leaving supplies at the gate/front door). Where collecting supplies, parents/carers were requested to collect them at the same time as other necessary supplies and did not require a permit to do so.240 84 | • Schools in the NT worked closely with nutrition program providers and health clinics to ensure supports were available for vulnerable children, including those in remote communities.241 • By waiving gap payments and lowering administrative requirements to access the Child Care Subsidy, some groups of children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and/or children with disabilities and chronic health conditions were better supported to access services during the pandemic.242 • The Queensland Government published resources for parents to support students with disability to learn from home including how to use assistive technology. The Department for Education also supported accessibility for students by embedding deaf/hard of hearing services into online resources and in online classrooms.243 • The Queensland Government provided workshops about student wellbeing provided by the Department of Educations’ Autism hub for parents and educators.244 • The Queensland Government provided information for teachers to support for Indigenous English as an Additional Language or Dialect (IEAL/D) students learning from home.245 • NSW out-of-home care students were encouraged to attend face-to-face learning and were provided with technologies and resources to support their learning.246 • NSW Health provided specific health support plans for at-risk and vulnerable students and school staff, and developed risk assessments to identify the needs of specific groups of children and families including those with additional needs. These assessments helped families access additional supports from NSW Health including food, at-home testing, mental health supports and social workers.247