Teachers 'champing at the bit' to welcome children back to St Mark and All Saints School

As Boris Johnson urges parents to send their children back to school next week, the headteacher of one Godalming primary school says her staff can't wait to welcome pupils back.

Caroline Mallett, headteacher of St Marks and All Saints Primary School on Ockford Ridge, told Nub News her staff had been working hard over the summer to make the school safe for returning pupils.

"We have just been champing at the bit to have everybody back in class," she said.

The school didn't completely shut during lockdown, of course, remaining open for children of key workers and those considered vulnerable, and had around 15 pupils in each class.

Over the summer, staff have carried out assessments, altered the layout of furniture and equipment and arranged the school into class and staff 'bubbles' to ensure the children only mix with a limited number of people.

The children will eat lunch in their classrooms, and will not travel between spaces for lessons. Equipment will not be shared between classes, in school or in the playground.

And Ms Mallett said the fact that the school has spacious grounds is a great help in ensuring the children can stick to social distancing guidelines.

"We are really blessed to have such a lot of outdoor space," she said.

There have been stories that some parents have been reluctant to allow their children to go back to school, which is what prompted today's plea by the Prime Minister, but Ms Mallett said that hadn't been the experience at St Mark and All Saints.

She said the children who went into school in limited numbers in May "were really happy to be back," and their parents were happy for them to go back in.

"I don't anticipate having many, if any, reluctant parents, but any that we do have, we will work with them," she said.

She said the staff had been working all summer getting the school ready for all pupils to return, adding: "We tried to stop for two weeks in the middle so the staff had a break, because they had been working throughout."

And she said the school had maintained its strong links with the community, supporting the St Marks Foodbank and families in need during the crisis.

"It was really important for us to be there for the community," she said.

The new term starts next Wednesday, and all children will be given instructions on how to stay safe – washing hands, following signs and keeping a safe distance – and staff are confident that they will observe the new rules.

"We have got specific policies in place around behaviour that they need to learn," Ms Mallett explained.

"The children who have been in since May know the rules. We will go through everything slowly and carefully with them.

"We are very much looking forward to having them back."