Johannesburg - Thousands of pupils with special needs will return to school in July, along with Grades R, 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 and 11.
This was confirmed by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s directives, which were published in the Government Gazette on Wednesday.
In July, pupils with special needs AND pupils with autism who are over the age of 18, will return to school.
The group of pupils returning to school in July will also include pupils with severe intellectual disabilities (occupational), those with severe and profound intellectual disabilities and autistic children who are below the age of 13 and those in there final year, who are above 18.
Motshekga said schools with pupils who had special educational needs had to comply with the Covid-19 guidelines.
“In relation to learners who are blind, partially sighted or deaf, all schools must comply with the guidelines for schools catering for such learners, as issued by the Department of Basic Education, accessible on the website of the Department of Basic Education.
“Officials who are unable to practise social distancing from learners with special education needs must be provided by the Provincial Department of Education with appropriate personal protective equipment, including protective clothing, where such provision is necessary,” Motshekga outlined.
In the case of deaf pupils, she said those tasked with symptom screening had to be able to communicate using South African Sign Language.
“Where this is not possible, a sign language interpreter must be available to ensure proper communication with the learners,” she said.
For deaf pupils, the provincial departments had to provide face shields, cloth mask for those with low vision and teachers as well as support staff.
“Where a learner with disabilities does not return to school for any of the reasons… the Head of Department must make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the learner is provided with appropriate learning and teaching support material, assistive devices and therapeutic support,” she said.
Guidelines for deaf pupils said transparent face shields had to be worn as they needed to be able to lipread.
“Face shields need to be cleaned with warm soapy water and dried in the sunlight. Communication should be distributed to parents, learners, educators and all staff on taking care of the face shields,” the guidelines said.
Guidelines for autistic pupils said teachers should be sensitive and expect that there could be challenges in getting some pupils to adhere to the wearing of masks.
“In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, it must be remembered that autistic learners are not used to having to wear a mask, and this in itself may present as a challenge and an additional cause of stress and anxiety in the learner.
“Wherever possible, schools and educators are encouraged to communicate with parents and ask for their advice on their child and his/her preferences. It is also essential to note, that due to the nature of learners on the Autistic Spectrum, no learner should be forced to ever wear a mask if it causes any distress or anxiety, which is one of the particular challenges these learners can be faced with,” the guidelines said.
The department said to help autistic pupils adjust to the new environment, they could be asked to send photos of themselves wearing masks and other personal protective equipment. Sending voice notes to teachers, who would be required to create familiarity was also recommended to reduce anxiety.
“This will also assist with familiarising those learners who may find it difficult to recognise faces, a condition called prosopagnosia. On return to school, Autistic learners need to know why wearing a mask is necessary.
“Therefore, teachers may use a social story to explain why masks and/or face shields must be used… Learners need to be introduced to different types of face protection for individual introduction and exploration, for instance, cloth masks, surgical masks or face shields,” the guidelines state.
The guidelines said if autistic pupils had comorbidities including epilepsy or cerebral palsy, which lead to drooling, could increase the risk of infection. It was advised that masks or shields of affected pupils had to be cleaned or changed frequently.
“Learners may take each other’s masks, exposing them to possible infections. Again, educators and support must be alert to this possibility and ensure that they always watchful.
“There is a risk of strangulation with elastic of masks. Therefore, educators and support staff must ensure that learners are safe from this danger,” it said.
Meanwhile, pupils with a fever, cough, sore throat, redness of eyes and shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, body aches, loss of smell or loss of taste, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fatigue or weakness, must stay home and not go to school, the document said.