Distance between students is reduced from two to one-and-a-half meters, but classrooms may accommodate no more than 20 children
The Spanish government has made changes to its
guidelines for a
safe return to school in September, when the
country will be under the “new normality” following a prolonged coronavirus
lockdown and deescalation process.
After months of
remote learning due to nationwide school closures, students will
go back to classrooms adapted to the new situation, which means smaller class
sizes, more hygiene measures, and face masks when safety distances cannot be
observed.
But the decree regulating the “new normality” and
published on Wednesday in the Official State Gazette has reduced the safety
distance between students from two meters to 1.5 meters.
The Education Ministry also said that in early education – for children ages three through five – and for students in the first four years of primary school, classrooms may hold groups of up to 20 children, instead of the 15 originally recommended. The ministry adds that 15 is still the “ideal” number.
Students in these lower grades will make up
self-contained groups that will not have to observe the physical distancing
rules that apply to older students.
Education centers will have to use all available
space, including the library if necessary, in order to ensure distances are
respected. And if this is not enough, they may request additional support from
local authorities, said Education Minister Isabel Celaá in an interview on the
radio station SER Catalunya.
The document setting out these and other guidelines
was drafted by the health and education ministers, and will be presented on
Thursday at a meeting of central and regional education chiefs. The goal, said
the government, is to establish a strategy with widespread consensus.
Fresh air
The protocol establishes that children up to 10 years
of age may “socialize without maintaining a strict personal distance” because
it is believed that this would be very difficult for them to achieve. Instead,
these classes will mix as little as possible with other students in the school,
in order to make it easier to trace any potential cases of Covid-19. The use
of face masks will not be compulsory for these grades.
Fifth and sixth graders will be asked to wear face
masks when it is not possible to keep a distance of 1.5 meters, but not when
they are sitting at their desks. The document also recommends using open-air
spaces as much as possible for educational activities.
Classroom windows must remain open “as long as
possible” throughout the day, and classrooms must be ventilated before and
after classes. Centers must be cleaned and disinfected at least once a day,
while bathrooms must undergo similar cleaning three times a day.
Class size
The maximum number of students to a classroom in the
last two years of primary school, as well as in secondary and in post-secondary
education, will depend on their size. Back when the government was talking
about a two-meter distance, some centers had determined that they could
accommodate no more than 12 students per classroom. Now that figure could go up
to 15, and even higher if gyms and cafeterias are converted into classrooms.
At least seven regional governments have been working
to ensure that all their younger students can go back to school in the fall, as
they believe that remote learning is not working out well for them. This
opinion is shared by teachers’ unions, as well as numerous school principals and
education experts. The latter have warned that remotely learning is
particularly harmful on children from low-income families.
Every school will have to draft a plan for the start
of the new academic year, and protocols to deal with potential
new outbreaks. Centers will designate a “person of reference for
all aspects relating to Covid-19.” The government guidelines also recommend the
creation of “a team comprising various representatives of the education
community, to guarantee that everyone stays informed and that principles are
being observed.”
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