St Martin’s Primary gives pupils a warm welcome despite the chill

Fourteen students are attending St Martin’s Primary School during half term.

That number should double next week as more essential workers return to their jobs after the half-term break.

Head teacher Cate Mason believed that was due to more parents having already sorted out some form of child care or taken holiday for this week.

Students and teachers were tested before going back as part of Public Health’s measures to reduce the risk of the virus spreading through the community.

‘It all ran very smoothly at the East Arm [testing] facility,’ Mrs Mason said.

‘And as well as needing to have a negative result, we’ve got a rigorous hand-washing system in place, social distancing and thorough cleaning.’

Everything the children touch is cleaned before and after use and the whole school is cleaned twice a day. Staff wear face coverings, as do parents at drop-off and collection times, which are staggered to avoid having too many people in the car park at once.

Some of the students are wearing face masks, too.

‘Doors and windows are open to help with ventilation,’ Mrs Mason said, ‘which at the moment is pretty chilly, as you can imagine, but it’s all in an effort to keep staff and students as safe as possible.’

During this week, staff are primarily there to look after the children, but when the term resumes they will be on hand to assist with the distance learning that other students are doing online.

‘This week we’re doing more fun activities like arts and crafts or outdoor games that can be done with social distancing like treasure hunts or 40/40,’ she said.

‘Next week the students will be following the distance learning activities and seeing the videos that the teachers put together in the mornings.’

The response to online learning has been fantastic, according to Mrs Mason, and she said the whole school has felt well supported by Education Services and Public Health.