Abstract:
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease was declared an
international public health emergency as the virus spread across
many countries and territories. Due to the rapid rate the virus was
spreading, the South African president announced the closure of
schools in March 2020. The protection of children and teachers
was incredibly important. Precautions were necessary to prevent
the potential spread of COVID-19 in school settings; however,
care had to be taken to avoid stigmatising students and staff who
may have been exposed to the virus. With a phased-in approach
to grades returning to school, school leaders had to ensure that
their environment was safe, conducive, welcoming, respectful,
inclusive and supportive at all times. A qualitative case study,
involving individual interviews with principals, was conducted
using the Health Theoretical Framework of attitudes, behaviours
and communication (ABCs) to investigate how school leaders
were ensuring a safe and conducive environment for teachers
and learners. The findings highlighted establishing an emergency
School Management Team to be the COVID-19 point of contact,
implementing social distancing, frequent sanitising, mask-wearing,
daily screening, encouraging flexible school times and promoting
the outdoor classroom. Staff with comorbidities were assigned noncontact
duties.
