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The Teaching Council says it should be up to principals to decide how many students can go back to school once the country moves to Alert Level 3.
It says each school is different and will need to carefully consider how many students it can safely teach on site.
The government wants parents who return to work during Level 3 to be able to send their children to early childhood centres and schools. They cannot legally allow those under the age of 14 to stay home alone.
The Teaching Council chief executive is Lesley Hoskin.
She speaks to Susie Ferguson.