Covid-19: Dubai schools set to safely welcome students in-person after winter break

Schools in Dubai are ready to welcome students for face-to-face learning on Monday after the winter break, while keeping a close watch on pupils and their families affected by the pandemic and any potential close contacts.

Headteachers explain they also utilized the winter holidays to tweak timetables as they prepare for the new four-and-a-half week that comes into effect now.

Educational establishments have also been busy conducting workplace safety meetings with staff given the spike in coronavirus cases, while preparing designated members to minimise potential group contact among students.

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Simon Herbert, GIS CEO and Principal, said, "Preparations continue to go head at a pace before the new term. The leadership team has met to discuss health and safety protocols, and we are confident that the wellbeing and health of our community will be paramount, as ever at GIS. We look forward to the re-start of ECAs after an initial hiatus and also the possibility of trips at a later date. For now, teaching and learning is the focus, and our staff are well prepared to deliver high class programmes. We are keeping a close eye on numbers of staff and students absent because of the pandemic, and if a switch to online learning is necessary for any class, grade or section, we are well accustomed to adapting at speed."

"We look forward to the new working week, aligned with so many other countries in the world. Some of our longer-serving staff may find it harder to adjust on a Sunday or a Friday but they too are happy to adapt! Our weekly programmes and timetables have been adjusted mid-year and we have also allocated professional development time. The government has taken wellbeing into account, and this will be beneficial to all, we are sure," he adds.

Although other UAE education regulators have announced full distance learning for the first two weeks of term, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has stated that all students in Dubai private schools are expected to attend school for face-to-face learning unless there is a valid reason.

The KHDA have introduced additional restrictions for the first two weeks. This will include no co-curricular activities after school, no school trips, no assemblies or similar gatherings and cafeterias and the closure of canteens.