Education systems around the world continue to grapple with the complex decisions of when and how to reopen schools for in-person learning following widespread closures due to the COVID 19 pandemic.Many countries closed schools along with other widespread restrictions as an immediate response to the increased spread of COVD-19. But school closures have had increasingly clear negative impacts on child health, education and development, family income and the overall economy.

Experiences in most high-income countries show no measurable impact of school reopening on increasing community transmission rates, while within primary school settings in particular there has been limited transmission among children or between children and adults. Emerging evidence drawn from Eastern and Southern Africa also suggests that schools have not been associated with significant increases in community transmission.

As more countries are re-opening schools, lessons are emerging on what is working. These lessons are shared in this supplement piece covering the same areas that were covered in the Framework for Re-opening Schools.