Primary-school children will be segregated into bubbles based on their school year but are not required to physically distance, and secondary schools no longer require the physical-distancing measures that they did in the spring.
D’Auvergne Primary School head teacher Sam Cooper said there had not been too many changes to the system adopted in June.
He added: ‘I think schools proved they got it right the first time and the measures in place for our return next week are not too dissimilar, which can act as a reassurance to parents.’
Mr Cooper said that no parents or teachers at the school had expressed worry or anxiety ahead of their September return, something he felt was a testament to the hard work put in by staff, unions and the government.
The school has introduced staggered start and finish times, with students dropped off in their class or year-group bubbles between 8am and 8.40am and another 40-minute window when school finishes.
‘We have to get 500 kids into the school in a 40-minute window, which means parents cannot linger around,’ he said.
Students will be segregated into their class bubbles and Mr Cooper said measures had been put in place to ensure the bubbles could not mix.
‘Students will have different break and lunch times and will eat and play in their own specific areas and will have access to their own toilet,’ he said.
Despite the changes, Mr Cooper said d’Auvergne was aiming to give students the most normal schooling experience possible.
He added: ‘Some things have to be removed from the curriculum – there will be no physical activity indoors, no singing and no class assemblies.
‘Schools are getting creative to adapt to the circumstances and we will be introducing things like Zoom assemblies to ensure we can have that whole-school engagement between students and teachers.’
Mr Cooper said the school had co-ordinated with the Education Department and decided that it was not necessary for anyone to wear masks, but he said that anyone who wished to do so would be able to without question.
He added: ‘I think this is the new normal for schools. Unless the Covid-19 situation drastically improves, these measures will be in place for the foreseeable future.’
