The Minister of Education, Poli Suárez, presented this Tuesday the framework protocol for the educational centers of the Canary Islands to face with more guarantees episodes of high temperatures such as the one that occurred last October, when after several days of extreme, continuous and generalized heat, it was decided to suspend the educational activity throughout the archipelago.
Conceived as "a framework of guidelines to guide the Canary Islands educational community, so that it can prepare and respond, effectively and efficiently, to situations of exceptional high temperatures", the protocol has been designed by personnel of the Ministry itself with the support of the regional departments of Health and Security and Emergencies, adapting to the reality of the islands similar examples existing in other territories.
In addition, it has been sent to the School Council of the Canary Islands, where all groups of the educational community are represented, and to the parliamentary groups, in case they want to make contributions.
"This is an open document, which will be reviewed and updated periodically, and which will require different levels of coordination", according to Poli Suárez, who recalled that "there was nothing similar in the Canary Islands until the arrival of this team to the Ministry".
"It was necessary to design a document that would be valid for the entire archipelago, not only in the face of certain meteorological circumstances, but for each island, region, municipality and center," said the counselor, who stressed the importance that coordination will always have at the center level as well as between these and the educational administration (Territorial Directorate, Island Directorate, Central Services...) or with external agents (local health services, other emergency and protection services, city councils...).
Thus, the protocol will be adapted to the reality of all non-university educational centers in the archipelago financed with public funds (therefore, public and subsidized), for which, together with the introduction, it will include among its mandatory sections a contextualization where the following aspects will be included: description of the center, material and human resources, characteristics of the students, especially the most vulnerable, complementary services or extracurricular activities.
Especially noteworthy is the section that, in line with what the Ministry has been doing in recent months, reflects actions previously planned by the center to deal with heat waves and high temperatures (verification of the state of shade spaces and other available means, establishment of communication channels with the educational community, verification of the availability of computer resources for teachers and students as well as didactic programs for a possible distance learning scenario) and, above all, the one related to measures and actions in the face of different levels of risk.
Four levels and measures
The protocol establishes the existence of four levels, 0, 1, 2 and 3, which imply respectively absence of risk, low, medium and high risk, and intervention measures in the face of them, and the measures foreseen in a lower one can be applied in each higher level.
Level zero (green) implies temperatures below 33 degrees in the province of Las Palmas and 34 in that of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In the absence of risks, no specific measures are foreseen for this situation, considered as normal.
Level 1 (low or yellow risk) will be activated when there is a yellow warning and will involve the dissemination of general information and recommendations to the educational community and the application of ordinary measures, which must be authorized by the management team of the center.
Among them, those that Health usually recommends for these cases: stay in cool, shady or air-conditioned places and use outdoor spaces only for reasons of force majeure and taking into account the risks due to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation; reduce physical activity and outdoor sports in the hottest hours; drink frequently, even if you do not feel thirsty, regardless of the physical activity performed and avoiding caffeinated, energy or sugary drinks or eat light meals to replenish salts lost through sweat.
In addition, pay attention to vulnerable people; wear light, loose and breathable clothing; consult health professionals for certain symptoms that require immediate specialized action; keep blinds down and open windows only in the coolest hours; cool the environment with existing ventilation systems; extend the number of breaks to facilitate hydration and, if necessary, modify spaces where classes are taught for greater well-being of people.
Finally, already in this context (level 1), the absences of vulnerable students may be considered justified provided that certain requirements are met and the monitoring of educational activity is guaranteed by the means established by the center for non-face-to-face teaching scenarios. It is also recommended to keep their medications in cool places so as not to alter their components and effects.
Level 2 (medium or orange risk) is equivalent to the orange warning and will translate once again into the dissemination of information and recommendations, but also into extraordinary measures, with special attention to students at risk or vulnerable (students of Early Childhood Education or general students with chronic diseases or disabilities).
Specifically, the early and optional departure of students from the center and the modification of the school schedule and/or curricular activities could be applied.
However, the early departure will require information to the School Council/Social Council and subsequent authorization from the corresponding Territorial or Island Directorate. Once the measure has been authorized, it must be communicated to the area inspector and to the families in the manner established by each center, although it can never be carried out before 12:00 hours and without authorization from the legal representatives of the minor students, who will carry out the collection according to the procedure also established by the center. Students who remain in it will be attended according to their usual day, and the dining and transportation services will not suffer changes either, while complementary and extracurricular activities may be postponed or suppressed.
Regarding the modification of the school schedule and curricular activities, the centers may adapt the Physical Education schedule, so that it is taught first thing in the morning, carry out alternative activities in the hottest hours or redistribute and transfer students to places of rest, covered or shady, among others.
Finally, level 3 (high or red risk), which will be activated with a red warning, will involve, again, general information and recommendations, but also direct intervention on the vulnerable educational population with the application of a single exceptional measure: non-face-to-face teaching, whose adoption will require the same requirements as those foreseen for early departure in level 2.
To carry it out, the centers must have foreseen the change from the face-to-face modality to the non-face-to-face modality quickly and efficiently, contemplating it in their programs.
In addition, simulations are recommended during the course so that teachers and students are familiar with non-face-to-face teaching and, finally, it may be determined in a motivated way that certain groups continue to attend the center in person, with appropriate prevention and safety measures and modifying schedules, if necessary.
All this may be graduated or modulated according to the evolution of the conditions or by change in risk level, with the information of the management to the educational community and the advice of the Inspection. In addition, it will be disseminated as established by the School Council or the Social Council and within the Self-Protection Plan.
In that sense, it will be up to the management teams to adapt the framework protocol to their center, for which they will have the advice and collaboration of the person coordinating Occupational Risk Prevention, the area inspector and the Occupational Risk Prevention Service of the General Directorate of Personnel and Teacher Training.
Therefore, together with the evaluation of the protocol itself after each of its applications by the centers, its sections must also include training for teachers and annexes with contacts of the concurrent services for easy and quick location.
As a summary, "the margin of error in decisions will be reduced, the response will be accelerated, security will be given to the educational community, the understanding and coordination of preventive and organizational measures will be facilitated and the distribution of functions is clarified, in advance", concluded Suárez, for whom all this has been done "with realism, clarity, pragmatism and, what is more important, with knowledge, in order to comply with a series of objectives: to safeguard the well-being and health of all members of the educational community, to guarantee the right to education of all students in exceptional situations, to also guarantee a rapid initial response to this type of episodes; to increase aspects such as safety, efficiency, surveillance, adequacy of measures and coordination, and to establish self-protection habits, among others".
