Procedure for In-School Music Lessons - General
- Prior to lessons commencing, all staff will be sent a copy of the school’s risk mitigation document plus Junior Academy of Music’s own risk assessment and procedures for safe teaching and hygiene requirements.
- Any staff member displaying signs of coronavirus or coming from a household where another person is displaying symptoms must not attend the school. They must notify the management at head office in the first instance who will inform the school, or in the event that this isn’t possible, must notify the school directly. The staff member will then follow guidelines on self-isolation and testing.
- Staff are to keep equipment and personal possessions to a minimum when entering the school. Instrument cases and personal bags to be sprayed with antibacterial spray regularly to cut down on transfer of the virus.
- On arrival at the school, all staff will need to sign in at reception and then go to the washroom facility to thoroughly wash hands and use the anti-bacterial solution provided before making way to the teaching room.
- Before lessons commence windows must be opened and tables and chairs set out so that a distance of 2m can be achieved between each pupil and staff member. Pupils should be positioned side by side, if space allows or back to back and the staff member will position themselves at a safe distance to teach the lesson and preferably behind a screen.
- The lesson groups will be decided in conjunction with the school to comply with school bubbles, so no one is to be moved to another group without the schools consent.
- Instruments, tables, chairs and other equipment used must be cleaned between each session. We have allowed a five minute gap between each lesson for this to happen and will be providing cleaning materials. Staff to sanitise their hands before fetching the next group of children.
- Guitar/ukulele lessons - to minimise the number of instruments being bought into school and to avoid staff having physical contact with the pupils own, then we will be recommending that pupils only use instruments provided by us. These will be tuned and ready for the first group. Drum/keyboard lessons – we will be providing all instruments.
- Staff will need to collect pupils from classrooms using the system advised by the school. We will not be allowed into the classroom but must wait at the door and then escort the child to the teaching room maintaining a safe social distance.
- All children will be asked to use the hand sanitiser provided on entry to the teaching room and before touching the instruments.
- To avoid the joint handling of music sheets we will be providing laminated copies for staff to use each week that can be sprayed with antibacterial spray after each group has used them. Parents will be given on-line access to the teaching material via the website.
- Due to the increased risk of airborne transmission, no singing is allowed during the lessons. Also, volume is to be kept to a minimum so that staff are not having to raise voices to get themselves heard. This applies to all instruments.
- If a staff member has any concerns about the health of a child they are teaching then they must insist that child be removed from the session and any instrument and equipment that they have been in contact with cleaned thoroughly. The school will manage the continuing care of the pupil so that further lessons can resume.
- When the last lesson has been completed, staff are to clean and pack away all their equipment and then clean down any surfaces that have been used. Before leaving the building, they are to wash hands thoroughly in the washroom and then sign out.