COVID-19 and School Safety - Comprehensive School Safety Framework Pillar 1: Safe Learning Facilities

Location: Online    Start Date: 11 June 2020   End Date: 11 June 2020

Speakers: Hayley Gryc, Vita Sanderson, Iñigo Ruiz-Apilánez, Lachlan Miles, Thalia Séguin and Anva Ratzon

Organiser: GADRRRES

Attendance: 252 participants

Webinar recording available on the GADRRRES YouTube channel:

Learning and Insights

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on education around the globe affecting almost all school children in the world. This is an impact on the provision of education to children unlike any other we’ve seen before, as natural hazards and other shocks and stresses are always confined to a specific area, region or country. During this current period, collecting data to support decision making is crucial to inform future interventions and decisions.

Future aspects will require us to consider what school infrastructure aspects are hindered for effective responses and what aspects enable efficient recovery; what innovation and practices can emerge during crisis that should be considered for future planning and design improvements; what stakeholders should be consulted to capture comprehensive lessons learnt; what synergies exist between interventions that respond to learnings from crisis and how might learnings impact policies, regulations and decision-making standards and norms.

Resources and further reading:

Recent handwashing compendiums: Jengu Handwashing Unit Schematics

UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, World Food Programme. 2020.Framework for Reopening Schools.

Global Education Cluster, Global Protection Cluster. 2020. Safe Back to School: A Practitioner’s Guide

Answers to participant questions

What are the materials in classroom hygiene kits?

● For each classroom, it’s important for students to wash their hands coming in and out, so a handwashing basin should be easily accessible

● Ask the teacher to prop open the door for the start and end of class so as few students as possible touch the door handle

● Maintain physical distancing as much as possible while in the class (e.g spacing out desks more).

● Ventilate the classrooms as much as possible by opening windows and doors where weather and noise allow it.

● For construction information and drawings for the Jengu handwashing unit please contact: inigo.ruiz-apilanez@arup.com

Is there any design/plan of hand wash design for disable students (differently abled students)?

From the compendiums and guidelines that I am aware, Jengu is the only handwashing unit that has a version for differently abled students. This version has a lower height and the foot pump is installed at the basin level so it can be activated with the elbow. In any case, the type of different abilities may vary a lot from one to another, so it is likely that the version may require to be tweaked so it can be adapted to the specific need. For any further information about Jengu or if you are interested in getting the drawings for locally manufacture it, please contact inigo.ruiz-apilanez@arup.com

How do we tackle the problem of damage to school buildings and their destruction in war torn Syria, Yemen and Libya?

This is of course a much wider issue (and one which is not fully answerable here!) but in these cases, there needs to be damage assessments done on the schools in the affected areas. In some places, actors such as the World Bank and others have already done these, but not by no means all. The buildings will need to be surveyed for structural integrity and damage to see if they can be repaired or if it would be better to rebuild. This will depend on the level of damage and the type of repairs which are required. Supporting infrastructure such as access, water and electricity will also need to be included in this. In some places, schools are using temporary spaces and making adjustments such as reducing instructional hours with multiple shifts and accepting higher rates of students to try and make up the shortfall. In Aleppo, schools are emerging in alternate, informal locations.

Beyond just the infrastructure, there is an overarching issue of safety for both teachers and students as there are often still ongoing fears for physical wellbeing for example, insecurity in travelling to and from school and fears of being targeted while in schools. Other factors reducing access to education in these locations include a lack of teachers and limited teaching and learning resources and/or a need for children and young people to supplement family income result in them forgoing education. All of these aspects need to be considered in parallel with the rebuilding of school facilities in order to improve the provision of continuous, quality education in these areas.

Wondering if you have specific case study in a school setting in poor countries in terms of managing movement of students in schools?

We don’t yet as this is still a very new way of modelling movement in schools, but that is exactly our plan next! We are going to be looking at a case study in Nepal in the very near future. If you are interested in hearing about the outcomes from this study or would like to discuss managing the movement of students in schools, please contact: vita.sanderson@arup.com

If there is any experience of a successful self-learning pathway to students during the COVID-19 or any other outbreaks in the past?

Evidently, such pathways would vary considerably depending on the level and context in which the learning is taking place. You may wish to take a look at this brief from the World Bank, which covers approaches from a range of countries on how ‘edtech’ (including online learning, radio, television, texting) is being used to support access to remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, including through the use of self-learning resources. Interesting content has also been developed that draws parallels between responses to Covid-19 and Ebola, such as this blogpost on the case of Sierra Leone. We would also like to draw your attention to a series of distance learning resources that have been compiled by UNESCO, which includes a section dedicated to self-directed learning content.

Do you have any recommendations as to how canteen and other food-distribution facilities can be better optimised to fight COVID-19? The role of schools in being a source of food, especially in low-income regions, is something which must be reinstated shortly, no?

Ideally, the distribution of school meals continued during school closures, although this was understandably not possible in all contexts. You may find it helpful to consult Safe back to school: A practitioner’s guide, one of the documents mentioned during the webinar. Its safe back to school checklist includes elements related on how to prepare for safe food preparation and services prior to reopening, and ensure the safety of school canteens once schools reopen. The interim guidance note Mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on food and nutrition of schoolchildren, developed by UNICEF, WFP and FAO, provides more detailed guidance for government decision makers, school administrators/staff and partners on how to support, transform or adapt school feeding (in the short-term) to help safeguard schoolchildren’s food security and nutrition during the pandemic. The note also includes a number of examples from countries on strategies that are currently being implemented, which you may find helpful.