S. Vishnu Sharma
LEAD School has submitted its guidelines with regarding to reopening of schools to Union Human Resources Ministry.
The popular organisation which is said to be running the largest online school in the country also has submitted its recommendations with regards to the same matter to central and state education boards.
LEAD School 2020
On the other hand LEAD School has also brought out a handbook that can help the schools across India to plan their reopening and prepare for it.
The handbook brought out by LEAD School will guide the school in running essential essential activities ranging from school transport, classroom seating, offline-online learning, academic year planning and outdoor activities amid the norms of social distancing set by the Government of India
Handbook also guides schools focuses on health and hygiene and responsibilities of school, teachers, parents and students.
A key suggestion in the book launched by LEAD School is adopting cloud based system to help schools integrate online-offline learning.
Another suggestion made in the book is the alternate day system. According to it, schools can follow alternate day school or double shift school to maintain social distancing and reduce operational cost.
One of another suggestion made is planning of assessments and staggered evaluations in advance. A distance of six feet can be maintained in seating arrangements through one student per desk or two per medium desk or three per long desk with one empty seat between each student.
Similar vacant seating practices is to be followed in school transport, says the suggestion. According to another suggestion in the book schools can opt for non-contact games and activities like Yoga, Aerobics, Hopscotch, Athletics or minimal contact games like Badminton, Table Tennis among others.
Schools can also go for staggered lunch breaks and also supervised lunch in the classroom for younger students, says another suggestion in the book launched by LEAD School.
Educational institutions must have a tie-up with local hospital or nursing home, also an on-campus or on call availability of a medical attendant must be arranged.
Sumeet Mehta, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, LEAD School said for schools, the post-lockdown challenges can be solved when they work along with parents, teachers, education department and local governments to create safe and healthy environment.
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LEAD School has prepared a comprehensive Handbook to help schools deliver excellent learning while taking care of the safety and health of their students and staff on reopening.
The handbook contains a checklist that every school can use to prepare for the Post-Lockdown period, he said.
LEAD School created the roadmap for schools to handle any disruption in operations once the lockdown is over.
Such disruptions could include heightened concerns of child and staff safety at school, sudden changes in COVID zones or new outbreak of cases, quarantining of students or teacher due to positive cases and any new government measures on social distancing that may hamper school operations.
The Handbook brought out by LEAD School has been circulated to more than 800 schools in 15 states, covering over three lakh students studying in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities and towns in India.
This year has stood unique when it comes to education. Like the previous year the academic activities did not manage to go smoothly in 2020.
Schools, colleges, universities had to postpone their final examinations. With that the admission process also came to a halt.
While this is a temporary phenomenon, sooner or later the focus will shift on reopening of schools and a plan to handle that must be in place. It is here that handbooks made by LEAD School could be of immense use.
The detailed Handbook can be accessed at ‘https://leadschool.in/post-covid-guide-for-schools.html’
About LEAD School
LEAD School began as a chain of innovative and affordable schools. Through running our own schools, LEAD School evolved into an integrated system that transforms schools into excellent institutions. Our integrated system provides everything a school needs – books, workbooks, smart classes, teacher training, teacher manuals, ERPs or Math/Science kits – in one place.
This integration is at the core of the excellent results the organisation has delivered over the years. LEAD School is an integrated system that blends courseware, software and hardware.
The course ware is built on a comprehensive curriculum and world class pedagogy. And the software and hardware ensure seamless and simple execution and data analytics. What’s more, the system comes with deep implementation partnership from our Excellence team because we know that schools are human systems and need monitoring and support.