Covid 19 Safety Policy
1- The class teacher is responsible to refer students with COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, body aches, fatigue, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea and nausea, and headache, to the school nurse for further screening as per the guidelines.
2- Teachers and students older than 6 years of age are required to wear face masks at all times.
3- Staff will be discouraged from exiting the school during the day, but if they do for emergency purposes, they are requested not to return to the premises unless they have fully sanitized and changed their clothes upon return. They will also undergo thermal screening before entry.
4- Only one family member or a guardian is allowed to enter the school facility for drop off/pick up his/her child. People with compromised medical conditions, including the elderly, should not come for drop off and pick up.
5- The school should implement a staggered entry and exit procedure to eliminate overcrowding and to maintain 2 metres physical distancing in high traffic areas.
6- Families drop off and pick up at one designated areas and designated timings with no interaction inside the school. There should be no access to the rest of the school facility by family members and visitors. Family members should be given maximum time limit of 10 minutes in the designated area to pick up / drop off with no crowding, maintenance of a 2 metres distancing, and wearing of masks at all times.
7- Meetings are encouraged to take place online, unless there is a critical need for one to one meeting which should take place on an appointment by email basis and will need to be made and approved beforehand.
8- Maintenance work or deliveries, should happen after the school’s opening hours. Proper precautionary measures should be applied especially for pick up or drop of items by designating a specific location and following a contactless process.
Scenario | Description |
Full on-site Reopening | KG1 and KG2 will have classes everyday. There is no distance learning. Spaces will be sanitized continuously with hand sanitizing stations and keeping distance between teachers and students. |
Double Shift System | There will be no double shifts for teachers. Based on the school survey, parents prefer day time learning. |
Hybrid / Blended Learning | Grades 1-4: In school: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday Distance Learning: Monday and Wednesday Grades 5-12 in school: Monday and Wednesday Distance Learning: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday |
Other Scenarios | Other scenarios may include complete online distant learning if school needs to shut down to COVID outbreak in the school or Ministry advises otherwise. |
Entry, Pick up, and School Visit Procedures
1- Modes of thermal screening (individually or by installing the relevant technology) should be present at the entrance of the school. Children who are taking the bus, should get scanned for their temperature before getting onto the bus. Anyone with a fever ≥37.50 C should not be allowed entry.
2- The class teacher is responsible to refer students with COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, body aches, fatigue, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea and nausea, and headache, to the school nurse for further screening as per the guidelines.
3- Teachers and students older than 6 years of age are required to wear face masks at all times.
4- Staff will be discouraged from exiting the school during the day, but if they do for emergency purposes, they are requested not to return to the premises unless they have fully sanitized and changed their clothes upon return. They will also undergo thermal screening before entry.
5- Only one family member or a guardian is allowed to enter the school facility for drop off/pick up his/her child. People with compromised medical conditions, including the elderly, should not come for drop off and pick up.
6- The school should implement a staggered entry and exit procedure to eliminate overcrowding and to maintain 2 metres physical distancing in high traffic areas.
7- Families drop off and pick up at one designated areas and designated timings with no interaction inside the school. There should be no access to the rest of the school facility by family members and visitors. Family members should be given maximum time limit of 10 minutes in the designated area to pick up / drop off with no crowding, maintenance of a 2 metres distancing, and wearing of masks at all times.
8- Meetings are encouraged to take place online, unless there is a critical need for one to one meeting which should take place on an appointment by email basis and will need to be made and approved beforehand.
9- Maintenance work or deliveries, should happen after the school’s opening hours. Proper precautionary measures should be applied especially for pick up or drop of items by designating a specific location and following a contactless process.
Screening & Contingency Plan
10- If a stable case of illness is detected amongst visitors or staff presenting COVID-19 symptoms such as fever (≥37.5˚C), cough, body ache or fatigue, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea and nausea, headache, or loss of sense of smell or taste, DHA hotline number 800342 should be contacted by the school’s designated H&S officer.
11- In cases of emergencies, such as having unstable cases amongst staff, students or visitors, the school should immediately contact 999 or 997.
12- A health and safety designated staff should be identified and assigned to handle any emergency situation, follow up and monitor the implementation of health and safety procedures, and conduct all necessary trainings for students and staff. This person is also responsible for the designated isolation room within the school premises.
13- If a child/teacher/staff begins to show symptoms of COVID-19 while at school, they must get isolated instantly, and the parent/ guardian of the child to be notified immediately and the patient should be referred to the hospital to take the necessary action. The patient should not return to school until the PCR result is obtained. If the result is negative and there is a clinical assessment of a probable COVID-19 case, the patient should complete a 14-day quarantine. If the result is negative and there is no clinical assessment for a probable case, the child can resume schooling so long as they are symptom-free.
14- If the result is positive, the traced contacts of the patient, including teachers along with the classmates of a student, or colleagues are all considered close contacts (Anyone who spent more than 15 minutes in a proximity of 2 metres with the positive case, from the day of symptoms onset, or the day of the positive PCR test). They should all commence the 14-day quarantine counted PCR from the day of the positive test, or from the day of the onset of symptoms if ascertained by the clinician.
15- In cases of COVID-19 emergency, the school should follow their endorsed guidelines for emergencies by the school’s qualified nurse/ doctor while wearing adequate personal protection equipment. Also, the health and safety in-charge should ensure that the child is accompanied by an adult wearing the full PPE when transported to home or to the hospital.
16- Measures for disinfection should be taken as per the guidelines, for the classroom and the school premises used by the child as traced, and the holding isolation room where the staff and students will wait for their transportation.
Monitoring Attendance & Contact Tracing
1- If staff, guests and/or students were confirmed positive according to a COVID-19 PCR test by an accredited facility, they are not to return unless they are granted a clearance certificate by DHA stating that they are discharged from isolation.
2- The school must maintain adequate records of its staff/guests/members/students, including names, telephone numbers and visit dates, to assist if contact tracing becomes necessary. And to maintain accurate work records of its staff for contact tracing purposes.
3- The school should abide by the contact tracing procedures, by providing DHA with all records needed to trace potential contacts of the confirmed COVID-19 cases.
4- Upon the onset of the academic year, the school should collect health and travel declaration forms from all students and staff. The template of the form can be developed by the school.
5- A policy of “staying at home if unwell” for students, teachers or school staff with symptoms should be enforced.
Task Force Designations
Al Kamal American School Task Force has chosen members in the school responsible for ensuring safety of the school during and after school hours. The task force is also part of the Whatsapp group for fast and easy communication.
Task force Head: Aya Al Ashi
Covid Testing records: Ms. Hala
Isolation Room 1: Ms Gania and Ms. Aya
Sanitation Unit:
KG area inspector – Level 1 Ms Ronza
Safety Inspector Primary Section: Ms Huda
Safety inspector Girls: Ms Manal
Safety inspector Boys: Mr. Ibrahim/ Mr. Ahmed
Safety Logging Bus: Mr. Mahmoud
Number of sanitation attendees: 5 KG
1 junior
2 girls Section
4 boys section
List of Equipment purchased for Al Kamal
List required and highly recommended and purchased by the school are as follows:
-Sanitation hand gels for staff and students
-Sanitation unit for classes
-Gloves
-PPE (masks & face shields
-Special approved garbage disposals for mask disposal and medical waste
-Social distancing stickers and infographics
-Thermometer
-Medical bed for isolation room
Task Force Responsibilities include:
-Sanitation of classrooms, corridors, and bathrooms after day usage
-Report an incidents of students not wearing a mask or not following rules
-Temperature check of every student and staff
-1.5m space between students and in hallways
-Attending and checking bus sanitation logs
-Attending to classroom sanitation logs
-Thorough cleaning of school
-Informative and caution signs necessary to inform staff and students
-Mandatory Covid testing for staff and students when deem necessary
-Reporting to principal in weekly meetings of safety procedures updates or changes
-Obtain training or certs from Ministry or certified bodies for Covid Safety
-Maintain short and long term contingency plans for school
-Continue to do self school safety assessments
-Provide safety orientation for parents and students
-Follow all other guidelines mandated by SPEA or Ministry
