As we locked the gates to Pott Shrigley Church School on an emotional Friday in March we couldn’t predict when we’d next re-open them. As a small school with only two keyworker children we didn’t open in the interim period.
During lockdown our aim was to ensure that children and their families stayed safe and well – weekly phone calls, zoom class group calls, letters and postcards were sent and received in equal measure – we encouraged the children to write to friends, families, elderly neighbours and vulnerable people. We used Tapestry and the school website to stay in touch with families as often as they felt the need without any pressure whatsoever to ‘teach’.
On 1st June we opened the gates with a whole raft of plans and a rigourous risk assessment in place – this was all behind the scenes of course and we greeted the returning key worker children with big smiles and a new style ‘Pott hug’.
There have of course been changes, but as ever our Pott Shrigley children have taken these in their stride and proved themselves to be resilient and adaptable… here’s a few reactions
| Change | Pott Children Reaction |
| Handwash on entry and at numerous additional times during the day | ‘We sing Happy Birthday or ‘yo me lavo las manos’ – (I wash my hands in Spanish) it’s great fun.’ |
| New classroom layout 2m between seats and trays of belongings for each child | ‘I thought it was my Birthday – a whole tray full of goodies just for me! |
| No school uniform | ‘Non-uniform day everyday? Yes Please!’ |
| Lunch outside (weather permitting) or at desks) | ‘It’s a picnic everyday!’ |
| No personal belongings in school | ‘No need to worry about forgotten book bags and water bottles!’ |
The biggest change has been shifting our learning outdoors – our school week already has always had a big emphasis on learning outside the classroom with every Friday afternoon dedicated to either forest school, bouldering or hands-on experiences in the beautiful Peak District. Whilst we can’t resume all of these activities immediately we’re doing a weekly farm visit, nature walk, forest school activities, yoga on the village green, cricket, rounders and making the most of our very own climbing wall and adventure play area. As I hope you can tell we’re all happy to be back at school and are confident we’ve everything in place to make it as safe as we possibly can.
Unlike most schools we’ve opened our doors to all year groups as our small numbers permit us to do so safely respecting the maximum of 15 children per bubble. This has been well received by parents and children who’ve endured the strangest few months.
Whether you’ve chosen to return your child to school or keep them at home we respect everyone’s decision as every family has personal and individual circumstances but rest assured that staff, governors and all involved have worked to ensure a safe, happy place to be which at Pott Shrigley we feel that’s what school should be!
Should you wish to find out more about our idyllic little school in the Peak District National Park yet within easy reach of Macclesfield and Poynton please do get in touch as we’d love to tell you more. We currently have spaces in most year groups.
Joanne Bromley
Headteacher, Pott Shrigley Church School
