Our COVID-19 Measures

Reducing close-contact during the day

The Swiss Federal and Cantonal authorities have stated that children (especially those 15 years old and under) are low risk for COVID-19 both in terms of developing symptoms and in terms of transmitting the virus. This is based on direct observation of cases in Switzerland. 

We are continuing to implement all sensible measures to further minimise risk. Going forward these measures will be differentiated between the younger students in Pre-school/Primary/Middle School and the older students in High School.

Classrooms: 

• Teachers spend the majority of their time at the front of the classroom, maintaining a 1.5-metre distance between them and the students when practical.
• When teachers and assistants circulate around the class, they are wearing masks.

Common areas:

• The teachers and staff are subject to 1.5m social distancing between adults, and between adults and students.  
• Signage and floor markings are in place to direct the flow of people moving within and between buildings in order to minimise contact.
• Where appropriate and safe, doors are left open to reduce the touching of surfaces.
• As far as possible, windows are opened to provide maximum airflow through the buildings and classrooms.
• Students are able to use their lockers and the surfaces will be cleaned frequently.  
• The Panthers café is open to students and staff only (no visitors/parents) between 7:30am and 5:15pm but is serving only. High School students and staff need to wear masks and to take their purchases outside. We are introducing contactless payment (e.g. credit card, Apple/Google Pay) and encourage that is used whenever possible.
• The vending machines are closed.
• Students are asked not to share their food or drink.

Cafeterias: 

• Pre-school, Primary and Middle School students are seated in the cafeteria as usual.
• High Schools students eat separately and are required to observe social distancing.
• Cutlery, napkin/serviette and tray are pre-prepared by kitchen staff to reduce mixing contact.
• All food are served from behind protective counters (no self-service).
• Students are asked not to share their food or drink.

Water:

• As a precaution, the water fountains are not available and so in order to reduce re-fills. Parents (house parents for boarders) should provide children with their own full water bottles.

Playtime:

• The authorities have specifically directed that children age 15 and under should be allowed to play together as normal, for their social development and mental well-being (even if this means 1.5 metres are not always maintained).

Physical Education (PE) and Music classes (where equipment is shared):

• These classes are going ahead.
• Students are required to wash/sanitise their hands before the lesson.
• Any equipment is cleaned between classes.
• Staff strictly observes the cantonal guidelines for all sports.

Extracurricular activities: 

• All activities take place on campus.
• Appropriate measures are in place for each individual activity.

Trips and excursions: 

• There will be no overnight trips until 1st January 2021 at the earliest.
• During any daytime excursions, all necessary health protection measures are taken.

Masks:

• The authorities have confirmed that masks are not required for children in Pre-school, Primary or Middle-School. If parents want their child to wear a mask during school time they are welcome to send them to school with a mask.
• Masks are required for High School students whilst indoors. They are only required outdoors if they are unable to maintain 1.5m social distancing.  Parents need to provide these masks.
• Please note that masks are required for ALL children on our school buses with the exception of pre-school only.
• CDL staff will be provided with masks.
  • Wearing a mask in a classroom is required for teachers in Pre-School and Grades 1-2 when 1.5m social distancing cannot be maintained.  
  • For teachers in class with all other age groups, masks are compulsory.
• You can find useful information on how to find the right masks and wear them correctly here.

Hand-washing and Hand-Sanitiser:

• Students are required to wash their hands or use sanitiser on arrival on the campus.
• Plenty of soap and opportunity for hand-washing is provided throughout the day.  
• There is hand-sanitiser available throughout the campus (in pre-school this is more directly controlled by the class teachers).
• There is hand-sanitiser at the entrance to both the Léman and Eiger cafeterias.
• We are continuing with our education efforts, including posters around school and constant reminders from teachers:
  • Frequent, proper handwashing and hand-sanitising.
  • Special attention on before/after toilet use, and before/after snacks and meals.
  • No hand-shaking.
  • Coughing or sneezing into the crook of your elbow.

Cleaning:

• A deep clean of the whole campus has been conducted prior to the start of term to guarantee the highest hygiene standard.
• Common surfaces frequently touched (e.g. door handles) are being cleaned three times a day.
• Disinfectant spray is available to the class teachers, in all classes, to clean surfaces throughout the day.
• Every evening there is a campus-wide clean by our professional cleaners.

Daily temperature checks

• This is the responsibility of parents (for boarders it will be the House Parents).
• If a Preschool child's temperature is 38.5°C (101.3 Fahrenheit) and above, students will not be able to come onto campus.
• If a Grade 1-12 child's temperature is 38°C (100.4 Fahrenheit) and above, students will not be able to come onto campus (or in the case of boarder, to leave the boarding house).
• We recommend that you contact your doctor for further advice or one of the hotline numbers on the right-hand side of this page (or bottom of the page if you are on a mobile device)
• If there are no other symptoms, then once a child has been fever-free for 24 hours, they can return to school.

Symptoms and tests

For Preschool students:

• If the child only has a fever under 38.5^o with no other symptom then they can attend school.
• If they present with two or more mild symptoms (fever, rhinorrhea, cough, sore throat, conjunctivitis, earache) then they cannot attend school and need to wait until 24 hours after the symptoms have gone before returning to school.

For students in Grades 1-8:

• Students that present with any mild symptom (fever, rhinorrhea, cough, sore throat, conjunctivitis, earache with or without fever,) cannot attend school and need to wait until 24 hours after the symptoms have gone before returning to school.

For students in Grades 9-12:

• Students who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness (sore throat, cough - especially dry - respiratory failure, chest pain), fever, sudden loss of smell and/or taste, or other symptoms such as headache, a general weakness or feeling of discomfort, muscle pain, a cold, gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach aches) or skin rashes should stay at home and contact their doctor or a screening centre and follow the FOPH's recommendations for sick people.
• If a diagnosis of COVID-19 is confirmed, the cantonal doctor's service will apply the public health measures appropriate to the situation (investigation of the isolation and quarantine measures).
• If a student is ill without COVID-19, they will need to respect the usual rules and only return to school (leave isolation in the boarding house for boarders) after the symptoms have disappeared for 24 hours.

In all cases, if in doubt we recommend that you contact a doctor for further advice or, on the right-hand side of this page (or bottom of the page for mobile device users), you can find the official COVID-19 hotline numbers and a link to the Federal Office of Public Health COVID check tool.

Close contact with a positive case

• In the event that there are any staff or children that have been in close contact with a positive case, we will consult the school doctor and the cantonal authorities on the best way to proceed.  
• You can read more about this in the 'Need to know' section further down this page.

The boarding students benefit from all of the 'whole school' measures outlined above. This section provides a more detailed breakdown of our boarding measures.

Travelling to CDL

• We have provided detailed instructions in our Back to Boarding web page.
• We are requiring all students to return with a COVID- free medical certificate, taken within 72 hours of travelling.

• We are testing all students arriving internationally if they have COVID-19 symptoms on arrival. Students are isolated awaiting results, usually within 24 hours.

• Those travelling from countries where quarantine is specifically required will be able to do so safely under our care. We will test on arrival and re-test after 9 days (making 10 days of quarantine in isolation in total).

• Those arriving from within Switzerland will not have further tests beyond the 72 hours referenced above. Please note that in order to qualify as coming from within Switzerland, students must have been in the country for 14 days before arriving on campus.

• Collection arrangements have been put in place to ensure safety back to school, using only our transport to school and we have made clear quarantine procedures.

• Going off campus for boarders is strictly controlled. We have measures to ensure students can leave site only with permission of parents and staff.

Hygiene

• Prior to the start of term, we conducted a thorough clean of all school indoor environments, including classrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms.

• We have reinforced enhanced daily cleaning procedures in the boarding houses and school.

• Soap and disposable paper towels are available in all washing areas.

• We remind our students and staff about the importance of regular hand washing.

• Hand sanitiser stations are provided at key points in the house and around the campus.

• Appropriate PPE has been provided for any staff performing roles which will require it.

Medical

• Our Medical Centre is staffed by 3 qualified nurses and our experienced doctor, with a combined experience of over 60 years of medical service.

• We have trained staff in the safe management of boarding houses under new guidance and school procedures and in COVID-19 nursing for appropriate staff.

• We have adapted our medical procedures to ensure compliance with the recommendations of public health bodies.

• We are conducting regular temperature checks of all students and staff and of any visitors, including parents.

• Students are encouraged to wear masks or face coverings (other than for activities where this is not advised). Staff and students over 15 are required to wear masks when social distancing is not possible.

• We have set aside suitable isolation areas to care for students who show symptoms and/or test positive.

• We ensure that staff do not work (or have contact with students) if they are unwell.

Facilities

• We require appropriate social distancing in all areas of school.

• We are following the state guidelines to ensure safe occupancy levels of all facilities and areas, including classrooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

• We have allocated appropriate recreation areas (inside and outside) for use by boarders and posted clear procedures about safe occupancy levels.

• Equipment sharing is not possible between students, other than when appropriate cleaning has taken place

• Boarders are not allowed into any bedroom except their own, even to visit.

• Cooking shared meals in the House is not possible. House Parents will only allow supervised individual food preparation.

• We have ensured laundry procedures are clear and safe for students.

• Restrictions on parents entering the buildings have been put into place, to protect the students.

Communication

• All students will be expected to install the Swiss Covid-19 tracking App on their telephones.

• Our dedicated counsellor is available for all stress-related issues.

• Clear notices explaining new procedures are displayed in Houses.

• The Boarding office is always open to allow students and staff the opportunity to raise any concerns.

• We have made it clear that any bullying related to the pandemic will not be tolerated.

• Parents have the number of Justin Usher, our Director of Boarding, for any out-of-hours service while any students are travelling.

• We have provided assurance of continued provision of boarding during all the holidays.

Buses:

• Buses have resumed their normal schedule.
• Hand sanitiser is being used when getting on and off the bus.
• Masks are required for ALL children with the exception of pre-school only (to be provided by parents) and the driver (provided by CDL).

Drop-off and Pick-up:

• We ask parents to use the parking and drop-off areas for the specific school sections (links go to Google Maps):
  • Pre-school: accessible just off Chemin de Montfleury by the playing fields.
  • Primary: accessible just off Avenue Louis-Yung, or via Chemin du Lac
  • Middle and High School: The main school entrance.
• As far as is possible we ask parents to drop off siblings at the appropriate drop-off point for their section so as to reduce movement across campus.
• Parents can come onto the campus when necessary (e.g. meeting with CDL staff) but we ask you not to go into the classrooms and to avoid gathering in groups.
• In Pre-school where one parent can bring their child to the classroom - parents are asked to wash/sanitise their hands before coming in and must wear masks.

Visiting the campus for any reason:

• All visitors must wear masks whilst on campus.
• Anyone with any COVID-19 symptoms cannot come onto the campus.
• We ask that all hygiene measures, including frequent hand washing/sanitising are followed.

As part of our extensive scenario planning, we have taken detailed advice from the authorities and experts on what will be the likely actions in the event of a positive case in our student or staff community:

• Any positive COVID-19 test result will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
• The authorities have made it clear that if a positive result does occur then they are in charge of communicating that to those affected.  
• It has also been made clear to the school that we should not communicate any case to the parent body without the approval of the authorities. 
• The authorities have indicated that if strong 'track-and-trace' measures are in place (either via the SwissCovid mobile app or our own internal records) then broad closure is unlikely.
• It is not possible at this time to provide exact guidance on what will happen in such an event as each case depends on the specific circumstances.
• We do commit to communicating with parents the information that the authorities confirm we can share at the earliest possible moment.

It is our collective responsibility as a community of parents, students and staff to follow the COVID-19 health protection measures on this page in order to minimise the chance of COVID-19 transmittion and ensure that classroom learning can continue as normal.

Day parents

• Any families where a member of their household has travelled to a quarantine country within the last 14 days must complete this declaration and send it to info@cdl.ch.
• We strongly recommend regularly checking the latest government advice on travelling.

Boarding parents

• We have shared extensive travel guidance by email and it is available on our Back to Boarding web-page.
• We strongly recommend regularly checking the latest government advice on travelling.
• Please remember that parents of all arriving students must complete this declaration form. 

The academic year has begun with full face-to-face classroom learning.

We understand that some families, particularly due to travel constraints, and especially boarders, will not be able to arrive on day one, and for those exceptional cases, we are making our Virtual School Experience available until they can join their classroom.

Whilst we believe that the measures outlined above will minimise the probability of any classroom closure, should this happen we are well-prepared with the Virtual School Experience. This builds in the learning from parents, students and staff from the last two terms as well as best practice from across our 68 Nord Anglia sister schools.

We take pride in delivering an outstanding education to every student, tailored to their individual learning needs and inspired by the global best practice even in challenging circumstances.

We are ready and equipped to continue inspiring the students with innovative lessons, unique learning opportunities and high-quality teaching as part of our blended learning approach.

Our Virtual School Experience has two key aspects:

• Connected time where students can learn from their teachers ‘live’ using our safe and secure online platform. 
• Guided time where pupils learn independently through tailored tasks set by their teacher.

Striking the right balance between on and offline learning time allows students to make the most of personalised learning from home, no matter what year group they are in.

You can read more about the Virtual School Experience here.