Four Northampton primary schools share how they are ready for the return of all children

Four Northampton primary schools in the same academy trust have shared how they are readying themselves for the return of all pupils this week.

Staff at Cedar Road Primary Academy, The Arbours Primary Academy, Kings Heath Primary Academy and Eastfield Academy have been working hard to put in place final preparations to reassure parents and their children.

The David Ross Education Trust academies have put in place a raft of measures to help make the school environment as safe as possible in line with the government guidance.

Angela Watts, head teacher at The Arbours, said: “I am delighted to welcome back our pupils in September and I genuinely cannot wait to see them!

"The last few months have been so challenging, but our school community has responded fantastically and I am so proud of them all.

“We have been hard at work so that our pupils can return and be safe.

"I know that these systems will all be new to our pupils, but I would like to reassure them and their families that everything we are putting in place is done with the best intentions for their safety.

"We all want The Arbours Primary Academy to be a safe and welcoming school, and we firmly believe that these preparations will make sure it is.”

Schools were closed to all pupils bar those deemed vulnerable and with key worker parents

The new measures include:

- Placing pupils in year group ‘bubbles’ and ensuring interactions between different bubbles are restricted;

- Introducing a staggered timetable for each bubble with separate start and end times each day, as well as staggered break and lunch times to ensure bubbles do not mix;

- Clearly marked entrance and exit gates to ensure an efficient one-way system and encourage pupils, parents and staff to move swiftly around;

- Pupils will either bring in their own packed lunches, or the school will provide a packed lunch style grab bag with a choice of hot or cold sandwich.

Eastfield Academy head teacher Clair Mills said: “At Eastfield the safety of our school community continues to be our highest priority and we will do everything in our power to keep our pupils healthy, happy, and safe.

"I would like to thank all of our pupils, their families, and our staff for their efforts in keeping school safe for all of us.

“We know that pupils have wanted to get back to normal and we expect they will thrive on the routine of school.

"We are so excited to welcome them back in September and get back to providing the high-quality education that our pupils expect while at Eastfield!”

The schools have put in place a number of risk assessments to ensure the safety of pupils and staff ahead of a full return.

These are reviewed on a daily basis to ensure they are as effective as possible, and to reassure parents that they have considered all aspects of school life.

Kings Heath principal Kim Duff said: “We are delighted to be welcoming back all pupils to Kings Heath Primary Academy on Thursday (September 3).

"Although we have remained open throughout the pandemic, we are eager to have all pupils back and continue ensuring they achieve their true potential.

"All staff thrive on delivering high quality lessons and have deeply missed the face to face contact with pupils that provides so many intrinsic rewards.

"We are exceptionally prepared and very keen to welcome every pupil back.”

Cedar Road Primary School will also invite their year six leavers back to school in September for their leavers’ party, which was postponed due to the lockdown.

All pupils will receive an end-of-year leaving gift and a DVD of their time at the school.

Head teacher Rhys Jones-Penny said: “We are so excited to welcome back all of our pupils in September.

"From our new starters to our year six leavers who never had the leaving party they expected, every pupil has so much to gain from the start of the new term and we can’t wait to see them.

“Our staff have worked so hard to make sure school will be a safe and enjoyable experience for them, and we want to make sure that our parents and carers feel fully reassured by all the measures we will be putting in place.

"The safety of our pupils and our staff is our utmost priority and we will be taking every precaution to keep Cedar Road Primary School a happy and healthy place to learn.”