Back to school success in Nottinghamshire

In a contrast to previous years, this September has seen a return to school after almost six months of coronavirus lockdown.

For children and parents, the usual anxieties of the new school year have been heightened this month with the added risk of coronavirus, and the knowledge that school may feel very different for children – with social distancing, staggered break times and regular hand-washing now part of the daily routine.

Schools have followed extensive government guidelines and have introduced scheduled start and finish times and class bubbles to minimise the risk.

As Nottinghamshire schools returned, parents took to social media to share their back-to-school stories.

Laura Murray’s son goes to Farmilo Primary School at Pleasley and heaped praise on the staff: “Farmilo have been amazing, not just going back, but through the whole thing.

"The communication has been great, and I don’t feel at all anxious about him being back in school.”

Staff from Farmilo are on hand every morning to remind families of social distancing and have created bubbles, with signage reminding everyone to avoid ‘bursting your bubble’.

A spokesperson from the school said: “We have worked closely with the Nottinghamshire County Council Health & Safety Team to ensure we are compliant and proactive in ensuring all measures are in place to keep everyone safe.

“We have created bubbles across the whole school and have allocated zones and signage reminding everyone to avoid bursting our bubbles.

“We are lucky in that we have 4 buildings and we have been able to allocate staggered start and finish times, making use of the 4 entrances.

“Staff are on duty outside school before and after, to help with prompting social distancing and reminding everyone where to go.

"We have received so many comments from you saying how pleased parents are with our efforts to keep everyone as safe as possible.

"Thank you to those who took the time to show your appreciation, it means a lot.”

Laura Evans is a parent at Church Vale Primary in Warsop said: “Church Vale have been absolutely brilliant!

"We can’t fault them at all through any of this madness.”

King Edward Primary School in Mansfield had a team of staff on hand to help parents and pupils with adjusting to the ‘new normal’.

Headteacher Mrs Bridges said: “Over the last couple of days I have been overwhelmed with appreciation to our school community in helping us to successfully have all children back in school.

"Like all schools it has taken an enormous amount of careful planning and preparation.

"The support, patience and co-operation from our staff, parents and children in implementing these plans have enabled the wider opening of school to be so successful.

"Over the last couple of days it has been wonderful to see King Ed Kids back in school with their enthusiasm and cheeky smiles.

"A special mention to our new nursery and reception children who have had to be brave coming into school without their adults”

Staff at Oak Tree Primary and Nursery School said they were delighted to finally be able to welcome pupils back to school.

Kate Watson, head teacher at the Jubilee Way North school, said staff ‘could not wait’ to see pupils again after school was locked down with the rest of the country in March.

Youngsters as small as three were welcomed into nursery by staff, who have set up a range of activities designed to put the children at ease and help with their development.

Miss Wood, who has worked in the school’s nursery for more than 20 years, said she was ‘over the moon’ to welcome back the children and greet some new starters.

She said: “We have made lots of changes during lockdown to make the children and parents feel safe when returning to school.

"Having been graded good by OFSTED in our early years setting, we are now striving for outstanding and are fully committed to making sure our children get the best possible start in life – we cannot wait to see their smiling faces again.”

Mrs Watson said, “Our early years provision forms the foundation of everything we do here at Oak Tree.

"We have seen first-hand the difference it makes to pupils if they have had a good nursery experience, with a smooth transition to starting in mainstream school.”

Mrs Nutter, office business manager, said: “We have seen a drop in nursery numbers since the reduction of local Sure Start services.

"We just need to remind parents that excellent free childcare for three to four-year-olds is right here on their doorstep.”

If you are interested in taking up a free nursery slot, parents and carers can ring the school office on 01623 458261 and speak to Mrs Nutter.

Head Teacher of Leamington Primary & Nursery Academy in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Kaye McGuire, said: “It's been fantastic to see all of the children return to Leamington.

"Our Trust and staff team have worked hard to plan for the reopening in September so that our children are once again immersed in an inspiring and fantastic curriculum and learning environment.

"The children have adapted to the changes really well and are enjoying the new normal within school.

"The local community have been incredibly supportive in following our guidelines and have given positive feedback about our reopening.

“We want our children to achieve their potential within the school environment.

"All of the children at Leamington aspire to be the best that they can be – together, we can fly high!”

RETRO: Childhood American Adventure memories

RETRO: Check out these Nottinghamshire dance school memories

A message from the Editor:

Thank you to all who support local journalism with a print subscription.

The events of 2020 mean trusted, local journalism is more reliant than ever on your support.

We couldn't do it without you. Please subscribe here https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/ so we can keep campaigning on your behalf. Stay safe.