WHAT PARENTS CAN DO TO HELP

down regularly for testing. Maybe at the end of the year when they write a progression test, but there won’t be much time or need for regular tests to be written,” he adds.

For the Grade 12s everything else stays the same besides the June exams falling away and the dates of the final exams being shifted from October to November. At the time of going to print, the exact dates had yet to be announced and parents were also eagerly awaiting the adjusted school terms and holidays in between to be gazetted.

For now it seems as though matriculants will be examined on the entire 2020 curriculum. Education authorities are concerned that cutting it back would damage the credibility of the exam process.

Machipi is confident that delaying final exams will give matriculants enough time to get up to speed. Eight weeks of the school year have been lost, but by scrapping the June holidays, coupled with other possible measures such as extra afternoon classes and Saturday school hours, he believes learners will be ready.

This isn’t the first time the education sector has faced challenges, he points out.

“We’ve gone through disturbances before – the 2010 Fifa World Cup and the longest public service strike in the same year. We managed to get through those and we’re optimistic that we’ll manage this time,” Machipi says.

In a video clip that’s gone viral, specialist child-abuse investigator Marc Hardwick warns there’s been a lot said on the preparation of schools, but not a lot on actually preparing the kids for their new normal when they return.

He says parents need to “unteach” their children what they taught them about shaking hands and being social, and teach them new ways that’ll help fight the virus.

“We need to be taking time now to make our kids used to wearing a mask when they’re in school.

“We need to – especially for the little six-, seven- and eight-year-olds – give them a mask while they’re playing outside in the garden. Let them learn how to play with the mask for an hour a day,” says Hardwick, founder of The Guardian,

Sa service for the anonymous reporting of child abuse.

“When you’re doing home-schooling, make sure they sit there writing in their books with their mask on for an hour a day. Get them to wash their hands every half an hour. You need to change the mind map they currently understand.”

It’s important that parents know their child’s health is their responsibility, Colditz says. So it’s up to you to ensure your kids are in good health before sending them to school every morning.

And you must teach them the basic principles of staying safe, including the importance of wearing a mask and regularly washing their hands.

“The school’s responsibility only starts when your child arrives at school,” he says.

Parents of kids who have health issues such as asthma have a duty to inform the school so a plan can be made to accommodate them.

Machipi says teachers with comorbidities are required to submit a medical report and provisions will be made for them to work from home.

“As to how, that’s something that still needs to be unpacked,” he says.

‘We’ve gone through disturbances before. We managed to get through those and we’re optimistic we’ll manage this time’