UNICEF supports Government of Oman to safely re-open nursery schools

After 9 months at home due to COVID-19 restrictions, Andrea Miceli was worried that her 3-year-old daughter, Aurora, would be anxious about returning to her nursery school.

She need not have worried.

“She was super happy and very excited,” Ms Miceli says.

Arriving at Willowbrook Nursery in Muscat, Aurora, excited to see her teacher in person  again and play with her friends, told her mother: “Bye, Mommy. Don’t wait for me. I’m going.”

It was a huge relief, according to Ms Miceli who has noticed that her daughter is happier and more confident now that she’s once again able to learn, play and socialise.

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are a critical window of opportunity in brain development – and children who have stimulation from the earliest possible moment have a better chance to lead fuller and more productive lives.

Recognizing this, UNICEF is working with the Government of Oman to develop a nationwide integrated early childhood development (ECD) strategy. With the pandemic disrupting the provision of ECD services – all education facilities including ECD centres and nursery schools were shuttered in March 2020 – the Government therefore asked UNICEF to assist in developing guidelines for the safe re-opening of ECD centres.

“The closure of ECD facilities meant that very young children were deprived of learning and stimulation in this setting,” says UNICEF Oman Representative Lana Wreikat. “ECD closures also put additional pressure on working parents – especially mothers – who had to juggle childcare and jobs.”

Working with the ministries of social development, health and education, the World Health Organization (WHO) and nursery representatives, UNICEF first conducted a comprehensive risk assessment and ECD landscape analysis on which to build the guidelines. These provide clear directions for ECD staff and outline their responsibilities to maximize the educational, developmental and health benefits for children, teachers, staff, and the wider community, while diminishing the potential for a renewed surge in case numbers. 

The guidelines also include detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) covering all aspects of daily life at nurseries including sanitation and hygiene, pick-up and drop-off, protective measures such as masks and social distancing, as well as teacher-student and teacher-parent interactions. Mental health and psycho-social support considerations to be followed by facilities are also in place.

Following their endorsement by the Minister of Social Development (MOSD) – which is responsible for the ECD sector – and the Supreme Committee for COVID-19, the guidelines were widely disseminated and implemented at facilities. The MOSD announced on 23 November 2020 the re-opening of ECD centres.    

“The protocols are very clear and people have been respecting them so that has helped give me a lot of  confidence,” says Miceli.

Farah Khan is the director of Willowbrook Nursery. She says that throughout the 10 months that nurseries were closed, she was in constant communication with MOSD about the issue of a safe re-opening. Then, as soon as the Government announced that nurseries could re-open MOSD sent over the guidelines and Ms Khan got to work with her team to finalize their own safe re-opening plan. She says that even though they were already very well prepared – having had extensive communication with the ministry and having researched how other facilities in the region and internationally re-opened safely – the final guidelines offered another level of security.

“We were very ready even before we were allowed to re-open – but receiving the guidelines gave us that extra push,” Ms Khan says. “Going through the protocols allowed us to confirm what we had in place and identify any gaps.”

She says MOSD staff conducted an inspection within the first two days of re-opening to ensure all requirements we being met.   

UNICEF Oman is now assisting the MOSD to monitor the implementation of the protocols and   continues to provide risk assessment updates to MOSD as the pandemic evolves based on emerging epidemiological data. UNICEF has also advocated strongly with the Government to ensure that nursery school teachers are given priority within the national vaccination campaign.  

Penny Abbott, a nursery teacher at Willowbrook, says she is delighted to have the children back in class after months of online lessons.  She says the children have “definitely been affected by the lockdown,” noting that they are less academically advanced, have more temper tantrums and lack concentration. But, she says, being back in the nursery environment has proved beneficial.

“A lot of parents have come in and said that their child’s  behaviour has calmed down and that they are better behaved now they are back into the normal work – which obviously makes for happier children and happier parents.”