Mansfield school pays unique tribute to the Queen

Children at High Oakham Primary School, on Nottingham Road, made and decorated handprints, which staff then turned into a huge display.

Staff then gave up their Sunday morning to hang the display on the front of the school, ahead of the Queen’s funeral the following day.

Stephanie Astle, headteacher, who signed a book of condolence on behalf of the school, said: “Here at High Oakham, we are deeply saddened that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth has died.

“We were very aware our children would be experiencing many emotions at that time as they heard of, or were told the news of the Queen dying.

“We understood everyone deals with loss and emotions in different ways and wanted to reassure our families we would support our children with nurture, care and sensitivity.

“Our pastoral care is a priority as we know that, in order for children to learn successfully, they have to be emotionally available to learn. We talk openly about the losses we have suffered and listen with respect and offer support in lots of different ways such as sessions with our on-site counsellor, clubs and activities, support offered to parents and, of course, through our carefully designed personal, social, health and citizenship education lessons.

“Our children had completed lots of learning about the Queen for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the summer, so we knew they already had prior knowledge of her life and achievements to draw and reflect upon. Every child had made a handprint in either red, white or blue in a creative way, specific to them and on each print, they added a word which they thought best described what the Queen represented for them.

“These handprints have been joined together mixed up in ages to reflect our school community coming together, to not only mourn the loss of our Queen, but to remember and celebrate what she meant to us.”

The school, which has about 470 pupils on roll, was officially rated good by education watchdog Ofsted at an inspection last term.