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Across Europe, millions of children return to classrooms for the first time in months to schools that are radically transformed by strict rules of hygiene and distance.
There are a variety of approaches, which create a huge testing ground for how to safely operate the institutions that are so central to the resumption of public life.
Health and education officials in Ireland are closely watching our neighboring countries handle the return of students, where they have decided to wait until September before reopening.
Students have their temperature checked before entering Saint-Exupery school in the Parisian suburb of La Courneuve on May 14, as primary schools in France reopen this week after a nearly two-month closure. Photograph: Martin Bureau / AFP via Getty
Denmark
Denmark was one of the first European countries to reopen its primary school almost a month ago. Some saw it as a bold experiment that risked a second wave of infections. The result?
It recently announced that the virus’s reproduction factor remained below one and that older students were allowed to return to school last Monday.
Teacher unions and school principals say the move has been successful, and early evidence indicates that it has no significant impact on lowering infection rates.
All elementary schools operate under strict rules designed to limit the risk of infection among children.
In classrooms, each desk has a separation of at least two meters. A maximum of 10 children are allowed in each class. These children are required to stay together during lunch and play time and are taught by a single teacher.
Children are dropped off and picked up at intervals, while schools use all available spaces, such as sports halls and even outdoor areas (weather permitting), as a teaching area.
While some schools reported that a minority of parents did not want to return their children to school, many report that these concerns have been alleviated after
Marco Damgaard, the principal at Tingjerg Primary School in Denmark, says that public health experts, parents, teachers and educators helped review and prepare the reopening plan.
“It is an absolute quality seal,” he said. “There are many questions from parents and staff that need to be answered and that is quite understandable. . . Clear and constructive communication between adults is crucial to the well-being, safety and learning of children. “
France
Most of the country’s preschool and primary schools began opening their doors to approximately 1.5 million students this week.
Administrators have been told to prioritize instruction for children ages five, six, and 10.
In Paris, authorities estimate that about 15 percent of the city’s students will be able to return to school. Other towns and cities think they can serve about half of the children normally in preschool and primary.
Schools are guided by a 60-page document that provides detailed instructions on the rules for social distancing in classrooms and surface disinfection.
Teachers, for example, must wear face masks and children’s chairs must be separated. A maximum of 10 children are allowed in preschool, while increasing to 15 at the primary level.
School attendance is compulsory and parents can keep children at home and teachers will provide lessons as they have during the national closure.
Teachers must also juggle face-to-face and distance learning. High schools will reopen on May 18, while older children will return on May 25.
Germany
After a two-week high school test that did not stop the overall transmission numbers from falling, Germany has reopened its schools since last month.
It allowed older children to return to school first because they could better comply with the rules on masks and distancing.
Schools have been transformed by new hygiene rules. For example, class sizes have been cut in half and students receive classes on alternate days.
Despite the country’s relaxed approach to children, Swiss primary schools are reopening under very changing circumstances.
The breaks today are staggered, with certain groups allowed on certain teeth, and hallways have become one-way systems.
Teachers are required to wear masks and students in many schools are encouraged to dress warmly because windows and doors are kept open for air circulation.
Students often wear face masks when entering and leaving, but most schools allowed them to be removed in the classroom.
A high school in Neustrelitz, a small town in northern Germany, has gone to the extreme of requiring students to take two weekly self-administered Covid-19 tests. Any student with a green sticker can move around the school without a mask, until the next exam four days later.
Netherlands
The Dutch government has allowed elementary school children to return to school part-time since the beginning of this week. High schools won’t open until June.
Class sizes and school hours have been cut in half with students spending the rest of their time doing distance learning.
Each district is setting its own policies for reopening, and many accept students only on alternate days. In some schools, teachers wear medical masks, while others have placed plastic shields around students’ desks.
Parents must drop their children off at school doors and there are one-way systems in place in most schools.
Children can also play sports again under supervision. The competitions, however, are canceled.
Under these rules, youth between the ages of 13 and 18 can exercise together under supervision, but must keep a distance of 1.5 meters.
Older or vulnerable teachers do not have to return to work, while some schools have recorded a “safe area” for teachers at the front of the class.
Despite security measures, some schools report that up to a third of parents keep their children at home.
Switzerland
Switzerland has made headlines due to its government’s belief that children up to 10 years of age are not exposed to the virus.
Authorities recently announced, for example, that it was safe for grandparents to hug their grandchildren.
However, studies cited by the country’s ministry of health, and a review published by Switzerland’s own national Covid-19 task force, acknowledge that children’s role in transmission remains “highly uncertain.”
Despite the relaxed approach to children, primary schools are reopened in very changing circumstances.
Regions have been given considerable autonomy to decide what action to take.
Many schools are dividing classes in half, with attendance reduced to just two days a week per group, to accommodate that change.
There are also hand sanitizing facilities, while desks are being separated and marks are being glued to the floors to help children observe the new space limits.
Meanwhile, high schools and college students must wait until at least June 8 for classes to start.
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