Protective measures for re-opening supplementary schools during Covid-19 outbreak

 An opportunity to go through the DfE guidance and practice risk assessment

This webinar will be for supplementary schools in Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing.

On 1st July, the Department for Education published its guidance Protective measures for out-of-school settings during the coronavirus (covid 19) outbreak:

From the end of term, the Department’s protective measures guidance outlines how these settings can minimise the risk to children, staff and parents who attend their settings by reducing the risk of infection and transmission of the virus. Providers should ensure, as far as it is possible, that they are keeping children and young people in small, consistent groups every time they attend. If possible, those attending these settings should practice social distancing in line with the government’s current guidance. To minimise the number of different children mixing, parents and carers are being encouraged to limit the number of settings their children attend as far as possible and attend local settings.

As the risk of transmission is considerably lower outdoors, providers who normally run sessions indoors should consider whether they are able to operate outside. If your setting usually operates outdoors, you should also refer to DCMS’s Guidance on the Phased Return of Outdoor Sport and Recreation.

This does not mean everything is ‘back to normal’. Many of you have adapted your activities effectively to support children’s learning in a creative way. We have been getting lots of feedback that although it was a ‘steep learning curve’ you are now finding your pupils and parents are enjoying the new remote teaching and learning.  You have got used to video conferencing, you’ve discovered apps and techniques to encourage self-learning, your pupils are more engaged via their mobile phones, your teachers are able to devote the time they used to spend travelling to shorter tutorials with 1-5 pupils.

We want you to think carefully before re-opening face-to-face. Will you be able to meet your own aims and ambitions? Will parents be confident to send their children? Will you be able to afford the additional staffing and space that the protective measures require. What funding is available and is it enough?

This session will be an opportunity to hear what other settings are doing, to do some practical risk assessment exercises, to exchange your hopes and concerns with other supplementary schools.

We look forward to speaking with you,

Remzije Duli and Pascale Vassie

NRCSE