HAT ACADEMY OPERATIONS PLAN SPRING 2021
SUMMARY AND ASSUMPTIONS:
Since 2016, arts education and learning has been an essential part of our programming. With the threat of COVID-19, the Highland Arts Theatre and affiliated HAT Academy have spent the past year rigorously re-defining our practices and procedures and developing new guidelines for operation that will ensure the safety of all involved.
After a successful Winter 2021 Semester, we are thrilled to have received confirmation from Dr. Strang and the Health Authority of Nova Scotia that after-school programmes will be able to continue operating (under new health procedures) and the following is the current draft of our plan for re-opening based on the procedures outlined by the province.
In the weeks leading up to the start of classes we undergo special training with all Staff to ensure everyone is on the same page and thoroughly prepared. We are confident that our team will have what is needed to keep everyone safe and operate these programmes to the highest standards of public health while ensuring a fun creative learning environment for all involved.
We present this plan under the umbrella of the public health guidelines for Nova Scotia and no Staff, Instructors, or Participants will be able to come onsite if they answer yes to any of the Questions listed in Appendix A (COVID Screening Questions).
Further, we will accept no more than 12 Participants in each class. Each week, there will be multiple classes operating independently within their own isolated classroom of the Academy building. When considering the gathering limit size, we needed to ensure that the size of the area for the programming could accommodate physical distancing for every person in the area, if necessary.
We understand that in putting our plan in place, it will be vital throughout our daily operations to ensure proper handwashing, good hygiene, contact traceability, and stringent recordkeeping, by all.
While we want everyone to have a good time, we must be explicitly strict about the guidelines and practices covered in this plan. We will have a “Two Strike” rule firmly in place: if any Participant deliberately disobeys an Instructor or Staff Member on matters of health, they will be asked to correct their behaviour once and if it happens again they will be required to go home. See our Behaviour Policy and Refund Policy for more information.
Finally, we want to affirm that these policies are a living document. We will revise as necessary based on new information that is revealed about the nature of COVID-19 and on-going updates from national and provincial health guidelines. We recognize that if there is an increase in cases in the province, any operations may be required to cease.
CONTACT TRACING
We will ensure all families understand that attendance at classes means that they will be part of contact tracing information provided to the government should it become necessary or advisable.
Infection Mitigation Coordinator - We will assign a specific employee to take on this role and they will have the following functions:
▪ Coordinate with, communicate, and help implement public health guidelines.
▪ Develop and implement event health plans.
▪ Ensure that existing safety plans are modified for compatibility with new health plans.
▪ Oversee Staff training that applies current information about hazards and infection control measures, including social distancing, handwashing, and disinfecting high-touch surfaces.
▪ Determine if a Staff member or Participant may safely enter the event space when there is a health concern.
PROVINCIAL GUIDELINES
We will be following Provincial guidelines at all times when operating our Spring Semester of classes. We are aware that these guidelines can change at any time and our Operations Plan and practices will be updated to reflect this.
Current guidelines that are relevant to our programmes:
Gathering Limits for After School Programmes
“Before-school programs and after-school programs can open with up to 15 children in each group without maintaining a physical distance of two metres (6 feet). Different groups of 15 must maintain physical distance. Programs need to follow the Health Protection Act Order and their sector-specific plans. Sector-specific plans should follow guidance from Public Health.” (https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/restrictions-and-guidance/#business-restrictions)
Requirements for Self-Isolation
You’re legally required to self-isolate for 14 days if you:
▪ are waiting for your COVID-19 test results
▪ have tested positive for COVID-19
▪ have tested negative for COVID-19, but had close contact with someone who has or is suspected to have COVID-19
▪ have been told by Public Health that you may have been exposed and need to self-isolate
▪ are returning from travel outside Atlantic Canada, even if you don't have symptoms
This means that if you are Self-Isolating for any of these reasons, you will not be able to attend classes.
(https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/restrictions-and-guidance/#self-isolation-requirements)
POLICIES ON FACILITY AND STAFF ILLNESS
All Staff must notify the Education Coordinator and stay home from work if they have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 that are not explained by another medical or allergic condition. We advise that Staff contact 811 and follow their instructions and advice. Masks will be optional, unless made mandatory with Provincial restrictions (they are currently excluded from afterschool activities in the provincial mandate).
Staff and Instructors
▪ If an Instructor or Staff Member exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 upon arrival to work, or becomes sick during the class time, the Education Coordinator must separate them from Participants and other Staff and send them home or to the designated isolation area immediately.
▪ Documentation: The Education Coordinator will document the circumstances of the Staff Member’s illness to help with contact tracing, as applicable, by filling out an Incident Report form (Appendix E).
▪ Contact with Symptomatic Workers: Anyone who has been in close contact with a person known to have had the virus, or whose family or friends have been exposed, should behave as if they are infected, isolate themselves, and call 811 for further advice.
▪ Returning to Work: Staff with symptoms of COVID-19 may return to work after (a) home isolation for 14 days since their first symptoms or positive test, (b) medical authorization, or (c) a negative COVID-19 test result.
▪ We will ensure Staff understand that they will be fully supported if they need to remove themselves from scheduled work without fear of reprisal.
▪ We will ensure Staff privacy during such times.
▪ We will have alternate Staff on call and available as necessary to avoid disruption of programs.
Participants
• If a Participant exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 upon arrival to class, or becomes sick during class time, an Incident Report (Appendix E) will be filled out, the family will be immediately called for pick up, and public health professionals will be notified once a positive case is confirmed.
• Any family with an ill child will be given options to ensure they do not hesitate to keep their children at home if they are ill, see our Refund and Credit Policy for more information.
• We will ask the family to inform us if symptoms persist and if there is a diagnosis of COVID-19, and will immediately inform public health, and follow guidance and provide contact tracing information.
RESPONDING TO CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19
If a Staff Member is confirmed to be infected with COVID-19, they will immediately notify the Education Coordinator, who should do the following:
▪ Notify the local public health authority if necessary.
▪ Determine what areas of the venue were visited, used, or impacted by the infected Staff Member (the “Impacted Areas”).
▪ Determine which other Staff had close contact with the infected Staff Member (the “Impacted Workers”).
▪ Notify all Staff and Participants that may have had contact with an infected Staff Member that additional measures will be determined based on potential risk and relative contact.
▪ Any Staff Member who tests positive for COVID-19 will remain in home isolation for at least 14 days after symptoms begin. They should follow health authority guidance.
▪ Impacted Staff or Participants who have been in close contact with a person who tests positive for COVID-19 should follow Provincial Public Health Guidelines and Protocols and be tested to ensure that they did not contract COVID-19.
STAFF (and Instructors)
General
Staff will be required to remain on-site during class time.
▪ All Staff during off time will be required to adhere to the physical distancing guidelines.
▪ The Education Coordinator will be responsible for making sure that these guidelines are being adhered to.
• The staff room will also be limited to the NS Public Health gathering limit.
Staff Training
While our staff training is always to the highest standards, we have added time to ensure all Staff and Instructors are extremely confident and competent in their roles and responsibilities to keep our community safe through our programs, and in their off-time, using the public health materials provided by the government of Nova Scotia Website.
We have added additional cleaning regimens and developed new activities to ensure those in our programs have a wonderful time while keeping safe and healthy. All our Staff are taught and mentored in excellent hygiene, including practicing frequent handwashing, not touching their faces and practicing good cough etiquette.
Staff will be required to complete training before starting work in the form of an Orientation Day.
Staff will be required to sign an understanding and compliance document at the completion of their training.
PARTICIPANT PRE-SCREENING
• Pre-screening of Participants will take place in the week before classes begin.
• We will ask that the Participant’s parents or guardians adhere to the following instructions and aid us in their successful class entrance.
▪ Self-screening for the presence of symptoms as presented by NS Public Health within the past two weeks.
▪ Participants and their families are required to have not left Nova Scotia for 14 days prior to the start of class, and to remain within the Province until the course is completed.
• If the Participants fail to successfully follow this screening or show symptoms, they will be asked to not come to class for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result for COVID-19. See the Refund or Credit Policy for more information.
DAILY OPERATIONS
Classroom Spaces
• We have measured all program spaces and have a detailed layout plan to ensure physical distancing is possible.
• We have rearranged the layout of the space to reduce congestion and removed unnecessary high touch surfaces.
• Classes will all take place in the same space in order to limit the amount of traffic in halls and stairways and the amount of cross-contamination between groups.
• We will provide visual markers to ensure that all Staff and Participants can easily adhere to physical distancing at all times.
• If using outdoor spaces we will still ensure all physical distancing requirements are met.
• Every space will have a hand sanitizer available as well as a minimum of two washrooms with multiple sinks.
• There will be no more than 12 Participants, one Instructor, and two Support Staff in each space and Participants will be under constant supervision.
• As per current Provincial guidelines, our Participants do not have to physically distance during class time. We will give each Participant (parent/guardian if the Participant is under 18) the option to opt-out. If any Participant wishes to remain physically distanced, the whole class will remain physically distanced. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.
Physical Isolation Space
• We have designated a specific isolation space should it be necessary to remove any Participant or Staff exhibiting symptoms or due to behaviour, see our Behaviour Policy for more information.
Art, Recreation, and other Supplies
• There will be no sharing of supplies and materials.
• Participants will be asked to bring their own writing supplies if necessary for the class.
• Any larger tools/supplies will be disinfected between use and used adhering to physical distancing protocol.
• The organization will have full sets of disposable masks for all campers and staff in case it becomes mandated or highly advisable to wear them.
• The organization will have a set of full P.P.E. (gloves, mask, and face shield) in case of a Participant or Staff Member falling ill, to allow Staff to transport the Participant to the designated Isolation Space and remain with them until their family can come pick them up.
Transportation
• It will be the responsibility of the participants' families to transport them to and from class.
• We will advise Participants’s families not to carpool to transport them to and from class unless they are following Provincial guidelines.
Participant Sign-In and Out
• Participant Sign-In and out will be held inside our lobby, to limit any individual coming into our classroom space that is not a Participant.
• Drop off can be no earlier than 15 minutes prior to class and pick-up must be completed by 15 minutes after class has completed.
• We will restrict drop-off and pick up of a Participant to one family member. We will require a list of names of who can pick up each Participant under 18 from parents/guardians prior to the start of the class in order to keep the Participants safe.
• During Sign-In, Staff will ask Participants or any family members to report any health concerns that would prevent them from participating in the program and confirm that they are not experiencing any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19.
• Upon Sign-In and entering the building, all Participants will be required to wash their hands.
• Physical distancing will be maintained between any groups starting class at the same time and Staff will escort one group at a time into their classroom. At the end of the class, one group at a time will be led to the pickup area by Staff in order to prevent congestion.
Vocal Classes
▪ Participants will be physically distanced from the Instructor.
▪ Face Shields are mandatory for Adult vocal classes (Senior Sings, Beginner & Advanced Vocal Technique, and Private Vocal Lessons) for Participants and Instructors.
▪ There will be face shields available that will be regularly sanitized in case a Participant forgets their own, but it is the responsibility of the Participant to purchase and bring their own face shield to each class.
DAILY SCHEDULE
Our Participants are always required to wash or sanitize their hands before class, before and after any trips to the washroom, and before they leave for the day.
Warm-Up and Cool-Down
• Warm-up and Cool down will be done in a way to adhere to physical distancing protocols if necessary.
Classes
• We will not have any classes which require immediate physical contact.
• All instructors have been asked to modify their programs and instruction to allow for physical distancing if necessary.
Classroom Clean-up
• All Participants will be asked to put their own tools and materials back into their own bags.
• Each Participant will be required to wash their hands for the recommended 20 seconds.
• At the end of each day assigned cleaning staff will clean each classroom for the next day, see Cleaning (throughout and end of the day) for more information.
WASHROOM USE
Washrooms will be limited to one person at a time if physical distancing is required, with appropriate methods to encourage a safe line for those waiting. Posters with handwashing techniques are posted in all washrooms.
CLEANING (THROUGHOUT AND END OF DAY)
Cleaning and Disinfecting
(adapted from the Event Safety Alliance Reopening Guide)
• We will clean high-touch areas by using a cleaning solution to remove dirt and impurities from surfaces and objects to reduce germ counts.
• High-touch areas will be disinfected using materials effective against COVID-19.
• End of day cleaning will consist of disinfecting all classrooms, after which they will be inaccessible until the next morning, except for the Instructor.
• The Staff room will be cleaned and disinfected at the end of the day
Documentation
• The Education Coordinator ensures that cleaning logs are carefully entered and preserved for reference.
BEHAVIOUR POLICY
Due to the severity of COVID-19 and the importance of keeping our Participants safe, we are taking our behaviour policy very seriously.
▪ There is a 2-strike system in place: any Participant who purposely puts other Participants or Staff at risk will be given one warning which will be documented in an Incident Report (Appendix E) and their parent/guardian will be contacted.
▪ After the first strike, any behaviour that purposely puts another Participant or Staff Member at risk will result in an Incident Report being completed, and a parent/guardian called for immediate pickup, or the Participant will be isolated from the rest of the group until pick up.
▪ In these instances, we will not be offering a refund.
▪ We recognize this is an unprecedented time for all of us, and we will of course be guiding this policy (and all policies) from a perspective of compassion and common sense, but we are responsible for the safety of every Participant as well as our Staff and in the case of intentional insubordination we must be strict.
REFUND OR CREDIT POLICY
Any Participant who is identified through pre-screening as not able to come, or who must leave because they become ill will be given the option of a credit toward a future class, a tax-deductible charitable receipt, or a pro-rated refund for the time missed.
Rachael Murphy (she/her)
Education Coordinator, Highland Arts Theatre