Parents’ and teachers’ attitudes to and experiences of the implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures in primary and secondary schools following reopening of schools in autumn 2020: a descriptive cross-sectional survey
Shamez N Ladhani,
Chris Bonell,
Samuel E Jones,
Meaghan Kall,
Joanne Beckmann,
Sinéad M Langan,
Zahin Amin-Chowdhury,
Felicity Aiano,
Joanna Garstang,
Shazaad Ahmad,
Andrew J Brent,
Neisha Sundaram,
James Hargreaves,
Georgina Ireland,
Marta Bertran,
Annabel Powell,
Bernadette E Brent,
Frances Baawuah,
Ifeanychukwu Okike
Affiliations
Shamez N Ladhani
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Chris Bonell
Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Samuel E Jones
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Meaghan Kall
COVID-19 National Epidemiology Cell, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Joanne Beckmann
Specialist Children & Young People`s Services, East London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Sinéad M Langan
Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Zahin Amin-Chowdhury
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Felicity Aiano
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Joanna Garstang
College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Shazaad Ahmad
Department of Virology, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
Andrew J Brent
Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Neisha Sundaram
Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
James Hargreaves
Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Georgina Ireland
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Marta Bertran
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Annabel Powell
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Bernadette E Brent
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
Frances Baawuah
Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division, UK Health Security Agency, London, UK
Ifeanychukwu Okike
Derbyshire Children`s Hospital, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK
Objective To assess implementation and ease of implementation of control measures in schools as reported by staff and parents.Design A descriptive cross-sectional survey.Setting Staff and parents/guardians of the 132 primary schools and 19 secondary schools participating in COVID-19 surveillance in school kids (sKIDs and sKIDsPLUS Studies).Main outcome measure Prevalence of control measures implemented in schools in autumn 2020, parental and staff perception of ease of implementation.Results In total, 56 of 151 (37%) schools participated in this study, with 1953 parents and 986 staff members completing the questionnaire. Most common measures implemented by schools included regular hand cleaning for students (52 of 56, 93%) and staff (70 of 73, 96%), as reported by parents and staff, respectively, and was among the easiest to implement at all times for students (57%) and even more so, for staff (78%). Maintaining 2-metre distancing was less commonly reported for students (24%–51%) as it was for staff (81%–84%), but was one of the most difficult to follow at all times for students (25%) and staff (16%) alike. Some measures were more commonly reported by primary school compared to secondary school parents, including keeping students within the same small groups (28 of 41, 68% vs 8 of 15, 53%), ensuring the same teacher for classes (29 of 41, 71% vs 6 of 15, 40%). On the other hand, wearing a face covering while at school was reported by three-quarters of secondary school parents compared with only parents of 4 of 41 (10%) primary schools. Other measures such as student temperature checks (5%–13%) and advising staff work from home if otherwise healthy (7%–15%) were rarely reported.Conclusions Variable implementation of infection control measures was reported, with some easier to implement (hand hygiene) than others (physical distancing).
