Covid-19 (OHGS face-to-face classes)

Created: September 2020 by Jenny Owen

Last Reviewed/Updated:  

Related Documents

• OHGS Risk Assessment: COVID-19 – Return to Face-to-Face Classes
• Covid-19 Guidance for Safe Working
• Safeguarding and Wellbeing During COVID-19
• Safeguarding Policy
• Safeguarding Report Form

Statement

There are important actions that children and young people, their parents and carers, and those who work with them, can take during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to help prevent the spread of the virus.

This Code of Conduct has been put together with reference to Government policy and guidance, and will be reviewed regularly. We will inform staff, students and parents/guardians of any changes that are made in line with developing Government policy and guidance. 

We ask staff, students and parents/guardians to acknowledge receipt and understanding of this Code of Conduct, and any updates.

We encourage open communication and shared understanding of the measures in place. We welcome feedback, and will take perceived safety issues seriously.

How we have prepared for Face-to-Face Classes

We have created a Risk Assessment, which addresses the hazards associated with running Face-to-Face classes during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the measures we are putting in place to mitigate risk. We have also revised our policies ahead of re-opening, with specific considerations for the COVID-19 outbreak. We have been in communication with Head of Years staff from OHGS to discuss our Risk Assessment and the measures the school has in place. 

We understand the need to keep students to year group bubbles and to particular areas of the school, and we have planned our timetable accordingly. We will use our registers to keep up-to-date records of the students attending, including the specific groups and members of staff they are with. We will also note any cases in which social distancing is broken.

We will run our classes in rooms appropriate to each year group. Depending on the measures the school has in place for each year group, these will either be in their own classrooms, or in rooms where 1m+ distancing (2m where possible) can be maintained. Hand sanitisers are available in all of our teaching rooms.

What students should bring to class

• Script(s) and Student pack (provided by us by email when taking a LAMDA exam)
• Notebook
• Pen, pencil and rubber
• Bottled water 
• Packet of disposable tissues

What we expect of students attending Face-to-Face Classes

Please avoid arriving very early for your class, as sufficient cleaning needs to happen in the time between classes, and we need to avoid queuing/gatherings.

Students will not be able to leave our class to use the bathroom. This is because we will not be able to supervise students going to the bathroom during class, and so will not be able to ensure social distancing. So, students should use the bathroom before coming to our classes.

Respect social distancing of 1m+ at all times (2m where possible). You will be separated from other students in the space, and markers will be used to help students and coaches keep a distance from each other while working together.

Use hand sanitiser when you arrive at class, and when you leave. You should also sanitise your hands after touching your face, blowing your nose and sneezing or coughing. 

Avoid touching your mouth, eyes and nose. Cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues when you cough or sneeze. Dispose of tissues and immediately sanitise your hands.

Please do not raise your voices. Be considerate of others sharing the space.

Do not bring food to class. You should bring a bottle of water.

What you can expect of Wild Things staff running Face-to-Face Classes

When it comes to COVID-19 security, Wild Things staff will follow the same guidance as students. They will aim to uphold the Code of Conduct by setting a good example, and by reminding students of the guidelines.

Wild Things staff will have their temperature taken upon arrival at school.

We will encourage students to maintain a social distance, by planning activities that work at a distance, placing markers on the floor, and through verbal reminders where necessary.

We will ensure furniture is stacked and moved out of the way as far as possible, to maximise the space in the room. We will avoid using any furniture in class and clean any that is needed before and after use (eg. Chairs).

We recognise that young children and children with special educational needs may not be able to understand the need for social distancing and may also seek close interaction with their peers or adults to provide reassurance at a period of disruption to their routines. We have conducted risk assessments around managing groups of children within the setting. As far as possible, small groups of children will be supported by consistent staffing, and groups will remain consistent as year group bubbles throughout the outbreak.

We recognise that children are not always good at hand hygiene. Therefore, Wild Things staff will pay special attention to children’s hand hygiene, as far as possible, and encourage them to follow the guidance.

We will use our class registers to keep up-to-date records of the students attending, including the specific groups and members of staff they have been assigned to. We will also note any instances when social distancing is broken.

Students who require first aid will continue to receive care in the same way. No additional PPE is needed because of coronavirus (COVID-19) for anyone who does not have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms. Treating the casualty properly will be the first concern.

When collecting your child from an after-school class

If you are collecting your child from one of our after-school classes, please wait outside the building and respect social distancing. We will dismiss the children one at a time, as we see their parent/guardian.

If your child is expecting to be in After Care, or if they have not been collected 15 minutes after class finish time, we will escort them to After Care, as appropriate to their year group.

If someone shows COVID-19 symptoms during class

If anyone becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature, or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell, we will alert the school. The school’s procedure will be followed.

Everyone should wash their hands thoroughly for 20 seconds after any contact with someone who is unwell. We will clean the affected area with normal household disinfectant after the person with symptoms has left to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people.

NHS Test and Trace

To support NHS Test and Trace in reaching close contacts in the event of a positive test, we will keep a record of:

• students and Wild Things staff in specific groups/rooms
• close contact that takes places between students and Wild Things staff in different groups/rooms and
• the timing of the activities/interactions

This will be a proportionate recording process but detailed enough to support the Test and Trace process. We will keep records securely for at least 21 days.

We will also assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed, except for where a Parent/Guardian instructs us not to supply their details to NHS Test and Trace.

When someone first develops symptoms and orders a test, they will be encouraged to alert the people that they have had close contact with in the 48 hours before symptom onset. If this includes Wild Things classes, they should contact Nancy Monaghan (nancy@wildthingsperformingarts.org.uk), who will in turn alert Wild Things staff. We also ask OHGS to inform Wild Things if any of our students report symptoms.

If the person with symptoms tests positive for COVID-19, the NHS Test and Trace service will instruct them to provide details of recent close contacts and places they have visited, so that these contacts can be notified and instructed to self-isolate. We ask that the person who has tested positive includes Wild Things Performing Arts CIC in this, and that OHGS also inform us if any of our students test positive.

When Test and Trace advises contacts to self-isolate, the service does not tell them the identity of the person who has tested positive. Likewise, Wild Things Performing Arts will not name the individual, or expect OHGS to do so.