After introducing their charter in recent weeks to ensure the safe reopening of schools, BSA have now released a further summary of what progress has been made in this process. The Boarding School Association commented that many schools are beginning to adapt to the advice given in the charter and that they 'have received very positive feedback from agents that adopting the Charter is helpful in reassuring parents that it is safe for their children to return'.
BSA has also produced a template letter to which schools may add their own logo and details as appropriate, which international pupils can use as a way of demonstrating that they are travelling back to a BSA member school.
Here is a breakdown provided of the rules for schools so far:
England:
- Reception and years 1 and 6 are already allowed in school. From next Monday schools are allowed to have up to 25% of Years 10 and 12 in school at any one time.
Scotland:
- Deputy First Minister John Swinney has informed schools that they may have a “safe, phased opening” from 11 August.
Wales:
- Kirsty Williams, Welsh Minister for Education, has announced that Schools in Wales will open on Monday 29th June and the summer term will end on the 27th July 2020. There will be an extra week break for the extended summer term at the autumn half term.
Northern Ireland:
- There will be “limited provision for key cohort years in August, followed by a phased provision for all pupils at the beginning of September”.
Furthermore, for international students, Visa centres are beginning to reopen and the Home Office has offered the following documents in preparation:
- GUIDANCE FOR SPONSORS
- GUIDANCE FOR SHORT TERM RESIDENTS AND THOSE WITH VISAS
- GUIDANCE FOR VISA CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE THE UK.
The BSA has also been holding Q&A events with international bodies in order to assist clarification during this time:
'In order to support our member schools, we have delivered several webinars and Q&A sessions with agents in China and Hong Kong to help with international recruitment and retention. We are planning a similar event in Germany.'
Finally, as well as their charter, the BSA has produced a checklist for reopening that schools can follow internationally to assist in relieving the worries and concerns of parents and ensure safety for their pupils.
Keep up to date with all coronavirus news releases on our blog and read the rest of this article here: https://www.boarding.org.uk/media/news/article/14712/Coronavirus-disease-COVID-19-guidance-update-as-of-08-06-2020