Running sessions under Level 2

Information last updated 1 March 2021 

In general, the things to remember are:

· Maintain and promote good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette

· People should stay away if sick

· Maintain regular cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces

· Display your QR code posters at entrances and encourage all of your community to download the NZ COVID Tracer App and use it if they come on-site – this is now mandatory. Click here to request another copy of your QR code

· It is vital that members and visitors sign in on the tablet for the purposes of contact tracing

Food & drink

· Children will continue to have their own food containers/plates and need to be supervised closely to ensure they do not give and take food to and from each other.

· If providing food prepared at your Centre, food handlers must adhere to good hygiene practices. Shared platters are not appropriate, but individual portions could be distributed to children.

· Make sure that tamariki and adults are not sharing cups, cutlery, plates, etc.

Centre Hire

Centres need to ensure that anyone who hires their centre agrees to follow the centre’s cleaning practices and observes any limitations about group gatherings.

You can find further Ministry of Education guidance and licensing information here – Health-and-safety-for-COVID-19-Licensed-Early-Learning-Services-Alert-Levels-1-4

Cleaning

Please refer to this document released by the Ministry of Education – Health-and-safety-for-COVID-19-Licensed-Early-Learning-Services-Alert-Levels-1-4

Further advice on disinfecting: A Reminder of the guidance in Ngā Kupu Oranga relating to Cleaning and Disinfecting:

Good disinfectants to use are things that contain hypochlorite (which is the main active ingredient in bleach) or activated hydrogen peroxide (0.5%). The Ministry of Health recommends that ECE services will need to use a disinfectant that has at least 2% hypochlorite.

Supermarket bleach is usually 5% hypochlorite but can be 2.5% or 10% for “premium bleach”.

· If 5% hypochlorite, then a 1% solution should be used (1-part bleach to 100 parts water).

· If 2.5% hypochlorite, then a 2% mixture is best (1-part bleach to 50 parts water).

Visitors

· It is considered safe to have visitors at Playcentre during Covid19 Alert Level 2.

· If your centre has been closed either because of a Level 3 lockdown, or a confirmed Covid19 case it is reasonable to defer welcoming any new visitors onto your sessions for a short time while you settle back into your centre.

· We really encourage centres to maintain communication with these people during this time, and assure them that we will contact them to arrange a visit as soon as possible. If someone walks in off the street, then have this conversation with them with sensitivity and remember how hard it can be to walk into a new setting for the first time. Link potential visitors into the Virtual Village and encourage them to access our play resources there while we get ready to welcome them in.

Contact tracing

All businesses and services are required to display the official NZ COVID Tracer QR code posters in a prominent place at or near the main entrances to each of their premises. Click here to request another copy of your QR code

Meetings

Centres do not need to observe restrictions on group sizes when holding business meetings as in this context we would be considered as a workplace. Members should be seated 1 metre apart and social distancing and hygiene practices should be encouraged. That being said, many of us have embraced online tools for meetings, and we encourage you to continue to make good use of these. You can find information about using online meeting platforms in the Virtual Village.