There is a protocol for mainstream primary education and a protocol for special primary education and special education.

The protocols address a number of practical aspects concerning safety and hygiene that can be taken into account when the schools reopen. The government’s decision to reopen the schools is leading. The protocols may be amended based on experiences in practice and are therefore living documents. When reopening, schools and employees are not expected to do the impossible.

The protocol for mainstream primary education has nine principles:

  1. From 11 May, all pupils will attend school for half of the time.
  2. Schools decide for themselves how to arrange the 50% teaching time, while starting from full days of education (in order to create as few movements of pupils and parents as possible and to ensure the best possible connection with out-of-school care).
  3. Pupils do not have to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from one another.
  4. Staff members and pupils should maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from one another as much as possible.
  5. Staff members must always maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from one another.
  6. The available space in the school building should be used optimally, so that as much distance as possible can be created between pupils and between pupils and teachers.
  7. Fixed cohorts are used. This means that all pupils at the school are divided into two groups and the composition of those groups does not change. Pupils do not rotate between the cohorts. Schools strive to place children from the same family in the same cohort as much as possible.
  8. The cohorts are not present at school at the same time.
  9. The participation council is involved in implementing this protocol on the basis of the WMS, with the consultation periods being applied reasonably so that decisions can be made quickly.

This is subsequently elaborated in seven chapters, based on ‘100% of pupils, 50% of the time in-person education’:

  1. General
  2. Attendance of pupils at school and educational provision
  3. In and around the school building
  4. Health
  5. Capacity
  6. Childcare
  7. To be completed by schools in consultation with the participation body, with the requested consultation periods with the GMR being applied reasonably so that decisions can be made quickly.

The protocol for special primary education and special education has six principles:

  1. From 11 May, all pupils in special primary education and special education will attend school; pupils in secondary special education will not yet attend school.
  2. Pupils do not have to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from one another.
  3. Staff members and pupils should maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from one another as much as possible.
  4. Staff members must always maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from one another.
  5. The available space in the school building should be used optimally, so that as much distance as possible can be created between pupils and between pupils and teachers.
  6. The participation council is involved in implementing this protocol on the basis of the WMS, with the consultation periods being applied reasonably so that decisions can be made quickly.

The division into chapters is the same as for mainstream primary education.

The protocols were drawn up by PO-Raad, AOb, CNV Onderwijs, FvOv and AVS, in coordination with LECSO/SBO Werkverband, Vivis, Simea, Ouders & Onderwijs, het Lerarencollectief, Boink, BMK, BK, Voor Werkende Ouders, OCW and SZW.