Swale schools in The Stour Academy Trust have continued to bring learning to life for their pupils as they returned to school this month. The children, many of whom had not been in school since March have adapted brilliantly to the ‘new normal’ way of school life.
Year 4 at Thistle Hill Academy in Minster had a very exciting time on their Woodland Walk which has helped with their Science learning whilst Ladybirds and Caterpillars class at Lansdowne Primary School in Sittingbourne, went on a leaf hunt to collect leaves for their hedgehog and lion pictures.
Meanwhile, EYFS at Richmond Academy in Sheerness were busy making turnip soup. They washed their hands and cleaned the table in preparation then carefully cut up vegetables using a knife, added them to a bowl with a stock cube and boiled the water. The verdict from the children was: YUM!
EYFS children at Richmond Academy make turnip soup 
Year 4 at Thistle Hill Academy went on a Woodland Walk for Science
Ensuring that children’s educations remains engaging and exciting remains important to the schools across the Trust, all of whom have put in place extensive measures to minimise the risk from Coronavirus.
Just some of the measures include
- Additional cleaning of classes in the morning, at lunch time and after school
- Additional cleaning of all toilets by staff who have been given additional hours to do so
- Children washing their hands at least 5 times a day, especially before and after lunch, before entering the classroom and before leaving for home
- Hand sanitiser available throughout the schools
- Staggered arrival and leaving times of bubbles
- Staggered playtimes and lunch times of year groups that never mix throughout the day
- Virtual assemblies instead of physical assemblies
Schools leaders and teachers have displayed a ‘can do’ attitude, being creative and imaginative in how they not only continue to provide a full educational experience for children but also make the school experience as organised as possible for the parents.
Along with the staggered starts, holding time and one-way systems, with parents unable to attend school events, the schools look to continue excellent communication with parents by providing them with regular video and photo updates of what has been going on at school.
Leaders are also planning to make use of additional digital technologies to prevent disruption to important parent events such as parents evening. In October, all schools in The Stour Academy Trust will be holding their parents evenings online, where parents can join a video consultation with their child’s class teacher from the comfort of their home.
The response to the return to school has been overwhelmingly positive from both parents and children and school leaders continue to work hard to balance delivering a broad and balanced curriculum with the measures needed to manage risk.
To see more of what the children at the schools have been getting up to, you can view their school websites below:
