Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1253597
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MAY 2020 CORONAVIRUS CRISIS ger, Christine Borg, said the re-opening of childcare centres will mean a new way of working with children. "Our team is happy with the announcement as everyone is eager to get back to work. We know that things are not going to be the same and this causes some uncertainty of what our work will look like. We also know that we will need to work differently and most probably harder when we reopen for the safety of the children and for our safety too," she said. Growing Owls Childcare own- er Rossanna Rizzo echoed those sentiments, praising the health authorities for their strategy in dealing with the pandemic. "The reopening of childcare centres can be interpreted as a sign that the worst is over," she said. Rizzo however said that with discussions between the health authorities and the Childcare Centre Providers Association still underway, childcare centres were still in the dark about what mitigating measures will be put into place. She hoped that those measures would not dictate the need to ac- cept fewer children at any given time in the centre. "This would create a problem with working parents, and from our side, on which merits should we decide which child can and cannot at- tend." Borg, on the other side hand, said that apart from guidelines from the authorities, Bright Sparks was also putting into place their own precautions, such as only allowing the parents to enter the centre one at a time upon drop-off and pick-up, and not to use play resources made from fabric such as dress-up cos- tumes. "We will abide by whatever guidelines the authorities give us and add them to our plans and practice. I am confident that the abundant amendments we are planning in our policies and procedures will contribute substantially to the safety of the children and that of all the staff," Borg said. Teleworking a role in parents' decision Both Borg and Rizzo said that while parents gave no indica- tions that they had reservations about sending their children to childcare centres once they re- opened, a deciding factor for many was whether employers would continue to allow tele- working. "None of our parents have in- formed us that they would like to decrease their hours or ter- minate childcare. We will know more about this shortly… it's a chicken and egg scenario: child- care centres will be open first for parents to go back to work," Borg said. Borg however said the actual number of children they would have would depend on wheth- er employers continue to allow parents to telework, and wheth- er parents feel they can cope with "such a lifestyle that de- mands 100% attention to work and 100% attention to educate and care for the children… Add- ed to these, a good part of the day has to be dedicated to look- ing after the home and possibly pets along with shopping and food preparation." Rizzo said the centre was keep- ing in regular contact with par- ents, and the consensus was that parents who were not able to continue telework would be sending their children for the usual hours, whereas parents who could continue to telework would be keeping their children with them, sending them to childcare when they return to the workplace. "We are expect- ing regular attendance to pick up in a few months." pandemic, as many had feared. But to understand the Danish experience I spoke to Antoinette Casha, a Maltese mother-of-two, who lives in Denmark. "Parents were split on the mat- ter when schools reopened and many were afraid of sending their children to school," she tells me over Messenger. The reason underpinning the reopening of schools in Den- mark was primarily economic, she explains. "The government here wanted to offer parents the possibility of returning to work, or at least be more productive if working from home," she says. The initial trepidation, espe- cially at a time when the pan- demic was still raging in other countries, soon subsided. "We felt that somehow things were under control and could trust that schools were following regulations. I'd say it went very smoothly." She says that in the first phase, classes were split in two, to cre- ate enough space for desks to be placed 2m apart. However, children were then divided into smaller groups of not more than three to work and play together when inside the classroom. Outside, groups of up to six students could play together. One or two teachers were assigned to each class. Casha says most of the lessons were held outdoors, with chil- dren taking a folding chair or picnic blanket to sit on. Parents were not allowed to enter the school premises and children had to wait in a queue to wash their hands upon arrival. Casha says that in the second phase that started last Monday, the older students in secondary were allowed back to school. These had continued with online learning over the past five weeks. However, in the second phase social distancing measures have also been relaxed. Desks are now 1m apart and classes back to their normal complement. "Students are now back in the same room with their classmates and can play with all their friends during break-time, although they are encouraged to keep 1m distance between them," Casha says. Admittedly, the situation was a bit tougher for kindergarten and childcare centres to manage, giv- en the very young age of children that attend these institutions. She says children were placed into smaller groups and only allowed to play with designat- ed boxes of toys to avoid cross contamination. "All toys were washed and disinfected when the centres closed," she adds. The social distancing measures introduced in the first phase necessitated the recruitment of more teachers to take care of the additional classes. "They recruited young teach- ers, who are normally used to fill in whenever teachers are sick. Teachers are not allowed to switch classes, which means that some students are becoming ex- perts in Danish, others in Eng- lish, others in maths," she tells me with a smiley accompanying the message. "As a parent, I feel my child was more productive and learn- ing while he was at home. But, on the other hand, at school he is with his friends and I can fo- cus on my own work. At home, we do some extra school work to make up for the shortfall," she says. It is only now in Phase Two that a semblance of normality is returning. School opening times, which were reduced to between 8am and 4pm during phase one, are now back to what they were before (6:45am-5:15pm) and children have returned to their respective classrooms. Casha says that her children miss the normal routine. "It is really a return to a new normal because things are not the same but at the very least they get to meet their friends," she says, hopeful the pandemic will soon pass. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (R) speaks with pupils as she participates in the reopening of Lykkebo School in Valby in Copenhagen on April 15, 2020 "Students are now back in the same room with their classmates and can play with all their friends during break-time, although they are encouraged to keep 1m distance between them" SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS ON SCHOOL AND COVID-19 AT dailynews@ mediatoday.com.mt