COOLE MUSIC & ARTS – COVID 19 POLICY STATEMENT 2020

Coole Music & Arts is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all our staff and a safe learning environment for all our pupils. To ensure that, we have developed the following COVID19 Response Plan.

We will:

  • continue to monitor our COVID-19 response and amend this plan in consultation with our Steering Committee and in line with Government guidelines
  • provide up to date information to our teachers and pupils on the Public Health advice issued by the HSE and Gov.ie
  • inform all teachers and pupils of essential hygiene and respiratory etiquette and physical distancing requirements
  • adapt our teaching spaces to facilitate physical distancing as appropriate in line with the guidance and direction of the Department of Education and Skills
  • keep a contact log to help with contact tracing – this will include a sign in book exclusively for Coole Music
  • ensure teachers engage with the induction / familiarisation briefing provided by the HSA
  • implement the agreed procedures to be followed in the event of someone showingsymptoms of COVID-19 while at lessons
  • provide instructions for staff and pupils to follow if they develop signs and symptoms ofCOVID-19 during school time
  • implement cleaning in line with Department of Education adviceHOW COOLE MUSIC & ARTS WILL MAKE LESSONS SAFE:We will:
    • Provide all students with written practical guidelines/directions, including the exact time and location of their lesson and the protocol around waiting for their lesson. The first lessons will start no earlier than 4.45pm each evening
    • Ensure adequate physical distancing between students and tutor in the music lesson
    • Advise students to sanitise their hands before entering the room – Coole Music will provide hand sanitizer should it be required
    • Only allow parents/carers to attend lessons with their children in accordance with our child protection policy. All parents/carers must adhere to our COVID 19 policy and procedures. http://coole-music.com/child-protection-policy/
    • Advise parents/siblings to wait outside the building during the lesson. If a private car is not available to wait in, please let us know and we will advise of a safe waiting area

Coole Music & Arts COVID 19 Policy Statement V1.4 September 2020

  • Provide teachers with facemasks and/or protective visors/screens and cleaning equipment as required
  • Request that all parents/carers and students over the age of twelve to wear face- masks in accordance with public health guidelines https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/aac74c-guidance-on-safe-use-of-face-coverings/
  • Ensure that students use only their own instruments/equipment insofar as possible. Where equipment is occasionally shared, it will be cleaned before being used by the next person
  • Leave a minimum of 5 minutes in between each lesson to clean surfaces and air the room. To enable this the teacher will use a timer during each lesson. The timer
    will alert the teacher and student 10 minutes before the end of the lesson to allow time for communicating practice aims for the week (to be written down by an accompanying parent or as WhatsApp voice message by the teacher) while giving the student time to pack up music and instrument safely. The student will be expected to leave the classroom five minutes after the timer to allow the teacher five minutes to sanitize the classroom before the next student. Lessons will start and finish punctually to ensure that students leaving and students arriving do not cross over. Coole Music will co -operate with Gort Community School caretaker to ensure that students/parents are not waiting in the school before or after lessons
  • Ensure the room is adequately ventilated, this may require the opening of windows
  • Instruct students to leave the building promptly after their lesson and to sanitise their hands when they leave the room
  • Arrange for one toilet to be available, but where possible students should not use the toilet facilities, which will be sanitized by Gort Community School cleaner at the end of each evening
  • Communicate clearly with parents (only parents can be primary contacts) by text message or phone call if there is any change to lesson arrangements
  • Offering an online lesson to all students in the event that live lessons cannot take place
  • Where a student has been forced to miss their lesson due to personal/circumstantial health & safety reasons, we will endeavour to provide “catch up” resources by email or online at the time the student would usually attend his/her lesson.
  • Advise teachers, students and their families to inform Coole Music & Arts if they are in an “at risk” category as outlined in HSE information so that any additional precautions can be implemented if necessaryhttps://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/people-at-higher-risk.html

Coole Music & Arts COVID 19 Policy Statement V1.4 September 2020

Additionally, Coole Music will provide Gort Community School with a weekly schedule and room allocation times per term, and will work with GCS caretaker to ensure that the rooms are cleaned after use and tables, chairs etc restored to their original positions.

WHAT WE ASK OF PARENTS/STUDENTS:

  • The student* should not attend their lesson if they are feeling unwell
  • The student* should not attend their lesson if you have been notified of close contact with a positive case of Covid 19
  • The parent MUST notify Coole Music & Arts in advance if the child is not attending their lesson for whatever reason
  • The student should arrive on time for their lesson and only enter the building at the time of their lesson. They must leave promptly when the lesson ends. Parents and students are asked to co-operate with Gort Community School caretaker and not wait in the school before or after lessons.
  • Students must bring their own instrument/equipment/resources as agreed with their tutor
  • Students must be ready to leave the classroom five minutes after the timer has signalled the end of the lesson to enable the teacher to sanitize and ventilate the room for five minutes before the next student
  • Parents/carers and students over the age of twelve are requested to wear face- masks in accordance with public health guidelines https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/aac74c-guidance-on-safe-use-of-face-coverings/
  • Where possible students should not use the toilet facilities. However, in the event that these facilities are required students are requested to follow all hand hygiene guidelines. One toilet will be made available and this will be sanitized at the end of every evening* This also applies to any parent/guardian or sibling attending the lesson.

Coole Music & Arts COVID 19 Policy Statement V1.4 September 2020