Abu Dhabi: The Blue Schools Initiative will kick off across Abu Dhabi schools next term, ranking each institution on the basis of overall COVID-19 vaccination rate of its student population.
Announced by Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), the education sector regulator, the scheme aims to bring private and chartered schools closer to a “fully open and normal environment by increasing the vaccination rate within the school community”.
At present, all educators and staff who are physically attending school in the emirate are fully vaccinated, as are all students aged 16 years and older. The Blue Schools initiative, therefore, urges vaccination specifically among students younger than 16 years, for whom vaccination against COVID-19 is still optional.
Earlier this month, Adek released a guide to explain the additional privileges that will be offered to schools that have higher rates of COVID-19 vaccination. As schools gear up to implement the initiative, here is all you need to know about the scheme.
When will the Blue Schools initiative come into effect?
According to a statement made earlier this month by the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee, the initiative will come into effect from “term 2 of the current academic year”. This refers to the term that will begin in January 2022, after the winter break.
How will schools be ranked under the initiative?
Schools will be placed into one of four tiers based on the overall COVID-19 vaccination rate of the student population.
Blue: 85 per cent or more of the students physically attending school are vaccinated.
Green: 65 – 84 per cent of the students physically attending school are vaccinated.
Yellow: 50 – 64 per cent of the students physically attending school are vaccinated.
Orange: Less than 50 per cent of the students physically attending school are vaccinated.
A child is considered vaccinated in the context of this initiative if he/she has received at least one dose of a UAE-approved COVID-19 vaccine.
Where can I see the ranking of my child’s school?
Adek has said that school tiers will be published on its website for parents’ reference once the initiative is implemented, and they will be updated every two weeks. A personalised view for each student will later be made available on the Al Hosn app.
Does this mean that COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory for my child?
No. In its policy, the Adek has clearly said that “a central tenet of the initiative is to respect the personal choice of parents by encouraging, not requiring, the vaccination of students”.
What are the privileges that will provided to schools based on their ranking?
Blue tier
-Physical distancing requirement: This will be removed for students.
-Distance learning, following COVID-19 cases: In a class, contacts will switch to distance learning. The macrobubble — a group of students and individuals physically isolated from other individuals — will only switch to distance learning if eight classes or bubbles, and/or 16 classes in total, report COVID-19 cases. The entire school will only switch to distance learning if four macrobubbles report COVID-19 cases. The switch to distance learning will last only seven days.
-Masks: Students will be allowed to remove masks when outdoors.
-Bus capacity: Buses can operate at 100 per cent capacity.
-Field trips: All kinds of field trips will be permitted.
-Events and extra-curriculars: All events will be permitted, including assemblies and graduation ceremonies. Interschool activities will also be permitted with other schools in the Blue tier. Parents will also be permitted to attend events restricted to their child’s microbubble, as long as they present Al Hosn Green Pass and negative PCR test with 48-hour validity.
-Compliance visits: These will be reduced to once a month.
Green tier
-Physical distancing requirement: All individuals must maintain one-metre physical distance from others, except students grouped in bubbles. So there will be no change from current standards for Green tier schools.
-Distance learning, following COVID-19 cases: A class will switch to distance learning if two positive COVID-19 cases are detected, so there is no change in this requirement. The macrobubble — a group of students and individuals physically isolated from other individuals — will only switch to distance learning if six classes or bubbles, and/or 12 classes in total, report COVID-19 cases. The entire school will only switch to distance learning if three macrobubbles, or 24 people, report COVID-19 cases, so there will be no change in this requirement. The switch to distance learning will only last seven days.
-Masks: Students in Grade 1 and upwards will have to wear masks at all times, so there will be no change in this requirement.
-Bus capacity: Buses will be allowed to operate at 100 per cent capacity.
-Field trips: All outdoor field trips will be permitted.
-Events and extra-curricular activities: All intra-school events will be permitted within students of the same school. Parents will also be permitted to attend events restricted to their child’s microbubble, as long as they present Al Hosn Green Pass and negative PCR test with 48-hour validity.
-Compliance visits: There will be no change from the current compliance visit schedule for these schools.
Yellow tier
-Physical distancing requirement: All individuals must maintain one-metre physical distance from others, except students grouped in bubbles. So there will be no change from current standards for Yellow tier schools.
-Distance learning, following COVID-19 cases: A class will switch to distance learning if two positive COVID-19 cases are detected, so there is no change in this requirement. The macrobubble — a group of students and individuals physically isolated from other individuals — will only switch to distance learning if five classes or bubbles, and/or 10 classes in total, report COVID-19 cases. The entire school will only switch to distance learning if three macrobubbles, or 24 people, report COVID-19 cases, so there will be no change in this requirement. The switch to distance learning will also last for 14 days, in accordance with existing standards.
-Masks: Students in Grade 1 and upwards will have to wear masks at all times, so there will be no change in this requirement.
-Bus capacity: Buses will not be allowed to increase current capacity, which calls for adequate physical distancing between students.
-Field trips: Field trips will not be permitted at Yellow tier schools.
-Events and extra-curricular activities: All grade level events will be permitted at Yellow tier schools.
-Compliance visits: There will be no change from the current compliance visit scheduled for these schools.
Orange tier
No additional privileges will be provided in comparison to current operations. Most notably, this means that Orange tier schools will not be allowed to organise field trips or events, and that students in Grade 1 and upwards must continue to wear face masks at all times while also maintaining one-metre physical distancing.
What COVID-19 vaccines are available for children in Abu Dhabi?
Abu Dhabi vaccination centres offer two COVID-19 vaccines free of charge for children:
Three years and older: Sinopharm
12 years and older: Pfizer and Sinopharm
My child cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons. What can I do to help the school’s ranking?
You can apply for a vaccination exemption at any official COVID-19 vaccination centre. Once this is reflected on your child’s Al Hosn app, you can submit the exemption certificate to the school. Children who have official vaccination exemptions will be excluded when the school calculates its vaccination rate.
How will my child’s privacy be protected, if I choose not to vaccinate my child against COVID-19 at this stage?
The identification of unvaccinated students is strictly prohibited within the school community, as mandated by the Adek. So although your child’s vaccination status will be known to school authorities and relevant government authorities, this information cannot be disclosed to other parents or students.
Adek has also specified in its Blue School Initiatives Policy that the scheme aims to “encourage vaccination, but strongly condemns the discrimination and stigmatization of unvaccinated students who are physically attending school”. Accordingly, an anti-discrimination clause calls upon schools to set up an anti-discrimination and anti-stigmatisation policy of its own, and prohibits schools from request or using a child’s vaccination status during the admissions process. Schools also cannot switch unvaccinated students to distance learning, or prioritise the physical return to school, of children currently in distance learning, based on vaccination status.
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Can a school’s tier change once it has been ranked?
Yes. A school’s tier can drop if it falls below 10 percentage points of the tier threshold (below 75 per cent vaccination rate for Blue tier schools, below 55 per cent vaccination rate for Green tier schools, below 40 per cent for Yellow tier schools).
Schools will then be allowed four-weeks to maintain their tiers, otherwise they will be downshifted, with applicable changes to mask-wearing criteria, distance learning criteria and duration, and frequency of Adek compliance visits. However, downshifted schools will still be allowed to organise field trips and events, and operate buses, based on the higher tier they previously occupied.
