Covid 19 proceedures / protocols for Bunscoil Lughaidh Naofa We the staff and management of Bunscoil Lughaidh Naofa have been working on our plan for the safe reopening of our school for some weeks now to ensure that it is a safe learning environment for your children in line with the Department of Education and Skills Roadmap for Reopening Schools. Preparations are ongoing and changes to classrooms, corridors, break times, procedures for receiving children in the morning and at home time will all be part of our plan to minimise the risk of COVID-19 being spread within our school community. Preparations for a safe return include:

• a complete deep clean of the school both inside and outside.
• wall mounted hand sanitising stations have been installed in all classrooms and throughout the school.
• warm water and liquid soap will be available in classrooms to facilitate hand washing.
• paper towels will be used for hand drying.
• signage will be displayed throughout the school and in classrooms to remind children and staff with regard to hand hygiene, cough etiquette and social distancing.
• small break and lunch break times will be staggered to ensure that there is no overcrowding in the yard.  Contact between classes will be kept to a minimum.
• guidelines set out by the Department of Education with regard to classroom organisation and the need for social distancing/creation of smaller “pods” groups within the class will be implemented in so far as is possible. www.gov.ie/#additional-guidelines-and-procedures

A lot of time and effort has gone into planning the logistics of getting staff and pupils back into school while adhering to the public health information being supplied by NPHET and the Department of Education.  One of the biggest challenges faced will be the manner in which children enter/exit the school grounds in the morning and evening time. This needs to be done in an orderly and time efficient manner in line with the public health requirement to social distancing and to avoid large gatherings of people outside the gates. With this in mind, if at all possible, we would encourage you, especially with the older girls, to arrange a drop off / pick up point that is away from the school. Additionally, one of the key messages to managing the risks of COVID-19 is to do everything practical to avoid the introduction of COVID-19 into our school. Therefore, to minimise the risk of introduction of COVID-19 into our school we ask everyone to adhere to the following:

• Promote awareness of COVID-19 symptoms (common symptoms include; high temperature, cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties, loss of smell, loss of taste or distortion of taste).
• Staff and pupils that have symptoms should not attend school, to phone their doctor and to follow HSE guidance on self-isolation.
• Staff and pupils should not attend school if they have been identified by the HSE as a contact for person with COVID-19 and to follow the HSE advice on restriction of movement.
• Staff and pupils that develop symptoms at school should bring this to the attention of the Principal / Lead Worker Representative (LWR) promptly.
• Staff and pupils should know the protocol for managing a suspected case of COVID-19 in school. (See section 8 of the following document; Covid 19 Response Plan PDF
• Everyone entering the school building needs to perform hand hygiene with a hand sanitiser.
• Visitors to the school during the day should be by prior arrangement and should be received at a specific contact point.
• Physical distancing (of 2m) should be maintained between staff and visitors where possible.
• Staff and pupils should use proper respiratory hygiene and hand hygiene (On arrival at school; Before eating or drinking; After using the toilet; After playing outdoors; When their hands are physically dirty; When they cough or sneeze.).
• To prevent unnecessary school visit a drop box will be situated at Gate B (next to park) should you wish to drop items for a child (coats, lunch boxes etc.).

Should you seek further advice or information in relation to Covid19 procedures that impact our school community please see the following guidelines that have been published by the Department of Education and Skills which have informed our school policy and procedures as outlined above. www.gov.ie/#additional-guidelines-and-procedures Should you have any further queries please contact the school via email (bunscoilln@gmail.com) or via phone (0429661808).