Shirebrook principal warns it will take time for students to get used to changes

Mark Cottingham, principal of Shirebrook Academy, said the school’s full reopening signified a return to “some kind of normality” after the majority of its students were forced to work from home six months ago due to the coronavirus lockdown.

However, they were greeted by a whole host of arrangements put into place to minimise the risk of them spreading the coronavirus and are required to wear face coverings in communal areas, among other substantial changes.

Mr Cottingham said: “We have worked extremely hard to put in place all of the measures we feel will keep everyone safe but inevitably there is a lot of uncertainty about how well the measures will continue to work in practice and how we will be able to prevent them being a distraction to learning."

I t is a very different start to the new school year, but Mr Cottingham said the priority will be to rebuild the academy community and explore the ways in which the lockdown has impacted on students’ sense of wellbeing.

He added: “There is no doubt that many students will have had a difficult time during lockdown due to issues at home and the lack of the support system that we provide at school.

“We will be encouraging them to bring those issues to the fore as well as spending time finding out how much learning that they have missed, which will help us to shape the curriculum.”