COVID-19 School Policies

The School will follow the most up-to-date guidelines outlined by the British Columbia Ministries of Health and Education, Vancouver Coastal Health Safety Guidelines for Child Care Facilities and BC Centre for Disease Control.

The new updates to the school policies are in accordance to the following documents from the BC Centre for Disease Control: “Public Health Guidance for Child Care Settings, February 12, 2021” http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID_public_guidance/Guidance_Child_Care.pdf , “When to get tested for COVID-19, January 6, 2021” http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID_public_guidance/When_to_get_tested.pdf and “Child care safety guidance for parents, operators and staff. March 16. 2021” http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/childcareschools/ child-care There are two main sections for these policies, 1) How the school will operate during the day 2) Illness policies. Parents must keep the school informed about any Covid-19 related symptoms or illnesses, any contact with anyone who has had a positive Covid-19 test or any international travels that they may take. Please phone the school and leave a message at (604) 221-9300.

Even though the guidelines do not require measure temperature at the door, we would like to do our due diligence and keep this measure in place. Please also fill out the Health Check Form daily.

There are two main sections for these policies, 1) How the school will operate during the day 2) Illness policies. Parents must keep the school informed about any Covid-19 related symptoms or illnesses, any contact with anyone who has had a positive Covid-19 test or any international travels that they may take. Please phone the school and leave a message at (604) 221-9300.

During the day

Arrival
Child

  • Parents must assess their children daily for Covid-19 symptoms before coming to school. These symptoms include fever (above 38 degrees C), chills, cough, difficulty breathing (in small children, this can look like breathing fast or working hard to breath), loss of sense of smell or taste, sore throat, loss of appetite, headache, body aches, extreme fatigue or tiredness, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea
  • Parents must fill out, sign and date the Health Check Form before coming to school, confirming that their child is symptom free and that their child has not been given acetaminophen or ibuprofen (fever reducing medication) in the last 12 hours, and give the form to the teachers upon arrival.
  • Teacher at the door will check for observable symptoms, review the health of the child with the parent, and do a temperature check before the child can come into the classroom.
  • Students who exhibit these symptoms will need to return home.
  • Teacher at the door will sign in each child as they enter.
  • We ask parents to help their children sanitize their hands (we will provide sanitizer) and say goodbye to their children outside. Once the child is inside, they will hang up their coats and put on their inside shoes, and a teacher will supervise them washing their hands.
  • We want to minimize additional adults entering our school. Parents should limit their time in the class to only what is absolutely necessary. If a parent must come inside, they must wear a mask, sanitize their hands before entering the class, stay 2 metres away from other children and staff, and wash their hands.
  • During pick up and drop off times, a 2 metre distance must be maintained between families.

Staff

  • Staff must assess themselves daily for Covid-19 symptoms before coming to school. They will also fill out a daily Health Check form and check their temperature.
  • Staff showing symptoms of Covid-19 will need to stay at home.
  • Staff must sanitize their hands before entering the school.
  • Staff will wash their hands after they get ready (changing shoes,

In Class

  • Student and staff will not share food and drinks in class. We will not be sharing treats or food items (cake, cupcakes, etc.) for birthdays or other classroom celebrations.
  • Classroom materials (shelf work and toys) will be used by one student and cleaned after each class. Students will bring their own writing and art materials (pencils, erasers, scissors, glue sticks, etc) to class each day.
  • Students will be assigned one place to sit during class. Students will be able to move around class but will bring classroom materials or snack to their designated spot. The classroom will be arranged to maintain physical distancing.
  • Students will be encouraged to minimize direct contact with each other and spread out.
  • Staff should avoid unnecessary physical contact between staff and children, and reduce close, prolonged, face-to-face interactions where possible.
  • At circle time, students will sit apart from each other, and hand holding activities will be avoided.
  • Staff will provide education and direction to students on coughing and sneezing into their elbows or using a tissue, throw used tissues in the trash and wash their hands immediately afterwards, and to not touch their eyes, nose or mouth.
  • When a child uses the toilet, a teacher will supervise proper hand washing. That teacher will also clean the sink, soap container and toilet as soon as possible.
  • Outdoor play: The sand table is put away. We will use our playground and not go to the public playground. We will clean high touch items after each class (e.g chalk, handles on wheelie toys, etc).
  • The wearing of face masks will be recommended for staff and students.

Dismissal

  • Students will sanitize or wash their hands before leaving class.
  • One teacher will bring the child out to the parent and sign the child out.

Cleaning

  • Staff will clean high contact surfaces (e.g. desks, chairs, door knobs, counters, sinks and toilets) at least twice a day. High contact surfaces will also be sanitized with a bleach solution.
  • All soft toys or materials that cannot be cleaned and sanitized will be put away. Classroom materials that encourage group play or play in close proximity will be removed.
  • Classroom materials that have been used by students will be cleaned after each class.
  • Classroom materials that have been in a student’s mouth or have been contaminated by body secretions or excretions will be cleaned immediately.

Hand washing/ sanitizing

Child

  • Students will use alcohol- based hand sanitizer on their hands at the door before coming into the classroom.
  • Students must wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds at the start of the class, before and after eating, after using the toilet, if they touch their eyes, nose, mouth, or ears, if they cough or sneeze or use a tissue to wipe their nose, or if their hands are visibly dirty.
  • Students will also sanitize or wash their hands before leaving class.

Staff

  • Staff will use alcohol- based hand sanitizer on their hands at the door before coming into the classroom.
  • Staff must wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds at the start of the class, before and after eating, after using the toilet, if they touch their eyes, nose, mouth, or ears, if they cough or sneeze or use a tissue to wipe their nose, or if their hands are visibly dirty.
  • Staff must wash their hands before and after they handle food (raw, cooked or pre-packaged) e.g. opening snack containers or water bottles
  • Staff must wash their hands before and after giving or applying medication or ointment to a student or self
  • Staff must wash their hands after helping a student use the toilet
  • Staff must wash their hands after coming in contact with body fluids (e.g. runny noses, spit, vomit, blood)
  • Staff must wash their hands before putting on and after taking off personal protective equipment
  • Staff must wash their hands after cleaning tasks and handling garbage

Anyone coming into the classroom will use alcohol-based hand sanitizer at the door.

Illness Policies

Guidelines for when to stay at home (illness, family members, travel)

  1. Staff and students must stay at home if they show any symptoms such as: fever (38 C or higher), chills,
    cough, difficulty breathing (in small children, this can look like breathing fast or working hard to
    breath), loss of sense of smell or taste, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, loss of appetite,
    headache, body aches, extreme fatigue or tiredness.
  • Staff and children with one of the following milder symptoms should stay at home until feeling better: sore throat, loss of appetite, headache, body aches, extreme fatigue or tiredness, nausea or omitting, diarrhea; If staff or children have 2 or more of these symptoms, they should stay home and monitor symptoms for 24hours. If symptoms improve and the staff/child feels well enough they can return to school. If symptoms are not better after 24 hours, get tested.
  • If symptoms include fever or difficulty breathing, chills, cough or loss of sense of smell or taste, get tested and stay home. or if symptoms last more than 24 hours or get worse: consult with a doctor or get a health assessment by calling 8-1-1. If a Covid-19 test is not recommended, the staff/child can return to school when he/she is well enough to participate.
    If a Covid-19 test is recommended, please self isolate while waiting for the results.
  • If Covid-19 test is positive- self isolate and follow the direction of public health
  • If Covid-19 test is negative- return to school when the staff/child is well enough participate
  • If Covid-19 test is recommended but the test was not taken – self-isolate for 10 days and
    return to school when well enough to participate.
  1. Staff and children who are experiencing symptoms of a previously diagnosed health condition do not need to stay home.
  2. Staff and students must stay at home and self isolate if any household member has developed new symptoms and tested positive for Covid-19. Public Health will advise on how long they will need to self isolate for and when they can return to school.
  3. Staff or student who is confirmed by Public Health as a person who has had close contact of a confirmed case or outbreak of Covid-19 must get tested, and stay home.
  4. Staff and students who are returning to Canada from traveling outside of Canada must follow all Canadian government requirements for re-entry.
  5. If a teacher must stay at home for any of the above reasons, we will try to find a substitute teacher. If a substitute cannot be found, we may have to temporarily reduce service levels or the school will have to close until either a substitute is found or for the duration of self isolation.

Guidelines for onset of Illness at school

Child

  • If a student exhibits symptoms of illness at school, they will be separated from the other students but be under the supervision of a teacher (who will wash their hands and put on a mask). That teacher will contact parents/guardians/care givers to pick up the child. The student will be given a mask to wear (if they are not wearing one) and tissues while waiting, and the teacher will avoid touching the student’s body fluids. Once the student is picked up, the teacher will perform diligent hand hygiene. Surfaces and materials that the child has touched and used will be cleaned and disinfected.

Staff

  • If a teacher exhibits symptoms of illness at school, they should go home as soon as possible. If they are unable to leave immediately, they will go to and stay in the kitchen (where they can still see the children but are separated from the children and other staff), wash their hands and put on a mask. Surfaces that the teacher has touched will be cleaned and disinfected. If a substitute teacher can be found, the teacher who is sick can go home.

If there is a confirmed case of Covid-19 at school

  1. Report the confirmed case to the local health department, local health authority (Licensing) and follow their specific guidelines
  2. Public Health will assess the situation and determine if the person who tested positive may have been infectious/contagious with COVID-19 while they were at school.
  3. If they were infectious while at school, Public Health will notify those close contacts who need to selfisolate.
  4. Staff will close off areas used by the individuals with Covid-19
  5. Wait as long as practical before beginning cleaning and disinfection to minimize potential for exposure to respiratory droplets.
  6. Open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the area.
  7. Clean and disinfect all areas used by the sick person, such as office, bathrooms, kitchen, classroom, shared electronic equipment like telephone, keyboard, printer.
  8. If more than 7 days since the sick person visited or used the facility, additional cleaning and disinfection is not necessary.
  9. Continue regular routine cleaning and disinfection
  10. Wear disposable gloves and mask for all tasks in the cleaning process, including handling trash. Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds after disposing gloves and mask and after being in contact with a sick person.