Spanish education minister Isabel Celaá has today announced "complete agreement" among the state's autonomous communities on the coordination of 'back to school' measures against the coronavirus pandemic. Responsibility for education in the Spanish state - as well as health care - is almost entirely in the hands of the 17 autonomous communities, which over recent weeks have been developing their own policies on how to cope with Covid-19 in the new school year. This Thursday's press session was held after the joint sector conference which brought together the authorities from around Spain.
Celaá stressed the importance of the common agreements that were reached today. "They allow us to update the common framework of co-governance which generates confidence in society as a whole. We are seeking to give people peace of mind," said the minister, noting that 29 measures and five recommendations had been agreed Spain-wide.
In-person classes, the priority
The central government and autonomous communities have agreed that in-person teaching of classes must take place at all levels and stages of the education system, giving it special priority for younger students, from infants to the 2nd year of secondary education (ESO). In addition, today's accord declares that school centres will remain open throughout the school year, including lunchtime dining rooms and support services for children with special needs and in vulnerable situations. They will only close if the coronavirus situation “gets out of control”.
All centres will designate a person responsible for the response to Covid-19, who must be familiar with all coronavirus documents. The use of masks will be mandatory from the age of 6 upwards regardless of safety distances. There will be stable classroom groups until the 2nd grade of primary schools (age 7, approximately).
Hand washing should take place at least five times a day at school and families have to be kept informed and professionals within the school given training to cope with the new situation. Celaá gave special importance to school facility ventilation, cleaning and disinfection, and asserted that school lunch and transport services would be maintained, with safety distancing put in place.
"The goal is twofold, to provide the highest degree of in-person teaching at infant, primary and secondary levels and to achieve safe, healthy and sustainable return to school for the entire educational community," she said. "A lot of work has been done because our goal is to guarantee the right of minors to education in a safe environment."
"Back to school" presidents' meeting
After today's meeting with health authorities from around the Spanish state, the central government has convened a special conference of regional presidents focused on the return to school for Friday 4th September. This was announced by the Spanish territorial policy minister Carolina Darias at the same press conference. The meeting of regional presidents will be online, unlike the one held at the end of July in La Rioja, which was not attended by Catalan president Quim Torra.
Complete list of measures
The full list of common measures agreed today by education authorities across the Spanish state is as follows:
- An interpersonal distance of at least 1.5 metres will be maintained, in general.
- In infant school (3-5 years) and first cycle of primary school (6-8 years), students will be organized in stable classroom "bubble" groups (ideally, with a maximum of 15 students) so that they can socialize and play together. In these cases, distance limitation will not apply.
- Use of masks will be mandatory from 6 years of age upwards regardless of the maintenance of interpersonal distance.
- There will be in-person teaching activity at all education levels, prioritizing younger students, at least until second year of ESO secondary education (age 13). (The Catalan government earlier-announced priority for in-person teaching extended to fourth year ESO, age 15).
- Frequent and meticulous hand washing, at least five times a day. Students will receive health education.
- Cleaning of school centres will be intensified, especially in toilets and places of greatest use.
- The facilities will be ventilated frequently, for at least 10-15 minutes at a time.
- Dining rooms will allow an interpersonal distance of at least 1.5 metres, except in the case of students belonging to the same stable classroom group . Students will have fixed seating positions throughout the year.
- On school buses, the wearing of masks will be mandatory from 6 years up and recommended from ages 3 to 5.
- School centres will remain open throughout the year, with assurance given of lunch services and educational support to children with special needs or socially vulnerable families, as long as the epidemiological situation allows.
- Personnel working in the school centre will reduce their presence there to the minimum, with promotion of distance working for non-teaching activities that permit it.
- All centres must designate a person responsible for aspects related to Covid-19.
- Body temperature of all students and staff must be taken prior to the start of the school day (in the family or school environment). If this is done in the centre, it must be carried out in a way that avoids congestion and ensures the maintenance of minimum interpersonal distances.
- Any person who has symptoms compatible with Covid-19 will not go to the school centre, whether a student, teacher or other staff member.
- A "suspected case" will be defined as any student or worker at the centre who has developed respiratory infection symptoms of any severity which might include fever, cough or shortness of breath, among others.
- Any person who develops symptoms at the centre will be given a surgical mask, will be taken to a separate space, and will be put in contact with the Covid-19 responsible person in the school as well as with family members.
- An "outbreak" in a school is considered to have taken place if 3 or more cases of contagion are detected (in earlier Catalan education plans for Covid-19 an outbreak was defined as involving 2 or more cases).
- There will be four scenarios for outbreaks within schools, with different guidelines for responses based on the spread of the cases within the school centre: 1) if an outbreak occurs in a single classroom group, 2) if it is detected in several classroom groups without an epidemiological link between them, 3) if it is in several class groups which do have an epidemiological link and, finally, 4) if it appears in the context of uncontrolled transmission.
- In the event of uncontrolled transmission in the centre, the public health services of the community may decide to temporarily close the centre (it will not be necessary to have the approval of the Catalan health ministry or interterritorial council as first proposed by the Catalan authorities), initially for 14 days.
- Infected students must remain in home isolation and contacts must be traced in order for them to be quarantined.