A South Auckland school has been forced to close early today because of a spate of staff absences.
Manurewa High School released a notice to parents and students announcing the decision to close at the end of lunchtime today after almost 30 staff were absent yesterday because of “illnesses and events”.
In a statement on Facebook yesterday evening, the school said “staff have been working above and beyond doing relief through a number of recent illnesses and events”.
“This is to ensure all our classes have teachers in front of them and that learning continues to a high standard. We as a school rely heavily on the goodwill of staff to do this to ensure all classes continue as normal, which impacts staff non-contact and planning time.
“For context, today alone, 29 staff are absent and need their classes to be covered by a reliever, normally we are only covering 10-15 staff per day. Covering larger numbers of between 20 and 25 staff daily has become common over the last couple of weeks.
“Unfortunately, we cannot sustain this, and we are notifying whānau that we are closing school at the end of lunchtime on Friday, May 29.”
A notice sent out to parents and students. Image / Manurewa High School
Manurewa High School is one of the largest secondary schools in Auckland with over 2200 students, based on last year’s roll.
Students unable to go home will be able to remain in school, the statement said.
“If your child is unable to go home because of their age (they are under 14) or they need to wait for the bus, then they can remain in school and are expected to go to Te Pae Tata when all other students are released.
“All offsite Trades programmes and trips will continue as per usual. We thank you for your support and understanding.”
The school added that the closure will begin with “staggered finish releases” from 1.50pm.
“Due to our large numbers, we will begin our staggered finish releases from 1:50pm to help ensure all students are safely released by 2pm.”
Manurewa High School has been approached for comment.
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