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The only guidelines for the management of suspected cases of Covid-19 in schools are represented by the document “Operational guidelines for the management of cases and outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in schools and early childhood education services”, prepared by the group of work of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. The document, we recall, was unanimously approved by the Conference of Autonomous Regions and Provinces, by ANCI and UPI on August 28.
Reference documents
Each school must in any case follow the instructions for the prevention of COVID-19 cases from the Ministry of Education (MI), the Ministry of Health (MdS) and the Scientific Technical Committee (CTS) and in particular the instructions contained in the following documents:
MI: Planning document for school, educational and training activities in all Institutions of the National Educational System for the 2020/2021 school year (June 26, 2020);
CTS: “Hypothesis of remodeling of containment measures in the school sector and methods of resuming teaching activity for the next school year” (approved on May 28, 2020 and subsequently updated on June 22, 2020);
Circular May 29, 2020, n. 18584: “Search and management of COVID-19 cases contacts (contact tracking) and IMMUNI application”;
Report ISS COVID-19 n. 1/2020 Rev.
The risk of COVID
The reopening of the school has revived the issue of the possible increased risk of Covid-19. On the other hand, the operational guidelines put school institutions and children’s educational services in a position to operate safely “through understanding and awareness of risks to public health, not only for children, school personnel and their contacts. social, but also in an increase in transmission at the community virus level ”, providing schools with clear and unequivocal operational indications for the eventual management of cases of students with signs or, even simply, symptoms related to SARS-CoV -two.
A complete chapter of the “Operational Guidelines for the management of cases and outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in schools and early childhood education services” is dedicated to aspects related to training, information and communication for health and school personnel. .
Educational services for children (children from 0 to 6 years old)
Given that educational services for children have didactic / educational peculiarities that make it unthinkable to apply certain preventive measures such as the protection of physical distance of at least 1 meter and the use of masks, the document strongly proposes and recommends didactics for small stable groups ( for both children and educators).
Response to any case and outbreak of COVID-19
The ministerial document identifies the way forward in the 4 most likely scenarios:
- if a student has an increase in body temperature above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19, in the school setting;
- if a student has an increase in body temperature above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19, at home;
- If a school worker has an increase in body temperature above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19, in the school setting;
- If a school worker has a body temperature rise above 37.5 ° C or a symptom compatible with COVID-19, at home.
Case of a large number of absences in a class.
The “school contact for Covid-19” already designated in all schools, should notify the DdP if there are a large number of sudden absences of students in one or more classes (for example, 40%; the value must also take into account the situation of the other classes) or even of the teachers. Cases in which such massive absences are attributable to known and unacceptable positions of the parents from the school should be excluded (the case, for example, of the frequent and massive questionable options of not allowing the child to attend school due to related fears with the cases reported in the institution). At this point, the DdP will carry out an epidemiological investigation to evaluate the public health actions to be carried out, taking into account the presence of confirmed cases at school or outbreaks in the reference community.
Student or school worker testing positive for SARS-CoV-2
In the event that 7 days or less have elapsed since the positive person visited or used the facility, an extraordinary cleaning of the school must be carried out according to the following procedure:
- close areas used by the positive person until cleanup is complete;
- open doors and windows to facilitate air circulation in the environment;
- sanitize (clean and disinfect) all areas used by the positive person, such as offices, classrooms, dining rooms, bathrooms and common areas;
- Continue with ordinary cleaning and disinfection.
In the event that Covid-19 is confirmed to the DOP of the territorially competent ASL based on the location of the school, it corresponds to them to take charge of the epidemiological investigation aimed at carrying out contact location activities (search and management of contacts ). Activity facilitated by the “Contact Person of the COVID Institute” and by the Director who will track the direct contacts of any identified individual, using the electronic record, hours of service or lessons, the record of replacements and any other file. which makes the traceability of the contacts absolutely correct. In particular, in the case of students and school personnel identified as close contacts of the confirmed case, the same DoP must prescribe quarantine (14 days after the last exposure).
Quarantine, distance learning and DDI
In the case of quarantine, the school activates all the procedures provided for in the “Integrated digital teaching school plan”. Integrated digital education (DDI) means the innovative teaching-learning methodology, aimed at all the students of the Institute, as a complementary teaching method that integrates or, in emergency conditions, as in the case of quarantine, replaces the traditional experience. of the school in presence with the help of digital platforms and new technologies.
The regulatory framework
The health emergency implied the choice of regulatory measures that have identified the possibility of carrying out educational activities “remotely” in schools of all levels, throughout the national territory (Decree Law March 25, 2020, n. 19, article 1, paragraph 2, letter p).
DL April 8, 2020 n. 22, DL May 19, 2020 n. 34 and DMI June 26 n. 39 and “The Guidelines” (Annex A to Ministerial Decree No. 39 of June 26), in particular, provided detailed indications for the design of the integrated digital education (DDI) school plan.
Why the plan
The “Guidelines for Integrated Digital Education” called for the adoption by educational institutions of a Plan to ensure that schools are ready “in case it is necessary to suspend teaching activities again in presence due to contingent epidemiological conditions.”
This Plan, which each school has already adopted for s. 2020/2021, contemplates DAD no longer as emergency teaching but as integrated digital teaching that involves learning with technologies considered a useful tool to facilitate curricular learning and promote cognitive development.
In this perspective, the task of the teacher is to create adequate educational environments capable of:
- encourage collaborative learning;
- promote exploration and discovery;
- nurture student motivation;
- implement appropriate interventions for students with specific learning disabilities and special educational needs;
- promote awareness of one’s own way of learning;
- improve the experience and knowledge of students.
DDI, in particular in emergency situations that do not make physical access to school feasible for students and, sometimes, also for teachers, replaces, at a distance, face-to-face teaching in the classroom.
What does the Plan promote and what to do in case of DAD
The Integrated Digital Education Plan promotes:
- the homogeneity of the training offer;
- the implementation of activities designed to develop students’ digital skills;
- the strengthening of the didactic and laboratory tools necessary to improve the training and innovation processes of educational institutions;
- attention to the most fragile students;
- Timely information, respecting privacy.
Fragile pupils
The students who show fragile health conditions, duly certified and recognized, will be the first to benefit from the teaching proposal from their home, according to the families.
Applications for DaD
The main tools used by Distance Education are in general:
- Electronic record
- G-Suite for Education: the account linked to G Suite for Education allows access to emails and useful applications for teaching, such as Google Classroom, Google Drive, Google Meet.
Extensions
G Suite for Education core services can be accompanied by extensions:
- Equatio – Software to better write math symbols within G Suite for Education tools.
- Read and Write – Friendly literacy software to help students in reading, writing and research.
- Nearpod: free Google Slides extension for creating interactive multimedia lessons.
- Screencastify – Free extension to record your computer screen and your own voice. Ideal for giving instructions or presenting concepts and ideas.
- Edpuzzle: platform to insert multiple-choice or self-correcting open questions into any video, making it interactive.
- Kahoot – Creation and sharing of interactive questionnaires that use the devices of the students or those of the school with a view to gamification.
- Canva – Create and share infographics, images, and digital posters.
- Book Creator Simple tool to create great digital books.
Educational and didactic purposes of the DAD
The Primary Coordinator of the Maria Consolatrice Institute of Turin, Laura Diamante, writes that “as recognized in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and by the Ministry of Education (note 388 of March 17, 2020), the Institute is committed to to guarantee the right to education even in times of emergency and criticality; keep the class and school community alive and the sense of belonging, combating the risk of isolation and demotivation; keep the learning path constant and support the child in construction harmonious self and better develop their personality, talents and physical and mental capacities ”.
Goals and strategies
An idea of what the main objectives are, in this new school year, we can deduce from the document prepared by the Maria Consolatrice Institute of Turin that defines DAD as the only option capable of “maintaining contact with students and families to continue the educational relationship, support sociability and a sense of belonging and guarantee the didactic continuity and the right to education, which allows the achievement of the learning objectives of the National Guidelines. The aspect of listening, relationship and closeness will be privileged , as an important emotional reference, capable of sustaining motivation, confidence and a sense of belonging ”.
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