The guidance is additional guidance for pre-school education settings, to be read alongside the overarching Northern Ireland Re-opening School Guidance - New School Day.
The guidance is written with a view to providing a planning framework for the “day one” restart of schools and should be seen in that context.
It provides an overarching framework for the re-opening of schools and education settings in Northern Ireland, with the aim of ensuring broad consistency and equity across local areas, but is sufficiently flexible to allow education settings and staff to adapt and adopt approaches that best suit their needs.
It has been developed as part of an overall Education Restart Programme, co-designed by the Department of Education, school leaders and key partners. Engagement has also taken place as part of an ongoing process with a consultation group comprising Managing Authorities, trades unions and sectoral support bodies that began in March 2020.
Summary of Key Scientific and Public Health Advice
To promote transparency with regard to the scientific, public health and wider policy judgements that have informed the approach set out in this guidance, the guidance links to published scientific and public health advice.
Pre-School Education - Guidance for Re-opening Settings - 5 March 2021