The new school year 2020/2021 will not only bring new challenges to students. It will likely pose a serious challenge to people in charge of daily functioning of schools and educational facilities, i.e. teachers and headmasters. The COVID-19 pandemic makes questions and doubts proliferate. Is it safe? How will the school year be organised? How can we avoid crowds in school corridors? What if some student shows disease symptoms? These are but a few questions that are now being asked by parents, students and school staff.
Szczecin’s underlying objective is clear: to make it safe. A number of special procedures have been established to this end, inter alia, based on the General Sanitary Inspectorate recommendations. These will be put in place from 1 September in the city’s educational facilities. The appropriate procedures are expected to minimise the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This is why this year’s school work in individual facilities will be a bit different than it was before.
Below you can find the most important procedures that will be put in place in the new school year 2020/2012.
General hygienic and safety measures
– All educational facilities have been equipped with specialist disinfectants and touchless body temperature screening devices.
– You must have your mouth and nose covered when entering the school building.
– You must disinfect your hands when entering the premises of a given facility.
– Keeping a safe interpersonal distance is recommended.
– Methods enabling quick and effective contacts with parents will be implemented.
– Parents or legal custodians will be allowed to enter the facility only if their presence is expressly required to deal with a given matter.
– Information posters indicating the rules of procedure during the COVID-19 pandemic will be displayed in all facilities. Additionally, proper hand-washing instructions will be displayed in bathrooms and toilets.
School work organisation
– Entrance to the facility will be allowed through all entries. This will allow for potential crowds forming at some entrance doors to be eliminated.
– You must have your mouth and nose covered while in the facility (in all spaces except for classrooms).
– If possible, students attending a given class should have all lessons in one place. This will allow for students’ movement across the facility to be reduced.
– Classroom decorations will be cut to the minimum. Only the necessary items which can be easily and quickly washed and disinfected will be left.
– Airing of classrooms and other rooms will be frequently performed.
Rules to be followed while in the facility
– Students should not leave their classrooms during breaks. If this is not possible, a rotating breaks system can be introduced in individual facilities, which will allow for contacts between students attending various classes to be limited.
– Access to lockers and cloakrooms may be limited in the initial months of the new school year. It is of utmost importance that students bring to school only the necessary items. Jackets and coats will be taken to classrooms designated for students attending given classes.
– Canteens will be adapted to serve fewer students at one time. To this end, separate dining hours will be designated for students attending given classes.
– In primary schools with canteens school shops may be closed down.
– Drink bowls and vending machines will be out of service. Children should take enough food and drinks from home.
The new school year 2020/2021 will bring numerous changes. While apparently working in the ordinary mode, schools will indeed look a bit different. All our measures have one common objective – to make it safe in this demanding period. It is of utmost importance to constantly have those indications in mind and follow them in daily life. Detailed information on the functioning of Szczecin educational facilities in the new school year 2020/2021 can be found on: https://koronawirus.szczecin.eu/gotowi_do_szkoly.
