Parents question private school’s re-opening readiness

A group of parents of children attending the privately-run Wills Primary School in Maxwell, Christ Church is concerned about some of its protocols for the safe re-opening of classes this month.

The group calling itself Concerned Wills Parents is also seeking clarification on the “real” start date of school, given that the Ministry of Education says September 21, but Wills Primary has informed parents it intends to resume full face-to-face learning on September 9.

The parents complain that there are many areas which remain unclear in the protocols or that are questionable in terms of implementation and safety.

For example, they contend that limited supervision will be provided before 7:30 a.m. by the same individual who will be doing temperature checks and sanitization.

“Students will sit on the bench near to where she is located. This is problematic as there is not enough space for the students to physically distance themselves in that area, and one individual cannot do supervision along with temperature checks and sanitization effectively. The students will be seated behind her as she will be facing the gate where the other students will be entering the school,” the concerned parents said in correspondence to Barbados TODAY.

A spokesperson for the group who did not want to be identified also said that no information has been given for physical distancing during playtime which will be allowed.

“According to the protocols, unless students are seated at their desks in class, masks must be worn. Will masks therefore be worn during playtime? No specific information has been given other than that playtime will be allowed, with specific play areas for each class. Given that the plant is a small one, there are not enough areas for each individual class to have a play space,” the parents argued.

Furthermore, the spokesperson said no information has been given on the sanitization of the items in the play areas such as monkey bars and benches.

The parents are also concerned about the protocol dealing with the wearing of masks.

“Masks may be required during after care if social distancing is not possible. The prolonged wearing of masks may prove problematic for some children. Additionally, if after care is being provided, provisions should be made to use multiple rooms and individuals so that physical distancing is indeed possible,” the group stated.

The parents said while the school has stated in an email prior to the dissemination of the protocols that out of consideration for those in dual working households they would resume full face-to-face instruction, they still believe other issues must be considered.

“Parents believe that other factors must be taken into consideration other than having dual working households. Most importantly, the readiness of the school administration and staff to create and safely implement and monitor protocols before a full face-to-face re-opening. Concomitantly, the ability of students to strictly adhere to the protocols must also be taken into consideration,” the spokesperson for the group contended.

The parents are also seeking clarity on whether they should comply with the re-opening school date given by the Ministry of Education or the school’s management.

“At this stage, parents are left wondering. Are private schools governed by the Ministry of Education; and if not, then by whom? Can private schools set their own start dates for the term, despite the ministry giving a different date?  Who is responsible for overseeing the creation, implementation and monitoring of COVID-19 protocols in private schools?  How will the COVID-19 protocols be monitored in private schools?  How safe will students be if the issues mentioned above are not addressed?” the concerned group of Wills Primary School parents questioned.

The parents have therefore provided a number of recommendations including a phased re-opening of school to monitor and, if necessary, adjust the protocols.                                    

“All students should not be returning for full face-to-face instruction at the same time. If this occurs, then the implementation and testing stage is occurring simultaneously – and this should not be the case and certainly not on a large scale,” the group pointed out.

The parents are also recommending the reduction of the school day by at least an hour or two, with the removal of lunchtime, and the provision of one break time to eat. This will eliminate the need for playtime as well as after care areas which the school has not provided any concrete information on, or where it has been indicated that social distancing may not always be possible in the case of after care, they said.

The parents suggested that alternatively, there can be set days and/or times for the lower school and the juniors to attend school with supplemental online instruction.

In an email to parents under the names of a Mrs Wills and Mrs Franklin, the school said it was doing everything in its power to ensure the children can return to classrooms safely.

“While we anxiously await specific details from the Ministry of Education on the safety protocols for welcoming students back to school, we want to assure you that every effort is being made on our end to ensure your child/children can return fully to school as safely as humanly possible,” Wills Primary told the parents.

“As your class teachers would have indicated, even though the Ministry of Education has given a tentative re-opening date of September 21, 2020, we plan to re-open for in-person learning five days a week for all students on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 with orientation for KG1 and new KG2 students on Tuesday, September 8, 2020,” it stated.

“We have been in discussions with members of the board of management and staff, and are arduously working on a comprehensive protocol and safety manual for the parents and students,” the school added.

“We are cognizant of the fact that the majority of our students come from dual working households where the blended approach that was discussed by the Ministry of Education will not be feasible and that is why every effort is being made to have all our students return to school fully,” the school administrators told parents.

The primary school said while it appreciates the risks associated with the return to school, the leadership also recognises the need to have students resume some manner of normalcy “in the face of all this uncertainty”.

The Ministry of Education has already made it clear that while it has set September 21 as a tentative re-opening date, it has not yet finalised plans for the new school year.

Barbados TODAY was unable to reach officials of the Wills Primary School today.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb