Precautions During Covid-19

Physical Distancing at Schools

When it comes to physical distancing, it is important that you establish some classroom ground rules in accordance with the procedures established by your school’s administration, as well as the protocols established by your respective country’s Ministry of Health and/or local health bodies and authorities.

Recommended measures include:

• Maintain a distance of at least 1 metre between everyone present at school
• Increase desk spacing (at least 1 metre between desks), stagger recesses/breaks and lunch breaks (if difficult, one alternative is to have lunch at desks)
• Limit the mixing of classes for school and after-school activities. For example, students in a class will stay in one classroom throughout the day, while teachers move between classrooms; or classes could use different entrances, if available, or establish an order for each class to enter and leave the building/classroom
• Stagger the school day to vary the start and end times and avoid having all the students and teachers together at once 
• Consider increasing the number of teachers, if possible, to allow for fewer students per classroom (if space is available)
• Advise against crowding during school pick-up or day care, and if possible avoid pick up by older family or community members (i.e. grandparents). Arrange school pick up/drop off times differently (according to age group) to decrease any large gatherings of children at a given time
• Use signs, ground markings, tape, barriers and other means to maintain 1 metre distance in queues around entrances
• Discuss how to manage physical education and sports lessons
• Move lessons outdoors or ventilate rooms as much as possible
• Encourage students not to gather and socialize in big groups upon leaving school grounds.

To encourage your students to stick to the rules, it can be helpful to create a dos and dont’s list with them. Develop a list together around how students will greet each other; how desks will be arranged; physical distancing measures during lunch breaks (who they will sit with, play with during breaks, how they can schedule time with all of their friends across the week).

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