COVID-19

Green Level:

For our school, this means we have the following processes in place to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19

  • All occupied spaces are kept well ventilated

  • Good hygiene practices are encouraged,

    • Hand hygiene

    • Cough and sneeze etiquette

  • Appropriate cleaning regimes are maintained,

    • classrooms are cleaned and disinfected daily

  • Anyone who is unwell must stay home from school and if they have COVID-19 symptoms should get a COVID-19 test and stay home until a negative result is received and they are symptom-free for 24 hours.

  • In the event of any cases or contacts in our school, we will follow public health advice.


So what does Green level mean day-to-day at school?

Everyone who works at the school (paid and unpaid) must have provided proof of being fully vaccinated,

  • All parents are welcome on site however they must sign in at the office or scan the QR code displayed on the classroom doors.

  • All on-site school events can proceed as usual.

  • We will endeavour to ensure all offsite visits we undertake do not require vaccine passes from our children 12years and older to ensure inclusion for everyone regardless of vaccine status. (This will require careful selection of both purpose and venue)

  • All visitors to the school must sign in using the visitors book at the office.


Orange Level:

For our school, this means we have the following processes in place to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19

  • All occupied spaces are kept well ventilated

  • Good hygiene practices are encouraged,

    • Hand hygiene

    • Cough and sneeze etiquette

  • Appropriate cleaning regimes are maintained,

    • high touch areas are regularly disinfected

    • classrooms are cleaned and disinfected daily

  • Anyone who is unwell must stay home from school and if they have COVID-19 symptoms should get a COVID-19 test and stay home until a negative result is received and they are symptom-free for 24 hours.

  • In the event of any cases or contacts in our school, we will follow public health advice.


So what does Orange level mean day-to-day at school?

Everyone who works at the school (paid and unpaid) must have provided proof of being fully vaccinated, However -

schools are prohibited from requiring students to be vaccinated to access education. This includes parents caregivers and whanau supporting students and their learning. So -

  • All parents are welcome on site to drop off and pick up their children, talk with the teachers and look at what their child has been doing at school as long as they maintain 1m physical distancing from everyone over the age of 12 and wear a mask indoors.

  • Large curriculum-based events can go ahead as usual.

  • Should we choose to hold a large non-curriculum based event we will need to follow the general rules for events.

  • All visitors to the school must sign the visitors book in the office. This included parents visiting for seedlings or staying for pre school visits or parent helpers, transport etc.

  • Face coverings are required for children aged 12 and over on all school buses.

  • Children with complex medical needs are encouraged to take precautions when leaving home. The school will work with parents to develop a plan together to support onsite learning.


Please note that we may decide to restrict parent access to school at orange level should current circumstances in our community change.


Red Level:

For our school, this means we have the following processes in place to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19

  • All occupied spaces are kept well ventilated

  • Good hygiene practices are encouraged,

    • Hand hygiene

    • Cough and sneeze etiquette

  • Appropriate cleaning regimes are maintained,

    • high touch areas are regularly disinfected

    • classrooms are cleaned and disinfected daily

  • Anyone who is unwell must stay home from school and if they have COVID-19 symptoms should get a COVID-19 test and stay home until a negative result is received and they are symptom-free for 24 hours.

  • In the event of any cases or contacts in our school, we will follow public health advice.


So what does Red level mean day-to-day at school?

Everyone who works at the school (paid and unpaid) must have provided proof of being fully vaccinated, including a booster 4 months after their vaccination, However -

schools are prohibited from requiring students to be vaccinated to access education. This includes parents caregivers and whanau supporting students and their learning. So -

  • .No non-essential visitors on site.

    • Children are dropped off at the gate in the morning and picked up from the gate in the afternoon.

    • Any parents who need to come on-site (eg accompanying a new student starting school, school visits, drop off or collecting a child during the day or prebooked essential face to face meetings with any staff) must

      • wear a face covering,

      • maintain 1m distance from everyone except their own family and

      • sign in using the QR code and visitors book at the office.

      • Parents are not required to show a vaccine pass.

    • All visitors must come through the school office. They must sign in using the QR code and they must sign the visitors book in the office

    • Essential school support services may visit if necessary. (RTLB, LSC, RTLit, Health Nurse etc)

  • Any onsite events are for students and staff only.

  • Seedlings will run by invite only for those children starting school within the next 10 weeks.

  • Face coverings are required for all children travelling on the school bus.

  • Face coverings are encouraged for all students, and required for those in Year 4 and above, and for all staff when inside the classrooms. We encourage all students to wear face masks correctly.

  • Children with complex medical needs can seek advice from their health professional about whether it is appropriate to come to school. The school and family will work together to develop a plan to support the individual student.


In the event that we have staff members in isolation, we may need to roster students to stay home to reduce numbers at school or we may need to reduce school days.

If we have students at home we will be offering remote learning.


The current omicron environment is a rapidly changing one with new advice and information coming out from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health almost daily. At Waitoriki School we will make the decisions we need to for our students, staff and community. We will endeavour to provide stability in this ever-changing environment and will keep our school whanau updated as we go.

We thank you for your understanding, kindness and respect for school staff.