Aww this is nice-on school going back in London..
Marie Corbett is planning a graduation ceremony — with leaving certificates, pens and yearbooks stuffed with photos — for the 10 and 11-year-olds she hopes will be returning to primary school in just two weeks’ time.
It would be a rite of passage for pupils in their final year at Harris primary in Peckham, south London, so they could say goodbye to the school they grew up in before starting secondary school in September.
Children at Harris will be kept in “bubbles” of 15 pupils who will do everything together, keeping away from other children to avoid infection. All lessons for each group will be held in the same classroom with the same teacher, who will supervise them in the playground too. They will be able to socialise normally, Corbett said. “Yes, games of football will be possible.”
(not the 'no PE' nonsense then)
Corbett, who has kept her school open to 20 vulnerable children over lockdown, says they have adapted quickly. “They came up with the idea of an air hug — you make the shape of a hug with your arms but just hug air and don’t touch anyone,” she says. “When they line up we sing the two-metre song and get them to stick their arms out.”
She is keen to reopen because she can see what lockdown is doing to pupils, especially those in flats with no gardens. One little boy had not been out of his flat in five weeks when his mum, who was very anxious about the virus, eventually decided he could come into class a few days ago. “He was really quiet and withdrawn for a while. Now he is jumping around like a normal seven-year-old.
“Another boy lives in a house that is divided into bedsits with shared bathrooms. He was upset by the arguments the adults were having and the shouting that was going on.
“If we do not go back now then we will have the long summer holidays and by September there could be effects on our children that are very hard to reverse.”
and at another school, this time private..
At Breaside prep school in Bromley, Kent, head teacher Karen Nicholson is also keen to reopen. She has emailed families and expects 120 out of an eligible 180 will want to send their children back. She said: “We will be sending videos to parents showing teachers in masks and saying ‘this is me’ so children don’t get upset seeing the teachers in masks, though we are not planning to wear them routinely.”
Pharmacy owner Yash Amin, whose two children, Mahi, 11, and Rafi, 8, have been at Breaside throughout the lockdown says he backs the phased reopening dates. “My daughter wants to say goodbye to her friends, and we must think about the mental health of the children as well. You get more out of one day at school than a week of learning isolated at home. I have no concerns.”
Nicholson’s deputy, Amy Wicks, said her son, Theo, 4, a pupil at Breaside, was exhibiting behaviour problems. “He is sad, he is cross, he is not sleeping. I don’t feel worried about opening the school to more of our children. I feel very calm. I am pleased we are bringing some normality back.”