What health protocol for the start of the school year? In his press conference on April 22, Prime Minister Jean Castex detailed the terms of the start of the school year for schools, colleges and high schools.

Face-to-face at school, distance learning in middle and high school

First point to remember: the return schedule. While all nursery and primary school students will return to class on Monday April 26, middle school and high school students will first resume distance learning.

In these establishments, the return to class in person will take place on May 3. This start of the school year will be half-gauge for all high school students but also for middle school students in 4th and 3rd classes in the 15 departments where the virus circulates the most: Aisne, the North, the Hauts-de-Seine, the Seine. -Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Oise, Val-d’Oise, Val-de-Marne, Essonne, Yvelines, Paris, Loire, Sarthe, Rhône and Bouches -du-Rhône.

Read also: Deconfinement: in May, we almost do what we want

Canteens to avoid

As the sunny days set in, the government is also encouraging outdoor classes as soon as possible.

The canteens remain open, with a two-meter spacing now required between the students. In an interview with Le Parisien, the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer nevertheless designates these refectories as “the weak link of the school“and recommend”parents not to send their child to the canteen when they can“.

Saliva tests at school

For this new school year, the government is counting on a ramp-up of tests. In elementary schools, 400,000 saliva tests against covid-19 will be deployed when classes resume. The target is 600,000 tests per week by mid-May.
College students will also have access.

Self-tests for teachers

For students over 15 and for National Education staff, the government has ordered 64 million self-tests. These tests, which are carried out with a nasal swab, are simpler and lighter than PCR tests and their result is known in 15 minutes.

Staff will be required to perform the tests at home as of the start of the school year, at the rate of two tests per week. Then, from May 10, high school students will be subject to it every week, within their establishment.

Closing of classes based on a positive case

What will happen if positive cases are detected? “We will close the class as soon as there is a case of contamination“, specifies the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer.

This measure “will necessarily lead to a certain number of closures, but obviously it is much better to have 1% of classes in France closing than to have 100% of schools“closed,” added the minister.

Patent and bac maintained

Finally, Jean-Michel Blanquer announced that the patent and the bac were maintained. For the BAC, “we maintain the two terminal control tests planned, that is to say the philosophy writings and the test of the grand oral“end of June. The summer vacation will start well on July 6.