Officials: Random Testing to be non-invasive and parental consent will be required

Random COVID-19 testing of students, teachers and non-teaching staff at the island’s schools is one of four requirements outlined in a draft roadmap by the Ministry of Education to ensure the safe and efficient reopening of physical classrooms set for next Monday.

But Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw made clear on Tuesday that students would not be tested without their parents’ consent and not until after week two of their return to school plants.

“We are awaiting the swabs, and as soon as we receive the swabs and training has taken place, the random testing will occur. For students, we require parental consent and the parental consent forms will be made available,” Archer-Bradshaw stressed at a national press conference to update on the phased opening of schools.

Chief Medical Officer Dr the Most Honourable Kenneth George assured that the nasal tests will be “non-invasive and, therefore, parents can be assured that when their child is tested it will be done in a professional manner and in a manner that will protect the child who is receiving the test”.

The other measures include that all students be seated three-feet apart in classrooms, wear masks at all times but with breaks allowed, and use sanitising stations that will be in place across all schools from the nursery to the secondary level.

The Chief Education Officer announced that students will be returning to school in two phases.

The first phase includes students identified as most vulnerable.  At the primary level – nursery, Infants A, Infants B and Reception who require much support in an online environment and Class Four students to ensure they can transition successfully to secondary schools.

At the secondary level, Archer-Bradshaw said: “First formers, they too need the opportunity to experience the culture of their new secondary school. Fourth, fifth and sixth formers, there is a need for them to participate in practical activities, especially those who are pursuing their examinations and are required to submit their school-based assessments.”

Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training Kay McConney, also at Tuesday’s press conference, added that it was important for students who were doing the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) to get back into the classrooms, given that many of their contemporaries across the region had already done so and to delay the process any further may put them at a disadvantage.

Archer-Bradshaw also stressed that children with special needs will be catered to since they require face-to-face interaction to reach their cognitive and developmental milestones.

In the second phases Classes one, two and three at the primary level, and second and third formers at secondary schools will return to school plants.

Archer-Bradshaw explained that there will be flexibility to the implementation of two phases at schools.

The Ministry of Education has proposed that principals use a Group A and Group B approach which allows for children to have at least five days of face-to-face school within a two-week period.

She explained: “A student in Group A may go to school for three days in the first week and they may be online for the other two days in that first week. In the second week, that same student may have two days of face-to-face instruction and the other three days online. In essence, that amounts to five days in a two-week period.”

Schools will generally close at 2 p.m., but schools like St Leonard’s Boys’ and the St Michael School which start earlier can close before that time, Dr Archer-Bradshaw said, adding that schools who may want to go until 2:30 or 3 p.m. may also do so.

The Ministry of Education is also adopting a flexible approach to the wearing of school uniforms.

The Chief Education Officer, who noted the constraints facing families as a result of the impact of the COVID pandemic, stressed that principals should assess on a case-by-case basis.

“For example, [they can] come to school with soft shoes or what we call sneakers if they don’t have the school shoes at that point in time. It may be that the child may not be able to fit in their formal uniform but they can wear their games clothes…. Or it may be the case that the child can’t fit in the games clothes nor the formal school clothes; if that is the case, a child can wear a plain shirt, a white shirt and jeans pants,” she explained.

Archer-Bradshaw, in a special appeal to parents, assured that everything has been done to make the environment safe for children. She urged parents to keep their children at home if they were unwell.

“Parents if we want to…keep schools safe, you have the responsibility of ensuring that your child does not become the agent in the school for transmission. It cannot work if we do not have your support,” she stressed.

Minister McConney told the nation that additional counsellors have been brought on board to deal with any psychological fallout the prolonged closure may have caused to students and teachers.

She noted that while some parties were eager to return to face-to-face instruction, there was some apprehension among others, and the ministry had taken measures to address any anxiety stakeholders may be facing.

“In our Student Support Unit, we have engaged seven more social workers at the primary level, and seven more counsellors at the secondary level, and they have already begun working with students and teachers at the schools. We also held meetings for the staff at schools that would have been used as isolation centres, and our mental health and wellness committee has a plan to support the psycho-social needs of all school staff,” she said.

In acknowledging that the transition may not be “perfect”, the Education Minister, who said the decision to reopen schools was made after extensive consultation with a wide cross-section of stakeholders, declared: “We were designed to learn while in motion. With a can-do attitude, we will step bravely back into face-to-face classes and we will monitor and observe how the process is going and work accordingly.”

Meantime, Director of the Education Technology Management Unit, Francesco Miller, said some repairs are being completed for the school reopening, noting that $2.8 million was spent in the summer repairs programme, while electrical upgrades came at a price tag of $4.4 million.

“Presently, we are carrying out minor works only. We have completed major works, which included seven electrical upgrades at primary schools which included civil works and information technology upgrades, and we also completed work at 26 schools that came under our domestic summer programme, which we would have done during the summer vacation before the start of the new academic year.

“We are now doing industrial cleaning at the schools, which includes cleaning out the water tanks, and we have done more than the usual repairs owing to the break we had. We cannot put a figure on the minor works at this time, as that is a rolling total. We will be able to share that once all those projects are completed,” he said. (DH)