Children won't be allowed to take their toys to kindergarten and their parents will be kept outside the gates as part of new COVID-19 guidelines.
The rules, to prevent the spread of the virus, released by the Health Ministry also outline a strict cleaning regime when children return later this month.
All toys and surfaces must be sanitised after each use with toilets and changing rooms cleaned at least three times a day.
As well as a toy ban, pushchairs will also not be allowed in the premises. Children with disabilities and special needs who might require special carriers will be exempt from the rule.
As with older students, the children will be placed in bubbles, meaning they will only interact with a specific group of children and educators.
Rooms must be big enough to ensure there is a distance of 1.5 metres for every child, with groups capped at 15 for Kinder 1 and 19 for Kinder 2.
During nap time, children will also be placed away from each other as much as possible, with a distance of at least two metres between each napping mat.
Parents or guardians will no longer be allowed inside the kindergarten centres, while events will also not be held to avoid people who do not attend the school from being inside the building.
And birthdays will also be different this year, with cakes not being allowed as sharing of food is discouraged. Individually packed treats may be allowed, though no food will be taken out of the class.
A COVID-19 liaison officer will be designated at each school and kindergarten and tasked with making sure the school is following the rules.
The number of cleaners in schools has been significantly increased to ensure hygiene protocols are respected, education sources said.
Talks about implementing the protocols began on Tuesday.
UPE's reaction
In a reaction, the Union of Professional Educators – Voice of the Workers said the protocols show complete disregard to social distancing requirements at this level.
The document, it said, was little more than a copy and paste of the original older document presented at the beginning of September.
Although classes will have a maximum of 15 children in Kinder 1, and a maximum of 19 children in Kinder 2, students will be required to sit at round tables, whereby they will be unable to maintain the required social distance of 1.5m between students.
Another area of concern was the role of learning support educators (LSEs), not just at Kindergarten level but at all levels. At Kindergarten level, with the possibility of social distancing already precluded by the seating arrangement, the close contact of the LSE with multiple students in the vicinity of the child being assisted was extremely worrying.
However, even with older students, maintaining social distance would be impossible for most.
LSEs’ health, the union said, was being given secondary importance.
It said it was in communication with the ministry and will push for these issues to be addressed so as to safeguard the health and well-being of all educators involved.
The guidelines can be accessed here.