Health & Safety Procedures and Protocols
Please read our Omicron Health and Safety Procedures and Protocols below to ensure a safe and seamless return to the school site in Term 2 under the Orange Traffic Light setting. It is essential to discuss this information with your child and reinforce the importance of consistently adhering to all procedures and protocols before returning to the site. Omicron continues to spread in the community, so we need to remain vigilant.
The staff and leadership are committed to ensuring effective health and safety practices at school. We have recently updated our COVID-19 procedures to the Orange setting. We aim to regularly update our procedures and protocols in response to feedback and Ministry information. We will communicate these updates on the KingsWay School COVID-19 Live Noticeboard on our website. We will no longer update daily case numbers but please continue to notify the school as this information is forwarded to the Ministry of Education.
KingsWay School's Five Overarching Principles
- Maintain effective and safe hygiene practices.
- Ensure that people with COVID or COVID-19 symptoms stay away from school. Please notify the school if your child tests positive for COVID using the COVID Notification Form on our website.
- Caution without fear.
- A strong sense of personal and corporate responsibility.
- Common sense.
Procedures can only go so far in protecting the community. Staff and parents must engage in common-sense decision-making while attempting to maintain the integrity of the overarching principles.
There is an extensive range of health requirements and measures:
- Staff and children who are unwell must stay at home and may return from their 7-day isolation if no new or worsening symptoms arise.
- All onsite visitors need to adhere to all procedures and protocols.
- High-touch surfaces are cleaned and disinfected regularly.
- Physical distancing is encouraged wherever practicable, particularly between adults.
- Once onsite, guests and contractors must sign in at Reception.
Additional Public Health Measures
- Mask requirements continue on school transport for anyone Year 4 and over and are recommended for all others.
- Time outdoors for students and staff will be maximised, including breaks, lunchtime, before and after school (unless the weather does not allow it), and rooms aired during breaks.
- Whole school meetings indoors will be avoided.
- We encourage all windows and doors to remain open during instruction to ensure optimal ventilation of learning spaces. This may be impractical when running an air conditioning unit or inclement weather conditioners.
Masks
- Inside schools, face masks are not required but still encouraged.
- Students in Years 4 – 13 are still required to wear a face mask on public and school transport.
Additional KingsWay Protocols
1. Maintain Effective and Safe Hygiene Procedures
- Effective washing and drying of hands and good cough and sneeze etiquette remain fundamental to preventing the spread of an illness such as colds, flu and COVID-19.
- Hand sanitiser and disposable towels are available in all areas of the school. The expectation is that staff lead by example.
- Disinfect any shared equipment before and after use.
- We clean toilets thoroughly at the end of each day.
- Only one student is allowed into the Health Centre at a time. Students must wait outside for appointments with the nurse.
2. Ensure People with COVID-19 Symptoms Stay Away from School
All students and staff should remain at home if they are sick and sent home immediately if they display any symptoms.
3. Maintain Physical Distancing
- Students and staff are encouraged to maintain adequate physical distance and avoid breathing on or physical contact with each other.
- Drink bottles are encouraged to avoid drinking from water fountains.
- Whole school assemblies or community meetings are restricted.
4. Lunch and Morning Tea Arrangements
Staff and students must practise physical distancing and good hygiene habits. They are encouraged to maintain social distancing when eating and drinking.
5. Minimising Contact with Adults Outside of the KingsWay Community.
The school will keep track of people who enter the school sites – through the attendance and visitor registers.
- School enrolment tours commence in Orange.
- Contractor Procedures
All contractors need to sign in and sign out daily at Reception before undertaking any work on site. There they will be briefed by a receptionist regarding the school’s current COVID Protection procedures.
6. Health Centre
FIRST AND FOREMOST- to protect students and staff – NO unwell students should be at school. Nurses will be onsite and contact parents to collect their child if they present any COVID like symptoms.
7. Tuckshop
Students ordering or collecting food must maintain physical distancing.
8. Uniform Shop
The uniform shop is open for business and the hours are as advertised on the KingsWay website.
9. Sport and Sport Practices
Sport competition and sport practices resume in Term 2 and the afternoon programmes continue as per normal.
10. Afterschool Programmes
Skids morning programme resumes in Term 2, and the afternoon programme continues as per normal.
11. Itinerant Music Lessons
Itinerant music lessons continue under the Orange Traffic Light setting.
Helpful Tools and Links
- The KingsWay School Live COVID Message Board
- COVID Notification Form to report a positive COVID case or a self-isolation
- Complete an absentee notice
- Testing positive at different times
- How to work out your 7 days of self-isolation
- Do you need a test to leave self-isolation?
- Household contacts – what to do
