Education

A summer like no other The Moorsway Federation’s experience...

‘H ow do you solve the problem of teaching primary school children in the wake of a pandemic with Our fi rst ‘bubble’ was set up and staff from all three schools took it in turns to be with the children. Initially the country in lockdown and schools being asked to close?’ the numbers attending were low, but those who did I am sure this was a question being asked in schools attend loved every minute and any anxiety disappeared across the UK as the coronavirus pandemic hit the as they played with their friends. The fantastic weather country. The problem was as real for us in rural Devon helped, as the children could be outside most of the time. as anywhere else and a creative approach was needed to But what about the other children who couldn’t come keep in contact with our children, make sure everyone into school? For those children we did what all the was safe and try to maintain some learning. other schools were doing - providing home learning on At Moorsway Federation, (The Erme Primary, our website. This was for all age groups, based around Cornwood C of E Primary a diff erent theme each week. and Shaugh Prior Primary), we knew working closely together across our three schools was “ The fi rst phase of our plan was to create a hub school for the key worker Daily tasks in maths and English were also available. This was an unprecedented the answer. Putting that into practice was another matter. and vulnerable children ” time with children possibly away from school for an The fi rst phase of our plan was to create a hub school extended period. We felt we had to keep in contact with for the key worker and vulnerable children. As all of our the children, to reassure them and give them a sense schools are small, the number of children who needed the of ‘it will be OK’. We encouraged them to send emails new ‘Educare’ was low, so there was no need for all three to their class teacher and put photos of what they had schools to be open. Cornwood C of E became our hub. been doing on our newly created Moorsway Facebook It was geographically the middle school, had the biggest site. Weekly competitions were set up such as ‘Bake Off ’ outdoor space with forest school areas, a fi eld, trim trail, a and art competitions. We also knew how much all the large hard playing area and most importantly, a classroom children were missing each other, so as a federation we that was separate from the rest of the school. held class zoom meetings where the children were able

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to talk and share what they had been up to. Staff also put together videos to entertain the children, one based on ‘High School Musical’ and another a ‘Lockdown Rap’. The majority of the Easter holidays were cancelled and staff worked tirelessly to provide what the children needed. Then came the June 4th announcement. The government decided the Foundation children, Year 1 and Year 6 children, as well as those already in Educare, could return to school, as long as the class sizes were not over 15. How were we going to manage that? Our solution was quite obvious. Open another school. But not immediately. Our very supportive governors decided we should open the following week, so staff had time to set up the classrooms and school building adhering to government advice. On June 8th our numbers of children returning tripled and learning in their new bubbles started. The children were so pleased to be back at school and see their friends. Thankfully the government realised primary age children could not socially distance so they could work and play together. Cornwood now had two bubbles and The Erme four. Each bubble had its own teacher, teaching assistant,

lunchtime supervisor and set times for playtime and lunchtime. Each bubble was then able to socially distance. Where are we now? The government has just released its guidance on full opening for schools in September and the expectation is for all children to return to school. This is good news as returning to school is vital for children’s education and wellbeing. But we will be scrutinising the guidance and working out how to implement the recommendations detailed within it, so our children are happy, safe and able to learn on their return. Coronavirus has not gone away and schools, like society in general, will have to keep adapting. I am extremely proud of how the Moorsway Federation staff, and education staff across the country, have put the welfare of their children first and found creative solutions to problems they would never have dreamt of six months ago. We are looking forward to our children returning in September and already we have noticed our family feel is stronger than ever throughout the federation. If you are interested in looking at anything mentioned, take a look at our Facebook pages or our website https://www. moorswayfederation.org.uk/. n Simon Hall, Executive Headteacher

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