Adam Rivett Littleport Community Primary School Headteacher and Director of East Cambs and Fenland Research School gives us an insight into activities during and prior to the C19 pandemic situation
It is reassuring to know that in what have been turbulent times, there are certainties. There are sunrises and sunsets; rain and shine; happiness and sadness; and education. Education continues despite schools having been closed across the country – it’s just that the educational landscape changed. Children have swapped the classroom for the kitchen table; sofa in the lounge; desk in the bedroom or the back garden but learning has still been taking place!
Nobody could have predicted that the summer term in schools would have looked like this but we have been inundated with examples of learning at home from the children of Littleport Community Primary School. Our Twitter page (@LCPS07) is being used by families to share the amazing and unique learning activities that have taken place outside of school. The children are at the very centre of everything we do at our school and school provides a sense of routine and stability for many of our children. We have been very mindful of their well-being, as well as that of the families at home, throughout this period. It was important for us to not overwhelm children and families with work at the start of this but instead allow them the time to adapt to the new way of life. As time has gone on, we have reinstated familiar routines for the children. We now hold virtual assemblies via our YouTube channel and conduct ‘face to face’ calls with the children using technology. All staff love seeing the photographs of learning the children have sent in and seeing their faces via conference calls. It cheers us up and we know it does the same for our families.
Beyond this, school has been open for children of key workers and vulnerable families. I am extremely grateful for the exceptional effort that all members of the school community, including governors, have put in to support each other as well as our families. We are always cheered up by the displays of appreciation for key workers we see whenever I, or my staff, are out delivering meals to families around the local area.
What follows are a few examples of school life before the partial closure as well as a few examples of learning at home children have sent in during lockdown.
Y6 Trip to Anglia Ruskin University – Ms Hoal, Upper School Leader
Swifts and Kingfishers visited ARU to learn more about life at university. Their first challenge was to work out what the student ambassadors were studying by asking them questions to which they could only answer yes, no or maybe. After some serious grilling, they discovered that they studied a huge range of subjects including illustration, international relations and business management.
Later in the day they had the opportunity to explore the university campus. It was really exciting to see the science block, the art gallery and theatre. However, the wide range of cafes and restaurants caused the most excitement!
After lunch, they designed their own universities, including one entirely run by robots, and then presented them in a real lecture theatre – a really exciting experience.
World Book Day Celebrations – Ms McLeish, Lower School Leader
On World Book Day, the whole school enjoyed discovering the beautiful wordless picture book, Journey, by Aaron Becker. Each year group approached it in a different way, from writing poetry to descriptive writing to creating suspense. It was lovely to be able to celebrate our work in a whole school assembly.
We are also taking part in the World Book Day Share a Million Stories campaign. Each time a story is shared for more than ten minutes, whether at school or at home, we can add this to our school total and also to the national total. This campaign lasted for most of March, so there was plenty of opportunity to share lots of fantastic stories.