PATHWAYS SCHOOL NOIDA

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

FOR REOPENING OF SCHOOL

Policies and Procedures for School Opening: Grade 9-12

As we move towards opening school for students of Grade 9-12 it is essential to follow protocols for
safety in each area of the school. As infection rates are low we are beginning to move on with
returning to some aspects of normal life.

Each one of us is responsible for maintaining a safe and healthy campus. It is essential that students
and all staff follow protocols seriously. A sensible and self disciplined approach is the only way to
remain safe.

This SOP is designed to help us reopen school in a planned manner promoting utmost safety to all
our students, parents, staff and visitors. This SOP follows the guidelines proposed by WHO and
MHRD in reopening of educational institutions.

General Instructions
• Face Masks: Face Masks are mandatory at all times covering nose and mouth. Prescribed
masks: cotton, three layered. Change at least twice a day. Wash and dry before reusing a
mask. All students must carry a spare mask to school to change part way through the day
• Social Distancing: Social distancing is to be maintained at all times. Classroom deskswill be
placed accordingly. Dining seating will be at distance / through separation via partitions.
• Sanitizing: Sanitizers are conveniently located at all points in the campus. All furniture,
instruments and equipment are sanitized twice each day. All members of the community are
encouraged to carry surface sanitizers to sanitize their personal spaces.
• Body Temperature: All persons entering the campus will have their body temperature taken
by security each day. All members follow quarantine regulations as specified by the
Government of Uttar Pradesh. Anyone with a temperature higher than 37.3°C / 99.14°F will
not be permitted to enter. Parents must ensure that your child’s temperature is taken each
day before they set off for school. If your child has an elevated temperature please do not
send them.
• Posters & Signage: Relevant COVID-19 posters and signage are placed across the campus as
reminders and guidance.

Safety Protocols before opening of school

• Briefings will be shared with all staff and students before physical opening, outlining
expectations
• Self-declaration Forms and Consent Forms will be shared with parents and staff. Parents are
required to sign the consent form and waiver before sending their children back to school.
These will be sent first for email consent. However students are required

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 to carry a signed hard copy – an individual one for each sibling – which is to be handed in at
the gate before they will be allowed to enter.

Transport
• All passengers are required to have on their face mask prior to boarding the bus
• During the picking-up exercise, the Conductor will screen each passenger with a contactless
thermal gun before they enter the bus each day, while maintaining the requisite distancing.
The maximum permissible body temperature allowed is 37.3°C / 99.1°F
• Any passenger recording an abnormal temperature will not be allowed to board the bus.
• The passenger’s hands will be sanitized prior to boarding the bus
• Students will be seated with an empty seat between them. The middle seat in a 3 seater
formation and a single seat occupancy in a 2 seater formation.
• As is the current practice, passengers will be driven straight into the campus bus bay and a
systematic disembarking will happen
• One passenger at a time will move out of the bus while the passenger behind maintains the
requisite distancing and will walk straight to their designated rooms without waiting /
grouping-up
• Bus crew are restricted from assisting any passenger and will do so only if extremely
necessary while wearing a face mask / face shield and sanitized gloves
• All surface areas of the bus that come in contact with passengers will be cleaned and
sanitized prior to the pick-up and drop-off exercise
• Fresh air vents of the bus will always remain in open position

Entry & Exiting the campus

• Entry into the campus will only be permitted from Gate No.1 & 2 for students, parents and
staff. All school buses will enter and exit from Gate No.4
• Staff (including their wards) driving into the campus will have their body temperature taken
at the Gate. Hands and bags will be sanitized prior to entering the respective block
• To restrict numbers parents and guardians will only be allowed into the administration block
and not academic blocks. No visitor / contractor / parent / vendor / courier personnel will
be allowed inside the campus without thermal screening and hand sanitization
• Gate No.4 will be used for vendors / support staff
• All persons wishing to enter the campus will be required to enter through Q-Managers while
maintaining a 6 feet distance (while moving only onto vacant circle markings in front)
• All persons wishing to enter the campus will need to cooperate with security personnel and
have their thermal screening and hand sanitization done. The maximum permissible body
temperature allowed is 37.3°C / 99.14°F
• Since thermal scanning and hand sanitization of every individual will take a certain amount
of time and only single files of pedestrians will be permitted inside the campus, all are
requested to ensure arriving at the campus by 8.15 am, keeping this in mind and to avoid
any last minute rush
• All security personnel at the gates / academic block lobbies / corridors, all housekeeping staff
and all catering staff will be required to wear face masks / face shields and sanitized gloves
• Requisite and prominent signage reminding all about wearing of mask / sanitization of hands
/ frequent and thorough washing of hands / maintaining mandatory social distancing will be
displayed at entry gates and across the campus and all will be required to strictly follow the
regulations

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Student arrival protocol
• Information will be collected, via Google Forms, about the mode of travel to school
• Students being dropped to school by private transport will not be allowed to meet with
parents / guardians once they move into the campus, post thermal screening / sanitization
• Parents are requested to ensure that their wards’ bags and laptops are duly sanitized prior
to moving out of home

School’s Health Rooms

• The schools’ two Health Rooms (one in the Rosewood secondary block and the other in the
Primary Block) will be operational and staffed by a full-time doctor and supporting nursing
staff
• Attending doctor / nurses in the Health Rooms will wear face masks / face shields and gloves
and frequent sanitization will be undertaken of hands and equipment / furniture

• Any person with COVID-19 symptomatic indications will be sent to an Isolation Room
• The parents / guardian of the student will be informed accordingly
• The school Crisis Management group will determine the degree of contact with others in
order to take a decision on quarantine requirements for all others in the group.
•
Dining Hall / Pantries & Kitchen
• Since the schools’ kitchen, dining and pantry facility has already been in operation for the
past few months to cater to all administration staff and some faculty members and their
wards, all requisite precautions and sanitization / fumigation / kitchen washing and cleaning
has been undertaken on a daily basis. The catering head keeps a constant watch on social
distancing and adherence to high levels of hygiene of physical areas, equipment and
personnel. Frequent and thorough handwashing and sanitizing is enforced across all levels
of kitchen staff.
• Strict attention is given to the mandatory FSSAI regulations concerning the requisite
minimum heating and cooling of raw and cooked food items
• All vendors/suppliers will give an undertaking to the school concerning following of the
following points:

Dining Hall / Pantries & Kitchen

• Stores will plan their operations in a manner that minimises the entry of vehicles / vendor
personnel into the campus

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 • A strict safety distancing will be maintained in the dining hall and meal timings will be
planned in a manner to allow for safe movement of the different shifts
• Clear markings on the floor will help dining hall users to maintain the requisite 6 feet
distancing

Protocol in walkways / corridors

• All students will be grouped to create safe pods. Each grade is restricted to a group of 6
classrooms on a single corridor/ side of the building and may not mingle with other grades.
This will enable quick action and quarantine decisions in case of any positive cases.
• For movement to specialist areas such as labs, art rooms, music room and product design
rooms students must move retaining the requisite social distancing.
• Students may not touch hug or shake hands with other students or staff. Everyone must
avoid touching railings
• All corridors / staircases and walkways in the campus will be one way / demarcated to allow
for single way movement
• There will be minimum movement of students from one classroom to another.
• Students will sanitise hands on arrival, after Lesson 1 (before breakfast), after lesson 4
(before lunch) and at the end of the day.

Washroom Management
• Security / Housekeeping staff will ensure that not more than the permissible number of
persons enter a washroom in order to maintain the requisite distancing
• Cleaning and sanitization of washrooms will be undertaken every 2 hours and after each
break.
• All surface areas including door handles / faucets / handheld health faucets will be frequently
cleaned and sanitized

Classrooms & Labs / Activity Areas

• Revised seating plans are in place to ensure that the required distancing is allowed for in all
classrooms / labs and activity rooms. Movement of students will be strictly prohibited to
avoid close contact.
• Doors will be kept in open position to prevent hand contact and fresh air ventilators of all
learning spaces to allow for cross fresh air ventilation
• Sanitation equipment will be available at regular intervals on each corridor to ensure regular
sanitation
• Students may not share laptops or chargers
• Teachers will sanitize their hands prior to issuing any material in the classroom
• No sharing of any material will be allowed in classrooms
• Individual kits will be provided for all experiments. No sharing of apparatus will be permitted.
Reagents will be handed over to individual students with care about sanitation.
• All disposable materials including gloves will be placed in specific dustbins provided for the
disposal of exposed articles.
• Cleaning/ sanitation of apparatus in the labs will be carried out after every session

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Music Rooms / Arts/ Product Design
• As with all other classes social distance will be maintained in workshops and art rooms.
• In Music rooms, students may not share equipment. Student specific instruments will be
allocated where necessary which will be sanitised at the end of each class.
• In Art class students must have their own brushes, palette, colour set, bow and tool sets.
Students will clean their materials themselves.
• Students will be restricted from touching other painting frames and canvas.
• All shared equipment will be sanitised at the end of the class
• Individual clay packs will be provided to students. Plastic sheets will be placed on tables using
clay and will be changed at the end of each class.
• Each art room will be equipped with soap dispersers to ensure proper hand washing. It will
be mandatory for students to avoid crowding around the sink.

Sporting Areas
• Sporting activities will be very limited and only those physical activities will be planned which
allow for the requisite distancing at all times. Initially the after school online programme will
continue.
• The all-weather swimming pools will continue to remain closed until further guidelines are
received from the Government of Uttar Pradesh

Library
• Library scheduling and seating will be planned in a manner to allow for the requisite 6 feet
distancing
• Issuance of books will be without physical contact with the books and any books that are
returned out will be kept in quarantine for at least 72 hours in separate boxes duly marked
with date and time of storage
• Beanbags, carpets and any soft furniture will be removed to prevent contamination owing
to the limited way in which these can be sanitized
• Multi use materials such as newspapers / publications etc. will be removed to prevent any
possible contamination
• The Library will be cleaned and sanitized twice during each working day, in addition to the
morning and afternoon cleaning.

Administration Block
• Seating for visitors / parents are in place in order to adhere to the mandatory
distancing
• Movement of visitors to the Administration Block (Admissions / Accounts / Transportation)
are regulated by security to allow for the requisite 6 feet distancing at all times
• Only one visitor will be allowed at a time inside the Accounts office.
• Any parent / visitor wishing to have an urgent meeting with a teacher/principal etc. will be
required to wait at the school gate / front office lobby and will be allowed only post a confirmation
from the concerned person about their availability

Staff protocols in areas

• No sharing of headphones or equipment

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• Put back your phones inside your pocket/bag after use
• Carry personal sterilising liquid
• Do not plan activities which require students to walk about or work in groups.
• Prior appointment is encouraged before visiting the IT helpdesk

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