Schools will be forced to post new cases of COVID-19 to their Facebook pages to warn parents as part of strict new rules as students return to class
- Strict rules have been brought in for schools to prevent coronavirus outbreak
- Students in New South Wales will be banned from using playground equipment
- They will also be banned from sharing food or pens when they return to classes
- Schools must also post any new COVID-19 cases to Facebook to warn parents
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
By Kelsey Wilkie For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 06:45 BST, 24 April 2020 | Updated: 06:57 BST, 24 April 2020
Strict new rules have been introduced as children return to classrooms amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Students in New South Wales will be banned from using playground equipment and bubblers when they return to their classrooms for term two next month.
They will also be banned from sharing food or pens, according to Department of Education rules.
Schools will also have to post any new COVID-19 cases that affect their school to their Facebook page to keep parents and caregivers informed, the Daily Telegraph reported.
One of the rules will see the bubbler banned from use unless it can be regularly cleaned by teachers
Teachers will have to watch young students wash their hands to ensure they are doing it properly.
Hand sanitiser will be available in all classrooms and provisions are in place for at-risk teachers to work from home.
Drop off, pick up, recess and lunchtimes will also be staggered to ensure social distancing.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced this week the plan for children to gradually return to schools from May 11.
The plan will see students return for one day a week to ensure they comply with social distancing measures.
The education department plans to increase the number of days students are at school in a staged way and hope to have all children back at school full-time by Term 3.
During the first stage of on-campus learning, parents will be encouraged to keep their children home except on their allocated day of face-to-face learning. Initially, about a quarter of a school’s students are expected to be on site at any one time.
Classes will be split across schools, allowing schools to appropriately social distance students and teachers.
Playground equipment will also be banned to ensure students adhere to social distancing measure
‘We are grateful to all families who kept their children home from school at the end of Term 1 and to teachers who worked tirelessly to deliver education online,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘This allowed us critical time to prepare our schools to develop better online learning options and for considering additional hygiene measures to allow schools to return.
‘We know that nothing is more important than a child’s education, and we must begin to return our students to their classrooms in a considered way.’
Most students began remote learning in March after the Premier asked parents to keep their children at home.