Key points of Covid-19 Response Plan

Version 2- Changes to Face Coverings, Toilet Breaks, Sign-In & Sign-Out (03/09/2020)

Table of Contents

“S.L.O.W.” Return to School Campus 1

Preparing for return to school 1

Phased return to school 1

Each Night 1

Each morning before setting out 2

Travelling to/from school 2

Arriving at school 2

During school day 2

Student based classrooms 2

Break and Lunch 3

Toilets 3

Student supports 3

Student Lockers 4

Signing out of school with a note 4

Extra-Curricular Activities and Trips 4

Parents/Contractors/Visitors access to the school 4

Cleaning 4

ICT 4

Procedure for dealing with a suspected case of COVID-19 in School 4

Everything Else 5

“S.L.O.W.” Return to School Campus

As we reopen our school campus for students and staff the key word is SLOW.

S – Safety

L – Learning

O – Other people

W- Wellbeing

Below we set out the key points of the plans in place for our SLOW return to Confey College.

Preparing for return to school

-Talk about school. Focus on the positives. All emotions about returning to school are normal and will be present at the same time (excited, nervous)

-Inform the school (Year Head) about any significant information that will assist the school

-Personal responsibility to mind ourselves and mind others.

-Things in our control (wash hands, sneeze and cough etiquette, wear MASK, social distancing)

-Not everyone experiencing it the same way. Mindful about how we talk about COVID.

-1st year parents refer to the Confey College Transition into 1st year programme on Google Classroom

-Ensure contact details for family are correct on school system

-Download the HSE Covid-19 Tracking APP

Phased return to school

- To facilitate Covid 19 training for staff, there will be a phased return to school for students.

Monday 31st August - 6th Year Students (14.00 -15.00)

Tuesday 1st September - 1st Year Students (10.00 - 11:00)

Tuesday 1st September - 3rd Year Students (12.00 - 13.00)

Tuesday 1st September - 5th Year Students (14.00-15.00)

Wednesday 2nd September -1st Years only (8.42-14.05)

Thursday 3rd September - 2nd Year Students (10.00 - 11.00)

Thursday 3rd September -Transition Year Students (12.00 - 13.00)

Friday 4th September - All students as per timetable

-Students will be phased in over the first four days. Students will have staggered assemblies by class group (not whole year groups in one place)

-Use the first few weeks to slowly return to school and let new routines become established.

Each Night

-Students check timetable and make sure they have all the items they need. Leave at home any unnecessary items

- Pack three facemasks in a ziplock bag for Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and two facemasks for Wednesdays and Fridays

-Clean their face visor

-iPads fully charged

-Uniform - Full school uniform to be worn by all students to school and on the days they are timetabled for PE, all students will be allowed to wear the school PE uniform.

-Students to clean and pack their face masks and visor

-Students to restock their student hygiene kit (mask, hand sanitizer, tissues, sanitizing wipes)

-A good night’s sleep (aim for 8 hours each night)

Each morning before setting out

-Good breakfast

-Take temperature

-Check for symptoms of COVID

-No members of family with COVID

-No members of family are a notified contact of someone with COVID

-Have self-isolated if travelled from abroad (see gov guidelines)

Travelling to/from school

-Students are encouraged to walk or cycle to school. Reminder of social distancing and respecting other walkers/cyclists.

-(20th August) Government announcement regarding physical distancing on school transport. This will apply to public and private buses. Bus company working to these guidelines and the school will review plans appropriately

-Face visors are mandatory part of uniform students required to wear when they are with anyone other than members of their family. This includes the school bus, public bus and carpooling.

-staggered drops/ collection times (The school is open from 8am for students to arrive in school over a 40-minute period. Prescriptive times have not been issued but this will be kept under review)

Arriving at school

-Students to continue to follow social distancing

-Use hand sanitizer on entering the building

-Students go directly to their classroom on entering the building

During school day

Student based classrooms

To reduce student interaction on corridors students will have base classroom and only move for options subjects/mixed class groups. All additional furniture will be removed from the classroom and put in storage eg teachers’ lockers.

-1st years and 5LCA will be based in classrooms and are set up to meet the guideline of one-metre spacing being followed.

-2nd & 3rd year students will also be based in classrooms with one-metre social distancing. However, due to room sizes, these students will need to make use of a satellite classroom room for overflow. Teachers will manage rotating groups of students between the main and satellite classrooms being delivered in various blended learning formats. It is envisaged that all students are moving from the classroom for an equal amount of time. This will mean that students in 2nd and 3rd year will be required to clean their desks at the beginning and end of each class before they swap desks with the next group.

-TY, 5th, and 6th-year students will be moving between rooms in a zone for their year group, as much as possible.

-A small number of students will not be able to return to school and blended learning will have to be considered for these students.

-Junior cycle options subjects and mixed class groups, students will sit with students from their base class. We have kept the majority of practical rooms for their current purpose eg science/. home ec, woodwork/engineering

Wearing of face-covering

In line with the Dept guidelines, all students and staff will wear face coverings. There will be a one-metre distance between student desks.

-A face MASK is mandatory for all students and staff (including breaks and outside). Face masks should be worn for the duration of the school day covering the wearer’s nose and chin. We recommend that students bring three facemasks to school each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and two facemask on a Wednesday and Friday and change after three hours of use. Student are advised to bring a Ziploc bag to dispose of used facemask for recycling/washing and used sanitizing wipes.

-A face visor will be provided by the school to every student and teacher. Visor need to be cleaned every day. Visors are recommended for use during recess outside to give a break from wearing masks, when changing facemasks and eating lunch.

-These decisions have been made to safeguard public health and ensure everyone’s safety. Therefore, we require full cooperation at all times.

Movement around the building

We are trying to reduce the amount of interactions where students are moving around the building

At the start/end of school students will use separate entrances for their group (near their base classrooms).

-Students will go directly to their base classroom when they arrive in school.

-one-way system within the school buildings.

-use all the external doors to reduce the number of students in corridors.

-Signage to remind students to keep their distance

Break and Lunch

There is a requirement to manage the number of staff and students at break time. We are staggering the times of morning break and lunch break.

-Two-year groups will have their breaks at that the same time - 1st and 5th years; 2nd and 6th year, 3rd and TY. (Wed/Fri – to be kept under review)

Year Group	Mon/Tue/Thurs	Wed/Fri
1st Year	Break: 11.30 – 11.45 Lunch: 13.05 – 13.45	Lunch: 10.50 – 11.25
2nd Year	Break: 10.50 – 11.05 Lunch 13.45 – 14.25	Lunch: 11.30 – 12.05
3rd Year	Break: 10.10 – 10.25 Lunch: 12.25 – 13.05	Lunch: 11.30 – 12.05
TY	Break: 10.10 – 10.25 Lunch: 12.25 – 13.05	Lunch: 10.50 – 11.25 TY2: 11.30 – 12.05
5th Year	Break: 11.30 – 11.45 Lunch: 13.05 – 13.45	Lunch: 10.50 – 11.25
6th Year	Break: 10.50 – 11.05 Lunch 13.45 – 14.25	Lunch: 11.30 – 12.05

-Lunch Break (40 minutes)

First 20 minutes	Second 20 minutes
Year Group A: will eat their food in their base classroom and satellite room	Year Group B: will eat their food in their base classroom and satellite room
Year Group B: will be allowed outside but observing the same rules as indoors. (Under Review)	Year Group A: will be allowed outside but observing the same rules as indoors. (Under Review)

-ALL LITTER TO BE BROUGHT HOME - all students to have their own lunch boxes, water bottles, and flasks. This is to facilitate cleaning staff to focus on hygiene tasks.

-Each student is responsible for keeping their own table/area clean

-Students will not be allowed to leave school during the school day.

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-There will be no access to the water fountain

Toilets

Students will be allowed to access the toilets throughout the school day with teacher permission

-Max numbers will be displayed on each toilet block with social distanced queues (Max. of 2 students per toilet block) Student journals should be placed in the holder outside toilet doors to signify the number of occupiers.

-All toilets open for students to use at break times

-Year groups will continue to have assigned toilet blocks to avoid interaction between year groups

-When departing from class for a toilet break students will write a T in their journal during the allotted period time and show to the teachers.

Student supports

-Students will continue to avail of student supports eg. guidance/learning support/Year heads appointments with Guidance Counsellors/Chaplain will be made by students by email, this will be explained to the students.

-Learning supports classes will be timetabled by the Resource teachers -

Student Lockers

- 1st-year students will have access to lockers in their base classroom

Students with additional educational needs may be issued a locker in Learning Support area

No other lockers being issues at this time (this will be reviewed later). Students should plan for return to school without access to lockers.

Signing out of school with a note

-Students are required to have a note from their parent in their journal. Note to be shown to class tutor in the am.

-Sign out at office

Extra-Curricular Activities and Trips

-No extracurricular activities or trips are planned for the 1st term

Parents/Contractors/Visitors access to the school

-There will be controls on access to the school building as per the DES guidelines.

Appointments are required for anyone coming on to the campus and prior approval must be given by the school principal. Contact tracing forms will be completed, and face covering must be worn

-Students must ensure they have all their items with them for school as parents dropping items to the office will not always be possible.

Cleaning

Cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers, visors, tissues will be supplied by the school

-students in first year will have assigned desks but students in all other years will have to clean their desks at the end of each class

-students/staff will be required to clean the items they are using.

-cleaning procedures and routines will be put in place for common areas and high touch areas.

-students will take all their litter home at the end of day.

-the school has additional staff for caretaking and cleaning

-the school has an additional budget for minor works/ PPE / cleaning grant

-students to have their own kits with wipes, mask, hand sanitizer

ICT

This will continue to be a key element next year.

-All students are required to have their iPads throughout the year. Fully charged and setup properly. The school has paid to have all senior cycle student iPads to remain managed for 2020/2021.

-Each teacher will set up a Google classroom for their class

-1st year students will receive training in their ICT class.

-1st, 2nd, 3rd year will only use ebooks.

-5th and 6th years may bring books but need to have their iPad (suggest using ebooks when in school)

Procedure for dealing with a suspected case of COVID-19 in School

The following outlines how Confey College will deal with a suspected case that may arise in school. The designated isolation area identified within the school building is a small room across from A23.

If a staff member/pupil displays symptoms of Covid-19 while attending Confey College the following are the procedures to be implemented:

-If the person with the suspected case is a pupil, the parents/guardians should be contacted immediately

-Isolate the person and have a procedure in place to accompany the individual to the designated isolation area via the isolation route, keeping at least 2 metres away from the symptomatic person and also making sure that others maintain a distance of at least 2 metres from the symptomatic person at all times

-Provide a mask for the person presenting with symptoms if one is available. He/she should wear the mask if in a common area with other people or while exiting the premises

-Assess whether the individual who is displaying symptoms can immediately be directed to go home/be brought home by parents and call their doctor and continue self-isolation at home

-Facilitate the person presenting with symptoms remaining in isolation if they cannot immediately go home and facilitate them calling their doctor. The individual should avoid touching people, surfaces and objects. Advice should be given to the person presenting with symptoms to cover their mouth and nose with the disposable tissue provided when they cough or sneeze and put the tissue in the waste bag provided

-If the person is well enough to go home, arrange for them to be transported home by a family member, as soon as possible and advise them to inform their general practitioner by phone of their symptoms. Public transport of any kind should not be used

-If they are too unwell to go home or advice is required, contact 999 or 112 and inform them that the sick person is a Covid-19 suspect.

-Carry out an assessment of the incident which will form part of determining follow-up

-actions and recovery

-Arrange for appropriate cleaning of the isolation area and work areas involved.

-The HSE will inform any staff/parents who have come into close contact with a diagnosed case via the contact tracing process. The HSE will contact all relevant persons where a diagnosis of COVID-19 is made. The instructions of the HSE should be followed and staff confidentiality is essential at all times.

Everything Else

There are many other areas that need to be discussed and thought about.

-Events like trips, matches, fundraising etc