Great to see those smiling faces - children return at St Peter's

Steve Hitchcock, headteacher at St Peter's CofE Primary School in Budleigh. Photo: I Hitchcock (Image: Copyright: I Hitchcock 2018)

This morning I have a spring in my step. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all of our children are coming back to school today.

Before school starts, I do the rounds, checking all the staff are ok.

They have been fantastic during lockdown - managing learning in school and at home. It’s been an impossible task for staff and parents, so it’s no surprise there is a cheer at 8:45am when I open the school gates! Not sure if it’s the children or the parents who are loudest.

The children really are delighted to be back in. They are mostly excited to see each other.

St Peter's School, Budleigh. Photo: Alex Walton (Image: Archant)

At 9:30am I do another round of the school. The energy the children radiate is truly heart-warming.

The smiling, laughing and happiness is infectious.

I think all the teaching staff are smiling too, but it’s hard to tell as they have to wear a face covering.

I know many are anxious, as there are no vaccines for teachers. We understand and appreciate why, but the fear of getting Covid-19 is still there - whether you are 25 or 85 years old.

Next, the children hear an online assembly from me, in which I remind them to stay in their bubbles, wash their hands (lots) and give learning their best shot.

Teaching is easier in the classroom than remotely, but we do have major worries around if the children will be ready to learn, so I’ve told the staff to adapt what they do to help them adjust on an emotional and social level.

At 10:30am the first ‘bubbles’ come out to play on their section of the playground.

I’ve forgotten how noisy they can all be - but it is the noise of children enjoying themselves and reconnecting with each other.

Over the next few weeks, we will get them back into their learning routines.

Of course there are gaps in what they know - so we have a huge job on our hands.

We want to balance getting the children into the right mindset for recovery, without making any of them feel bad that they might not have been able to get on so well at home.

I speak to my school business manager to find out how much the government has given me for ‘catch-up’ funding.

So far, we have received £5,840. In total, we will get £22,000. We calculate our additional spending on Covid measures is already more than £10,000.

To put that into perspective, my costs have grown by £150,000 this financial year, so there is no way £22,000 is going to be of any use at all.

Nonetheless, we have a goal to recover from this pandemic - and we will.

At lunchtime, it’s all hands to the pump. Because all the bubbles have to be kept apart, we need more staff than normal.

At the end of lunchtime, the strangest thing has happened...not one child needed first aid!

We suspect they were so pleased to see each other, they couldn't waste a second getting treatment for bumps and scrapes.

In the afternoon, I am called down to the Reception classes.

They’ve got eggs and an incubator, and the chicks are hatching already! The children can barely contain themselves - it is so egg-citing.

I haven’t seen some of the children for four months - it’s amazing how much they have grown! I’ve missed their cheeky comments.

At the end of the day, the children leave at staggered intervals, to avoid any overcrowding.

I’ve forgotten how many parents we have - it’s so strange to see so many people together (socially distanced) again.

Trying to work out whose mum and dad is which is very tricky in masks.

I find one family to give them some food vouchers from our Budleigh COVID support group.

They are overjoyed, and tell me how much of a difference this will make. It does make you think about how stressful it must be to be constantly worrying about the basics of feeding your family.

I speak to one more parent. Her poor child has washed their hands so much they have become red and swollen. Crazy times.

After school, I am exhausted! Not from doing too much - but from the emotional experience. It has been so lovely getting back to something like normality. Keep the faith - we will get through this together.