High turnout and delight as South Devon schools get back to business
“The return to school is fantastic in so many ways – the children need to return, they want to see their friends, get back into a routine and have face to face learning again"
HUNDREDS of South Devon school children returned to the classroom on Monday as coronavirus restrictions were lifted.
Across the country most secondary schools started with a phased return, with face masks being worn in classrooms.
Primary schools opened for all pupils on Monday.
At Paignton Academy, Torbay’s largest school, head of school Mark Smith said he and his staff were “delighted”, while the chief executive of the South Devon-wide Learning Academy Partnership said there was a “fantastic buzz” across the trust’s primary schools.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the return to schools was an important first step towards a “sense of normality”, marking the first stage of the road map out of the national lockdown.
The Government is considering measures to help pupils, including longer school days and shorter holidays.
Secondary schools are now running regular Covid testing, with pupils taking three tests in school before switching to being tested twice a week at home.
Mr Smith said: “My staff and I are delighted to have all the students back and to be doing what we do best, teaching young people and leading a school full of children.
“The return to school is fantastic in so many ways – the children need to return, they want to see their friends, get back into a routine and have face to face learning again.
“We did our very best through lockdown, running thousands of online lessons and keeping a full weekly offer of virtual learning, but five hours in front of a screen was always going to present a challenge and the interaction virtually between staff and students is not as easy.
“This week the early indications are our attendance is extremely high, more so than on a typical school day. This tells you the desire to be back in school, from students as well as their parents.”
Mr Smith said he believed having all pupils back in school as soon as possible was important, not just for their educational development, but also from a mental health and wellbeing viewpoint.
He added: “The only difference is that now students are wearing masks in lessons as well as in communal areas. All the other Covid protocols, such as staggered lunches, varying entrances, separate areas and hand hygiene remain in place as before.
“I hope the huge success of the vaccination roll out means eventually, with only a small number of control measures in place, we can move closer to how things were before.
“Our aim is to assess, adapt and amend our curriculum so all students can begin to close the gaps and return to a state where they are happy, confident and have a thirst for learning again.
“Monday was an overwhelmingly positive day and I truly hope Lockdown 4 will never arrive.”
Torquay Academy principal Steve Margetts said Monday had been ‘very busy’, but added: “It has been great to be able to welcome all of our students back into school”
Students in all year groups were tested last week, allowing the school to return en masse. Mr Margetts added: “We have adapted the curriculum for all year groups to enable us to make the most of the time that the students have in school.
“Our academic leaders are confident that the recent lockdown will not have a detrimental impact upon our students long-term educational goals. We were very impressed with how the students applied themselves during the lockdown.
“The combination of face coverings and testing, in addition to all of the other preventative measures that we have in place, are helping to minimise the risk to the whole school community and their families.”
Tracey Cleverly, interim chief executive officer of the Learning Academy Partnership, said: “There has been a fantastic buzz across all of the schools in the trust.
“Teachers have been planning and preparing their face-to-face teaching and there were huge smiles in every school as we welcomed back our communities.
“We have been delighted to welcome our pupils back, and support many of the measures put in place, including staff testing and wider use of face masks by staff, to keep our school communities safe.
“We are fully committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment which allows our pupils to thrive in their learning.
“We will proceed cautiously, and as always, prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our pupils and staff.”
Ms Cleverly said the school would continue to follow public health and Government guidance to ensure all pupils and staff are as safe as possible and can continue teaching and learning in school.
“This will have been a challenging time for many of our families,” she added.
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