Summary protocol Covid-19 schools and nurseries (Junta de Andalucía)
The Spanish government does not have in mind the possibility of closing schools again ; Although, there are cases of coronavirus. The intentions are that school lessons must have their normal course, because prevention measures, including the requirement of a mask, must safeguard safety. In this context, an agreement has been reached on a protocol for the start of classes in schools in Andalusia.
Message from the Spanish government and the autonomous governments
After the first week of September, schools will begin to open their doors, to face a new course full of uncertainty in relation to the incidence of the coronavirus in the lives of Spaniards.
The Spanish and regional governments, by virtue of the protocol for teaching in these circumstances, send messages that classes should start normally with what this entails: classes, school cafeteria and supervision. Schools would only be closed in very rare cases, where the coronavirus spreads uncontrollably.
There is no doubt that the school life of the eight million Spanish students, after the interruption of classes for six months, returns to normal, naturally with all its reservations.
Agreement between the government and the autonomous communities
As a preliminary step, the government and the autonomous communities have agreed on a series of preventive measures :
−Frequent ventilation of classrooms.
−Wash your hands five times during the school day.
- Go to school on foot or by bicycle.
- From the age of six all students must wear masks.
- Classes should take place outdoors as often as possible.
Regional protocols and decalogues
Naturally, the way to start the course will depend a lot, above all, on the epidemiological situation. In this situation, the autonomous communities, in prevention, have drawn up plans, protocols and decalogues based on common criteria set by the Ministry of Education. In the following posts we will address and compare the contingency plans against the coronavirus for going back to school in the autonomous communities. In this first we address the Andalusian region.
Andalusia Covid19 Protocol
In Andalusia, classes will begin on September 1 in the nursery schools, on the 10th they will begin in the schools and finally, on the 15th in the institutes. All schools will have a COVID-19 coordinator who will be in permanent contact with the closest health center.
On September 1, teachers will join (the prevention is to hire 8,000 additional) and the idea is previously all staff, teaching and non-teaching, undergo a test before the students join class.
Even though the general modality is face-to-face, training courses will continue to be given in the use of digital platforms that will be aimed at teachers so that they can carry out online classes in case of exceeded circumstances.
Rules established in schools
−The social distancing conceived to prevent conglomerations from forming both at the entrances and exits, will be at least 1.5 meters in the intercommunications between people within the educational center, something that can be complicated within the classrooms
Also in the document of the Ministry of Education the following norms are included:
−No one will be able to have access being aware of presenting a symptom compatible with covid-19. In the event that it is detected during the class, the person must immediately contact the covid-19 coordinator of the study center.
- The student with possible covid-19 must wear a mask and will have to wait for their relatives in a secluded place with sufficient ventilation, which must have a pedal bin with a bag where they can throw away tissues and masks. If the student does not wear a mask because he is a child, his companion will have to be provided with a disposable gown, FFP2 mask and a face shield.
−The staff working in the educational center will reduce their stay in the center to the essential, promoting the telematic realization of all those non-teaching activities that allow it.
−In the first cycle of primary education, and in early childhood education, students will be organized, in general, in stable coexistence groups, in which they will be exempt from the criteria of distance limits, with the intention of avoiding any activity that involves the mix of students from different coexistence groups or classes, as well as those that require special proximity.
- In Andalusia we bet on face-to-face classes at least up to 2nd year of ESO .
- Sports will be done without the presence of the public.
−It is mandatory to have frequent ventilation of the spaces, at least 10-15 minutes at the beginning and end of the day, also during recess time, and whenever possible between classes, at all times the windows will remain open all the time whenever possible, and a thorough cleaning of the center will be applied.
- In the dining rooms and also in the alternative spaces prepared for meals, a minimum interpersonal distance of 1.5 meters should be allowed, except that the students are from the same stable coexistence group. The desks and places in the dining room must be fixed throughout the year for the students and sealing will be guaranteed in the case of groups with stable coexistence.
−Also on school buses, the obligation to wear a mask is applied from 6 years of age and it will be recommended for children from 3 to 5 years old.