Ziauddin School and College Standard Operating Procedure during Covid-19

All teachers in Ziauddin school and college are expected to know and follow the Ziauddin Standard Operating Procedure during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The purpose of the document is to provide clear and actionable guidance for safe operations in order to eliminate COVID-19 occurrence in the Ziauddin School and College.

These basic principles outline how students, teachers, and other staff (custodial, security, etc.) will remain safe at school during the COVID-19 pandemic in the case that the school re-opens. The following requirements are MANDATORY for Ziauddin School and College:

• Sick students, teachers and other staff should not come to school/college until they have a health check and are declared ‘fit’
• The school/college will enforce regular handwashing with soap and water, as well as the constant use of hand sanitisers on the premises
• Bleach solution (or other disinfecting solution) will be used for regular disinfection and cleaning of surfaces throughout the day. In particular, at the end of each day:
  • Cleaning and decontamination will occur throughout the building
  • All waste materials (e.g. papers, tissues, food wrapping etc.) will be disposed of safely
• The school and college will promote social distancing:
  • Through posters on walls throughout the building
  • By arrangement of learning areas in the school and college (e.g. desks in classrooms) ensuring a 2m distance between people
  • Applying a staggered timetable to reduce numbers of students on site at any one time

See ‘Checklist on Safe Learning Environments’ in the Appendix to this SOP.

The following protocols will be adhered to:

1. There will be no events held on the school/college premises
2. Meetings with parents/PTMs will be done remotely (i.e. via video conferencing or telephone conferencing etc.)
3. The school and college MUST provide soap and sanitiser for frequent handwashing and sanitation. Principals will prepare and maintain handwashing stations with soap and water, and ensure hand sanitisers are present in each classroom, at entrances/exits, and in washrooms
4. Clean and disinfect school buildings, classrooms, and especially:
   1. Washrooms thoroughly throughout each day and especially at the end of each day when teachers and students have left
   2. Washrooms/basins sanitised after every use
   3. Any surfaces that are regularly touched (e.g. door handles, hand rails, windows, tables/desks, chairs, learning/teaching resources etc.) NOTE: This is especially true for early years equipment
5. Implement the following social distancing practices:
   1. Alternating in-school days to reduce the number of students on site, to be balanced with supported independent study/ distance learning or remote learning (i.e. digital) at home
   2. Assemblies, sports and recreation, and other events and activities are cancelled
   3. Create space for students’ desks to be two metres apart, with the same protocols in place for labs and libraries. In particular, the number of students in labs and libraries must be strictly limited based on the size of the spaces allocated
   4. Teachers constantly reinforce (i.e. are good models of) social distancing and avoiding unnecessary contact

The school and college will:

1. Monitor absenteeism of students and teachers, using this information to compare against usual absenteeism patterns
2. Continue to provide access to teaching and learning through the Ziauddin School and College “Continuity Plan” (See separate document)

Integrate disease prevention and control into lessons wherever appropriate. For this, consider the following:

Grade Specific Protocols

The following states how teachers are expected to work with students in different grade levels:

Early Years

1. Focus on good health behaviours, such as covering coughs and sneezes with the elbow and washing hands frequently
2. Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ (once) or ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’ (twice) while washing hands to practice the recommended 20 second duration
3. Have students “practice” washing their hands with hand sanitiser
4. Track handwashing and reward for frequent/timely handwashing
5. Use puppets to demonstrate symptoms (sneezing, coughing, fever) and what to do if they feel sick (i.e. their head hurts, their stomach hurts, they feel hot or extra tired) and how to comfort someone who is sick (cultivating empathy and safe caring behaviours)
6. Ensure students are sitting further apart from one another – have them practice stretching their arms out or ‘flapping their wings’, to demonstrate how much distance is needed not to touch each other

Primary Years (Grade1 to 5)

1. Encourage students to express and communicate their feelings about learning
2. Introduce the concept of social distancing (standing further away from friends, avoiding groups, not touching people if you don’t need to, etc.)
3. Focus on good health behaviours, such as covering coughs and sneezes with the elbow and washing hands regularly
4. Help students understand the basic concepts of disease prevention and control by integrating, wherever possible, content into lessons.
5. Use exercises that demonstrate how germs can spread. For example:
   1. By putting coloured water in a spray bottle and spraying over a piece of white paper and observing how far the droplets travel
   2. Demonstrate why it is important to wash hands for 20 seconds with soap and water by putting a small amount of glitter on students’ hands and have them wash them with just water in order to notice how much glitter remains, then have them wash for 20 seconds with soap and water
   3. Have students analyse texts to identify high risk behaviours and suggest modifying behaviours

Lower Secondary (Grade 6 – 8)

1. Introduce the concept of social distancing
2. Emphasise that students can do a lot to keep themselves and others
   1. Introduce the concept of social distancing
   2. Focus on good hygiene behaviours, such as covering coughs and sneezes with the elbow and washing hands
   3. Remind students that they can model healthy behaviours for others
   4. Discuss the different reactions they may have to the current situation and explain these are normal reactions to an abnormal situation
   5. Encourage them to communicate their feelings
   6. Incorporate health education into science (i.e. study viruses, disease transmission and the importance of vaccinations); social studies (i.e. focus on the history of pandemics and evolution of policies on public health and safety); use media for literacy lessons to promote critical thinking and effective communication

Intermediate

1. Introduce the concept of social distancing
2. Raise awareness about good health behaviours, such as covering coughs and sneezes with the elbow and washing hands
3. Discuss the different reactions they may have and explain these are normal reactions to an abnormal situation
4. Encourage them to express and communicate their feelings about health issues
5. Incorporate relevant health education into other subjects (e.g. as in science, social studies and languages described above)
6. Encourage students to prevent and address stigma

Appendix

Checklist for School/College Staff/Administrators to Ensure Safe Learning Environments