SCHOOLS across Blaenau Gwent county borough reopened in September with new measures to help limit the spread of coronavirus.

Now, a report on guidance for whole school re-openings has revealed what measures the county borough council recommended to keep children and staff safe during the pandemic.

Across Wales, there have been concerns from parents over whether the school environment, which naturally encourages a lot of mixing, is actually safe, despite the low infection rate of young people.

So here’s how a Blaenau Gwent council report answers some key questions that parents, students and members of the public may have.

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What is the cleaning process taking place in schools?

Schools in the county borough have seen additional cleaning taking place, particularly for frequently touched surfaces, shared rooms and toilets since they reopened back in September.

The council has recommended that schools have separate toilets for different contact groups, but where this is not possible, hand sanitiser should be used before entering toilets. The younger children in school must be supervised whilst using hand sanitiser.

As part of coronavirus cleaning in the workplace, all primary schools have had an additional 30 hours cleaning per week split over two shifts throughout the day. They are 9am-midday and midday-3pm.

Secondary and special schools have had an additional 60 hours per week, with hours split as in primary schools over two shifts.

If a person is coronavirus-symptomatic, all potentially contaminated waste must been placed in a black bag, sealed and placed inside a second black bag, which should be stored away from other waste until 72 hours has passed and then disposed of as normal.

All equipment that person has come into contact with must be cleaned.

What if someone is symptomatic?

Schools have been told to have a designated room or area that is well ventilated in case of a symptomatic person.

A designated 'symptomatic toilet' should also be provided, for such instances.

If it is a staff member that is symptomatic, they will be required to go home as soon as symptoms arise. If this is not possible, staff have been told to isolate themselves in the dedicated room until they can safely leave the school grounds.

The staff member should then contact their GP to seek medical advice and arrange a Covid-19 test.

If a child becomes symptomatic during the school day, they will be required to visit the isolation room/area immediately. The parent or carer would then be contacted to pick up the child.

The guidance for a symptomatic child says: “In the interim the staff member responsible for the child’s care will need to perform the hand hygiene routine.”

This will require the staff member who looks after the child to wear PPE and wash their hands for 20 seconds.

Once the child has been collected, the room must be locked or signposted as out of use until cleaning has taken place.

The parent should contact their GP and arrange for a Covid-19 test.

What advice is given on testing?

Only those who are symptomatic or have been instructed by Environmental Health/Public Health Wales or any other medical profession, should take a Covid-19 test.

What about access to schools?

Access to the school should be from one controlled point. There should be a Covid-19 friendly queuing system and a two-metre social distancing rule.

It is down to individual schools to communicate this information to parents and remind parents about the agreed process agreed for drop-off and collection.

The report says: “Some learners with special educational needs (SEN) will need specific help and preparation for the changes to routine that this will involve, so teachers and special educational needs coordinators should plan to meet these needs, for example using social stories.”

How are classes split up to enable social distancing?

The county borough council has acknowledged that it is a lot easier to create learning bubbles for primary school students than secondary.

Limited mixing in primary schools means bubbles can, on the whole, be kept to classrooms.

However, the council has acknowledged that younger age groups cannot socially distance from staff or each other.

In secondary schools, the bubbles are mainly based on year groups. The bigger bubble is down to an increased mixing of classes in secondary school.

Adults are required to maintain a two-metre distance from each other and learners where possible.

What other measures are in place?

Contact groups should be kept apart where possible, which could mean schools opt for staggered break times and lunch times.

Schools have also been told to avoid gatherings such as assemblies or collective worship involving more than one group.