Some European governments say there are positive signs that the coronavirus appears to be under control.

In Denmark, which was one of the first countries to impose containment, children up to the age of 11 are back in nurseries and schools.  Germany has also begun to allow pupils to return to schools, but has separated desks to respect the rules of social distancing. In Norway, kindergartens have already opened and high schools and universities will partially reopen very soon.

In France, primary school pupils  started returning to school in classes of up to 15 pupils from 11 May.

But how do you prepare children for social distancing?

Social distancing consists in keeping a distance between oneself and others. There is still a lot to be learned about how COVID-19 spreads, but it is thought to be primarily person-to-person. This means that the closer people are in contact with each other, the more likely it is that the virus will spread. Social distancing is the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, which may be especially important for people who are most at risk of disease.

Here are some tips to maintain social distance and limit the expansion of Covid-19 in school:

– Children should wash their hands frequently during the day. It is likely that they will not have a mask, although this is advisable.

– Reduce class size

– Not sending sick children to school

– Avoid queues

– Postpone activities that involve classes meeting.

– Delaying or cancelling large gatherings and events

– Avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.

– Avoiding non-essential displacement

Thinking about props to help children maintain social distance

Slowly but surely, life in China is returning to normal after the coronavirus pandemic. Among those returning to their usual activities are students, who use special headgear to maintain social distance.

Wearing one-metre hats helps keep a distance between the smallest ones. These newly designed hats allow for social distancing standards to be respected.

Another option, to remind children and adolescents of the importance of social distancing, is to create create clothe magnets.

Badges are a good way to help your children remember the importance of social distancing measures. Educators can offer different sizes and formats for different ages. They can use magnetic badges for clothing, secure badges for the little ones… All it takes is finding the right design and the right message.

This page offers customizable design ideas.

https://www.vexels.com/vectors/preview/192975/coronavirus-stay-safe-badge-pack

Teachers will even be able to reward the most proactive children with specific reward badges, of a different colour or size for example.