How has Europe managed the reopening of it’s schools?
According to reports the re-opening of schools in 22 European countries has not caused any significant increase in Coronavirus infections. This news is very welcome for the UK as many are worried about re-opening even with social distancing measures. Measures from around Europe include things like limiting class sizes to 15 pupils and in France only reopening schools in areas deemed lower risk by the government. In the Netherlands students will go back on a part time basis on the 1st June, in Norway schools have been open since late April, Germany also went back in April and has been enforcing strict in class social distancing measures with small class sizes. This approach seems to be the norm now.
How will the UK deal with reopening schools?
According to the BBC the social distancing measures in schools being discussed for June reopening are:
- Limited class sizes (15 seems to be the suggested number)
- Groups of students will take it in turn to study at home and at school on different days, for alternate weeks or in the morning and afternoon
- Breaks will be taken at different times
- Classroom layouts will be altered so that only one student is at a desk and there is a two metre gap between them and the next student.
What do teachers think about schools going back?
Teachers are obviously worried about being able to maintain social distancing in the classroom and are keen to stress that teaching methods have changed so that pupils and teachers move around more during lessons. Other teachers, like Blair Minchin in Glasgow point out that logistics for this sort of thing are hugely difficult in larger schools. Mandatory handwashing is hard to enforce and will require multiple wash stations around campus.
What can zioxi do to help with social distancing measures in schools?
So what do you need that we can help with? Ideally desks that are agile and designed for a single student, but that can fit together with other desks and also be used in groups when lockdown is over. The zioxi t41 single desk is strong, light and easy to move around and it’s designed for a single student. But they can also be clustered together and stacked away if space is needed. And the top is made from highly resilient compact material that can be cleaned with the toughest cleaning agents, allowing you to kill all germs in classrooms.
Wooton Primary School in Northamptonshire are using zioxi t41s and zioxi T-Chairs for social distancing as seen on BBC Breakfast News Friday 22nd May
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zioxi t41s with large gaps between each desk -
t41 tables are easy to clean -
pupils can move the desks around as they are light and have wheels 
