Since the start of the hard lockdown in March, it has been a trying time for South Africa, the economy and the education system.

Children, scholars and parents have been at home for more than three months in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This has been a challenging time for all as parents have had to juggle home-schooling their children while still working to earn an income and children have had to adapt to a new way of living and learning

Safety Measures in School for Students

However, it became a matter of urgency for schools, day-cares and educare centres to open once again so that the country can start resuming economic activity.

In order to perpetuate the general safety protocols with regards to COVID-19, we have put strict measures in place to ensure that all children in our care are safe and protected at all times.

Although we are eager to get back to school and grateful for the opportunity to provide job security for our beloved staff, our number one priority is the health and safety of the children we have in our care.

The Health Department has inspected our facility and they approved our COVID-19 protocol which is as follows:

• All children’s desks are distanced according to the 1-meter social distancing guideline
• Mandatory cloth masks and/or face shields will be worn by all our staff at all times
• Children under 2 years of age are not to wear facemasks or shields
• Toddlers from 3 years to Grade R/0 and afterschool care are to wear face masks and/or face shields
• 2 cloth face masks must be sent with each child to school each day until hat-face shields are ordered and delivered
• Kay-Dee will be fully sanitized before receiving any children
• All surfaces and equipment will be sanitized 3 times a day at scheduled intervals
• There are dedicated areas for hand-washing
• We will limit the number of children per class depending on the floor area per square meter of each classroom
• Staff will regularly wash and/or sanitize their hands
• Temperatures of children and staff will be monitored 3 times a day: on arrival at the front gate, at lunch time and at home time
• Parents or guardians who drop children off will be screened every day on arrival and departure
• Children are to be dropped off at the entrance on the veranda area where our staff will collect them. Parents or guardians will not be allowed beyond this point
• Temperature records will be kept for each class
• The child’s temperature must be taken in the presence of the parent or guardian on arrival and at home time
• Should the child, parent or guardian present with a fever, the child will not be allowed to enter
• Parents or guardians must be reachable at all times during the day in case of an emergency
• We will have an isolation room available should a child present with any symptoms during the day. In such cases, the parent or guardian is required to fetch the child immediately
• Parents or guardians are to notify us of any change of contact information
• We will require a stand-by emergency number
• Foot operated hand sanitiser dispensers are available at the entrance and all other frequently used areas

Safety Measures After School Care

• The Kay-Dee bus will be disinfected before and after each pick up
• Children will be kept 2 meters apart from each other during homework activity time, during indoor and outdoor playtime and will have their lunch in the class room so contact can be monitored
• All children in aftercare must wear a mask and/or face shield along with their own supply of hand sanitizer which is to be labelled with their name and kept on them at all times

Our Educare centre falls under the Children’s Act with the Social Development and is not affiliated with the Basic Education Department.

Therefore, unless the country goes back into level 5 lockdown, we will not be closing our educare centre again.

Kay Dee Educare Centre in Mowbray – Safety of Learners in School

The health and safety of our children is of utmost importance to us and we assure our parents that every measure will be taken to prevent the spread of infection.

In order to do so successfully, we thank all our parents and guardians for their understanding and co-operation with the above protocols as this is our only defence against the virus.

Please note that hat-face shield order forms are available on our d6 school communicator app or is collectable from our office. However, we encourage that the app is used for this purpose to minimise contact.

Furthermore, it is compulsory for parents and guardians to download the d6 “blue” app as this will be the primary means of communication going forward.

For any additional information about our safety protocols and how we intend on keeping our children and staff safe at all times, or for a copy of the Health Department’s approval document, please feel free to contact us.