Relief for parents as Scarborough children prepare for classroom return

A huge number of children have not been in their classrooms since before Christmas – missing more than two-months of face-to-face learning.

Headteacher at Wheatcroft Community Primary School and chair of Scarborough Heads Forum, Jenny Hartley, said parents deserved praise for the juggle they have faced.

“It’s been very hard for parents to be in the teacher role and some have found it really difficult,” she said.

“I want to congratulate them. They deserve a headteachers’ sticker, definitely!”

Like teachers across the borough, she and her team have been busy supporting pupils’ home-learning while also teaching the vulnerable students and children of key workers who have still been attending school.

The number of pupils in school has grown significantly during this lockdown at many sites, said Miss Hartley.

At Wheatcroft, the figure has risen from 21 per cent of all students at the beginning of January to 48 per cent this week.

She said home-schooling seems to have worked better during this lockdown than when schools had to shut to most last year, but there have been cases of teachers inviting children into school when the struggle had proved too much for parents.

“We’re looking forward to seeing all the children and parents have been messaging me saying their children are looking forward to coming back,” she added.

“We’ll have extra staff out to welcome them back.

“For some, next week will feel like the first time back after summer and we appreciate that. I just hope we’re going to be able to start doing the sports days and off-site visits that make the experience at primary schools so memorable for children.”

Scarborough parent Natalie Davies, who is also Commanding Officer at Scarborough Sea Cadets, has been juggling working from home for an accountancy firm while supporting her 16-year-old son Nathan with his GCSE studies and older son Charlie, who would usually be at university.

She said: “It’s not been too bad. “With Nathan, it’s been about making sure he has every opportunity to get the best grade he can.

“I will miss his company but I know that going back to school is the best thing for him.”

Pupils in secondary schools and colleges will be asked to carry out rapid coronavirus tests at home twice a week after they have been tested three times on site .

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