Guidelines for the Reopening of Schools - Phase 3, Term 2, 2021/2022

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Date

2022

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Volume Title

Publisher

Ministry of Education, Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

This document was developed for academic year 2021/22 in anticipation that all students will eventually, using a phased approach, return safely to the physical classroom. At this time, approval has been granted for the implementation of Phase 3- all students of Forms 1 to 6, all students of Special Schools and all students of Standard 5 to physically attend school with effect from February 7, 2022. The measures instituted by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, beginning in March 2020, to curb the impact of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including the vaccination drive which commenced on February 17, 2021, signaled a hopeful start for the safe return of our students to the physical classroom. All staff employed at schools and students from the age of 12 are part of this vaccination drive. Regardless of vaccination status sustained, strict adherence to existing COVID-19 protocols is required to ensure that the physical reopening process is “seamless, minimally disruptive, consistent with overall COVID-19 mitigation measures, reflective of the divergent needs and concerns of all stakeholders, and ultimately enhances the teaching and learning process.” The COVID-19 pandemic has created a ‘New Normal’ to which schools must conform. As schools across the globe gradually reopen, the practices to conform to the ‘New Normal’ are varied based on the dynamics that exist in various countries, and advice issued from global medical Associations and Institutions. These Guidelines are based on the multi-layered approach to school health and safety recommended by officially issued documents on school reopening protocols during the pandemic; these include the following: • CARICOM’s Framework for Reopening of Schools in the Caribbean • American Academy of Paediatricians’ (AAP) COVID-19 Guidelines for Safe Schools • UNICEF’s Guidelines for Safe and Healthy Journeys to School During the COVID-19 Pandemic • Center for Disease Control (CDC) Science Brief-Transmission of SARS-CV-2 in K-12 Schools • World Health Organization (WHO) - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Schools

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Table of Contents

Keywords

school guidelines, school reopening, COVID-19, pandemic, new normal

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