Mansfield teachers brighten the day of children in lockdown with sing-along

Head teacher Nadeem Shah and the teachers and staff at St Edmund’s C of E Primary School, said they had decided to post the video, which shows them singing and dancing in their homes and gardens, to the Take That hit as a “bit of fun.”

Mr Shah, who has been head at the school on Church Hill Road for five years said it was hoped it would show the pupils that their teachers were “still thinking about them,” and that it would “bring them a smile.”

Every half term, the 253 pupil school take part in a celebration assembly, and at the end of last term, before the elockdown, the children had learned the song “Shine.”

Mr Shah said: “We are a very close knit school, and we just wanted to do something for our children and the family and friends, to let them know we are all in this lock down together and we have to stay positive.

“Some of the children – our youngest who are in the nursery, aged from three and even some of the older ones, up to 11 years, have felt a little confused about why they are in lock down, and they are missing their friends and school activities.

“We just wanted to bring a happy smile to their faces and let them know that their teachers and the staff have not forgotten them,”

“It has been great fun to do and the school staff, their families, dogs, cats and guinea pigs have got involved too!”

Mr Shah, who is a musician, said the video had already received more than 2,000 hits online.

He also said he wanted them to know that he was “delighted” that the youngsters had also been engaging with the school’s online home learning platform, and that the children had enthusiastically got involved with it, and it had had over 10,000 responses since the lockdown.