Interview with Mrs Bukola kuti-Ogunbanwo, Building Blocks Montessori school, Ilupeju

Full nterview with Mrs Bukola kuti-Ogunbanwo, Building Blocks Montessori school, Ilupeju

 How eager are you to see the children again?

I would like to start by saying that this is a road we  all have  not travelled before. This is happening for the very first time in our lives and so it’s really difficult to know where to start from. We will start by doing something by all means anyway.

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I have missed all the children in my school, their parents, all the staff and everyone we have contacts with on a daily basis. We operate an early year and primary age education programme.

Since the awareness of the pandemic, we have all been educating ourselves on the need to stay safe. Thanks to the huge efforts everyone has made to adhere to strict social distancing measures.

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What plans are you putting in place to protect students and teachers?

 Children, teachers and support staff safety is our top priority. We are working closely with some public health officials to develop guidance on implementation protective measures which we will put in place. This guidance sets out a hierarchy of controls which we will work through and which when implemented will create an inherently safer system where the risk of transmission of infection is significantly reduced. These controls are:

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1. Social distancing in our classrooms
2. Frequent hand washing and good hygiene practices.
3. Face shield/face mask for all.
4. Temperature scanning
5. Regular cleaning and sanitizing of toys and all teaching aids.
6. Regular cleaning of the environment, doors and handles, furniture, staircase railings, computer keyboards, etc…

Is online or home schooling a good replacement for school?

Online schooling is not a good replacement for school but a compliment.

School is still the best place for young children. It is a place for them to learn and also important for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their friends, carers and teachers.

Plans put in place for teachers to ensure they are safe and healthy are:

To ensure they are screened when school reopen using covid-19 procedure and questionnaire.

Ensure  that they are informed, trained and instructed as to the correct use of cloth face mask.

Avoid direct contact with one another e.g shaking hands and hugging.

Frequently wash hands with water and soap and sanitize.

Make resources available to them to practice uninterrupted hygiene.

How do you intend to monitor teachers’ contact after school?

How I intend to monitor their contacts after school is by ensuring to check on their wellbeing.

I leave the rest to God

What are the plans you are making to take care of any student or staff member infected  with COVID-19?

An employee or student that is infected if confirmed will be immediately isolated and we will contact the covid-19 toll free emergency hotline  to take care of the person

What are you doing in terms of layout or seat arrangement in your schools to take care of social distancing?

The seat arrangement in the classrooms will be 1.5m to 2m apart.

Will children still be playing outdoors?

Outdoor plays will be in groups with teachers on ground to monitor the children.  We will have a maximum of  eight  children at a time on the playground. This is designed to suit our current facility.

Any installation of hand sanitiser   dispensers or  washing basins?

There are already installations of wash basins, contactless soap dispenser and hand sanitizer dispenser.

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Any plan to have face masks in store?

We have made branded face shield for both staff and children in readiness.

In addition to all listed above, lines of communication  will be open to all.