Health and Safety (COVD19) Policy and Procedures
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Please note that your participation in our In-Person programs requires you to ensure that you have read this document in its entirety to make yourself aware of all parent/guardian and child responsibilities to help us prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Administration

  • Our staff have received training on health and safety practices
  • We have a Health and Safety committee who has reviewed all the required Ministry of Health guidelines and are actively keeping themselves abreast of what is required
  • We have an infectious disease preparedness and response plan established as per ministry guidelines to address risks within our workplace and job tasks for our staff
  • Appropriate signage has been placed in our premises for reminder and awareness
  • We have a designated lead supervisor assigned to daily camps to address any concerns

Sanitation & Facility Cleanliness

  • Prior to re-opening to the public, a deep clean sanitization will be performed by an industrial cleaning company
  • After each day of programming, a professional cleaning company will thoroughly sanitize our
  • All students will be assigned a single laptop/tablet/robot to be used for the duration of the camp week. All technology will be sanitized at the end of each
  • Supervisors are sanitizing tables and other key surfaces regularly throughout the

Social Distancing

  • We will maintain social distancing by limiting the number of students in our facility, spreading them out in our center and using non-medical face shields and masks
  • Desk markers will be placed to demonstrate distancing. We have also installed desk level partition shields for further
  • We have limited our registrations to 15 students for our ages 4-7 group and 15 for our ages 8-14
  • Both of these age groups will be in separate areas with their own entrance
  • All registrations will be closed 24 hours prior to the program start date in order to provide time for participants to review all health & safety policies and procedures. No drop-in registrations will be
  • Ages 4-7 camp will be run in our upstairs room (1200 sq ft). There is a separate entrance to access this
  • Ages 8-14 camp will be run in our downstairs room (2500 sq ft). There is a separate entrance to access this
  • There will be no intermixing between our ages 4-7 and ages 8-14 groups during the day. We will have staff specifically allocated to each cohort and there will be no intermixing between these staff.

Pick Up & Drop Off Procedures

  • No individuals other than staff and students will be permitted to enter the STEM Minds
  • Wherever possible, please only bring one adult to pick up/drop off studnets and keep the pick-up/drop-off person consistent throughout the
  • For morning drop off, STEM Minds staff will meet parents/guardians and students outside our main entrances. No one other than the stiudent will be permitted to enter the premises and only after:
    • All students submit to a temperature scan prior to entering the premises.
    • Parents/guardians will sign off indicting that:
      • They have dropped off their child to a STEM Minds staff member
      • Neither their child nor anyone in their household has experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days nor have they come into contact with anyone who has been a confirmed case of COVID-19
      • Neither their child nor anyone in their household have travelled outside of Canada in the last 14 days

Any participants not meeting these requirements will not be permitted to enter the premises.

  • For afternoon pickup, STEM Minds staff will meet parents/guardians outside our main entrances. Upon confirming that the individual picking up the child is an authorized pick up, STEM Minds staff will bring students to the door to leave. Parents/guardians will not be permitted to enter the premises.

Staff & Student Health

  • No students or staff displaying any signs of illness will be permitted to enter the
  • Staff and students will immediately wash their hands upon entering the facilities and prior to leaving, as well as at key points throughout the day (i.e. before eating).
  • All students will participate in a health & safety tutorial on the first day of program related to proper handwashing, cough/sneeze etiquette, etc
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been provided to
  • If required by health authorities, students may be required to wear a face covering during camps. In this case, students will be required to bring their own from home OR can purchase a “PPE care package” from STEM Minds. These care packages will include 1 baseball hat and reusable plastic shield and 1 cloth face mask. Additional cloth face masks can be purchased for an additional fee while supplies last. These “PPE care packages” will be priced at materials cost only.
  • Lessons and activities have been modified in order to promote social distancing.
  • Signs have been posted around the facility to promote proper handwashing, cough/sneeze etiquette,

Communication

  • If any staff or student is identified to have exposure to COVID-19, we will notify York Region Health Services and follow the required protocol. We will also inform parents to ensure there is open
  • In this event, appropriate quarantine practices will be enforced and a deep clean of premises will be done