Updated Oct 2021

Little Ginger Studio COVID-19 Policy

Little Ginger Studio is a children’s Art School offering educational experiences and child care. As such we follow the guidelines in DET schools & Child Care centres for guidance. This document outlines our commitment to ensuring the provision of a safe space for our community of teachers & families with effective risk management and hygiene practices in relation to COVID-19 transmission. This will be achieved by the following:

1) Adequate Ventilation & Masks

2) QR code check in & restriction of adults onsite

3) Vaccination & management of illness in staff or students

4) Health, hygiene & physical distancing

5) Studio cleaning guidelines

6) Studio classes guidelines

7) Birthday party guidelines

8) School holiday care program guidelines

9) In school after care programs guidelines

ADEQUATE VENTILATION & MASKS

Our studio is 80sqm in area and we have a hospital-grade Air purifier with HEPA filter capable of purifying a space up to 90 sqm. This will be used in conjunction with natural ventilation and time spent outdoors (eg. during school holiday programs) to ensure there is no build up of harmful areosols including Covid -19 in our space.

All teachers and adults that enter the studio must wear masks, except where not practicable when teaching. Masks are recommended for primary-aged students in line with Level 3 safety measures in schools. Children aged 12+ must wear masks in the studio.

QR CODE CHECK IN & RESTRICTION OF ADULTS ONSITE

All adults will need to check in using the QR code for the Service NSW app IF entering the studio. Adults must be double-vaccinated if entering. Child attendees for birthday parties will also need to be checked in as they do not appear on our rolls.

All classes are now drop off and parents are strongly encouraged to drop their child off at the door without entering the studio. We are allowed 20 persons in total (excepting staff) as per the 4 sqm rule. Physical distancing is encouraged amongst adults.

VACCINATION & MANAGEMENT OF ILLNESS OF STAFF OR CHILDREN

All staff at LGS are double vaccinated against Covid-19 unless medically exempt. Employees are encouraged to refrain from working whilst displaying symptoms and will be asked to obtain a COVID-19 negative test result before return to work.

LGS requests that children & parents that show any signs of respiratory illness do not attend our classes. Anyone who is sick with influenza-like symptoms, even with mild symptoms, or has been overseas in the past 7 days, should not attend the studio. Children displaying such symptoms will be sent home.

HEALTH & HYGIENE GUIDELINES

Everyone that enters our studio must practise good hygiene to protect against infection and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Good hygiene practices include:

Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds (see video), or using hand sanitiser, when
Entering school, and at regular intervals throughout the day
Particularly before and after eating, and after going to the toilet
For younger students, this may include having a regular handwashing schedule (a game could be
Developed for younger students to come up with a 20 second hand-washing song)
Covering coughs and sneezes with ones elbow or a tissue
Placing used tissues straight into the bin
Avoiding touching one’s eyes, nose and mouth
Not sharing food or drink

Further practices:

Staff and students will wash hands upon arrival and throughout day
Hand towels will be provided & disposed of in a similar fashion
Tissues will be readily available and disposed of in bins that are emptied each day
Students will receive a freshly laundered art shirt each class (worn art shirts separated & laundered each day)
Tablecloths will be washed after each use
Parents will use hand sanitiser upon arrival before sign in / payment procedures
Mobile phones & Square payment system to be cleaned frequently
Staff will monitor student behaviour to ensure children clean their hands at appropriate times, eg
After blowing nose
Staff will continually assess & action cleaning processes where needed (eg. if a child spreads
Droplets by sneezing or coughing, clean surfaces with disinfectant wipes immediately)
Staff will follow cleaning guidelines after each session
First Aid: Standard precautions will be adopted when providing first aid such as sanitising hands before and after providing first aid and wearing gloves. Hand sanitiser & gloves will be available in our studio First Aid kit.

STUDIO CLEANING GUIDELINES:

After each class: (please note back to back classes count as 1 class):

clean and disinfect with bleach solution high touch areas: tabletops, doorknobs & handles, light switches, taps, soap dispensers, sinks & tops of chairs
clean art materials & equipment used in lesson eg: paintbrushes, textas, pencils etc.
clean play materials used: Duplo, drawing mirror
kitchen surfaces cleaned with bleach solution
bathroom surfaces & toilets cleaned with bleach solution - especially high touch surfaces
staff to use “LGS Post Class COVID-19 Cleaning checklist” each shift

STUDIO CLASSES GUIDELINES

Strategies to minimise risk, practise physical distancing (in addition to hygiene practices):

chalk marks on pavement outside studio to encourage physical distancing
only one parent to enter studio at a time for sign in and pick up
arrange furniture to leave as much space as possible between students gently encouraging students to maintain 1.5 metre rule
avoidance of some group activities that involve close proximity
taking care to minimise the\ use of art materials that are shared and cannot be adequately cleaned - eg. playdough, rainbow rice, soft materials or use of yarn
where possible, avoiding close-proximity queuing and encouraging increased space between students, for example by placing markings on the floor to line ups for hand washing etc
ensure students always wash hands before using shared equipment

BIRTHDAY PARTY GUIDELINES:

As per Health & hygiene and Studio classes guidelines above with the addition of:

All parties are now “drop off” with no parents in attendance (except for birthday child’s family)
Customers are encouraged to avoid “share foods” when catering and instead supply individual “food packs” (LGS accepts no responsibility for the hygiene practices in food preparation & appropriateness of catering at parties, which remains wholly the responsibility of the customer)
Parents must drop their child off at the door rather than enter the studio
Customer are discouraged from blowing out candles on a communal cake and are encouraged to supply individual cupcakes

SCHOOL HOLIDAY CARE PROGRAM GUIDELINES:

The following strategies in addition to our regular Health & hygiene and Cleaning guidelines listed above:

programs will be designed to avoid use of shared art material that cannot easily be cleaned (eg. Yarn)
parents will be asked to sign in their children outside of the studio and will not enter the space. Students will be released one at a time at the end of the day as usual with no parents in the space
we will avoid close-proximity queuing
gently encourage physical distancing where practicable
enjoy our time outdoors even more than usual, and if possible undertake some art-making outdoors
implement strict monitoring and policing of students eating habits and discourage food sharing
ensure students wash their hands effectively before and after eating
offer hand cleaning (sanitiser) before and after use of play equipment in public parks

IN-SCHOOL AFTER SCHOOL CARE PROGRAMS GUIDELINES (RPS & MJPS)

When on school site, staff will:

Stay at home if unwell
Practise good hygiene as outlined above
Wash hands regularly and thoroughly (staff & students use hand sanitiser / soap when entering classroom and frequently during class)
Have hand sanitiser, soap, paper towels & tissues available
Maintain respiratory hygiene (cover cough & sneeze)
Avoid shaking hands
Maintain physical distance (especially adults)
Implement cleaning protocol for shared items (shared before use, cleaned between groups, disposed of if cannot be cleaned, cleaned if exposed to bodily fluids)
Use PPE where relevant (eg when providing first aid)
Keep the school environment clean. (All high touches surfaces wiped down with suitable cleaning product after class)
clean any school equipment with detergent and water or disinfectant at end of class
Bring own items for activities to minimise sharing of items
Remove rubbish and empty bins when leaving site
parents cannot enter school ground for pick up - students to be walked to locked gate for pick up

MAROUBRA JUNCTION PS ADDITIONAL PLAN:

students are to meet staff member at KN classroom directly after the 3pm bell (guided by classroom teachers)
students leave bags outside classroom
students clean hands with hand sanitiser upon entry / reuse when sneezing, coughing etc
students are not allowed to touch / play with classroom equipment
staff member will supply own activities to keep students engaged (eg. free drawing, large paper roll, games)
at 4:40pm staff member walks students to Gate 3 (Loch Maree st) for pick up by parents
4:45pm - staff member returns to KN to begin cleaning & disinfection schedule of classroom: tabletops & chairs, doorknobs and handles cleaned & sanitised. All share art equipment to be sanitised after use.
tablecloths cleaned and sanitised after every class
All art shirts to be laundered after every class
liaise with After Care program to have after care kids picked up by their staff at 4:40pm.

RANDWICK PUBLIC ADDITIONAL PLAN:

students are to meet staff member at KINDER STAIRS directly after the 3pm bell (guided by classroom teachers)
students clean hands with hand sanitiser upon entry / reuse when sneezing, coughing etc
students are not allowed to touch / play with classroom equipment
staff member will supply own activities to keep students engaged (eg. free drawing, large paper roll, games)
at 4:35pm staff member walks students to Frances st gate for pick up by parents
4:45pm - staff member returns to KN to begin cleaning & disinfection schedule of classroom: tabletops & chairs, doorknobs and handles cleaned & sanitised. All share art equipment to be sanitised after use.
tablecloths cleaned and sanitised after every class
All art shirts to be laundered after every class
OOSH staff collect OOSH kids at 4:40pm.