Sydney students to learn from home next week

Students in Sydney will be learning from home next week as the lockdown is extended.

In a message seen by 9news.com.au, public school principals were told this morning the learning from home order will stay in place until next Friday.

Children of essential workers will be allowed to attend school in person if necessary. No child will be turned away.

LIVE UPDATES: Sydney lockdown latest

"There will only be minimal staff supervision and schools will provide one unit of work for students, whether they are learning from home or in the classroom," the message from Education Department Secretary Georgina Harrison read.

A staff development day scheduled for Monday will go ahead remotely.

The order applies to schools in Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour.

Masks will be mandatory for all staff and students in Year 7 upwards in schools.

That includes teachers in classrooms while they are teaching.

All inter-school events such as sports have been called off indefinitely, and school assemblies will not take place.

No parents will be allowed on site at schools.

The Sydney lockdown has thus far taken place over the winter school holidays, but classes were set to return on Tuesday.

A lockdown extension is expected to be announced by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at 11am.

READ MORE: Sydney's lockdown expected to be extended beyond this week

Yesterday morning Ms Berejiklian said the official word on whether or not the lockdown would end as planned on July 9 would come today.

"We have been having various discussions with health experts and others in the last few days and that will continue throughout today and into the early evening," she said.

Ms Berejiklian said it was possible the lockdown could "continue for a period longer" but she refused to give any indication of an end date.

"We appreciate the stresses that parents go through in particular with having students at home, and we consider that in our decision-making and it will behave based on the health advice," Ms Berejiklian said yesterday.

"People want to know what life will look like beyond Friday midnight. And I am keen to provide that certainty to people tomorrow."

The premier hinted some form of ongoing restrictions might remain until the end of October.

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