The 'excitement' of pupils returning and the challenges ahead - Park Community School headteacher reflects on reopening of schools

As 205 Year 7 pupils returned – and the school saw a ‘normal day’ for the first time since March – Mr Anders was full of praise for how they conducted themselves.

He said: ‘It really was exciting to see children back in school. To see them getting back into school life was fantastic. After so long without the regulation of school I thought they were brilliant today.

‘It has been so long since we have been able to have a normal school day and the staff are really excited to get going again.’

However, Mr Anders has warned of the challenges ahead as more children return to classrooms and have to deal with heightened restrictions on movement and additional routine.

‘We have created year group zones around school, which children will generally be confined to, as well as designated classrooms. Some children could end up being in one place for three or four hours. For some children, not being able to get up and move around between lessons could be an issue,’ said Mr Anders.

With further restrictions on movement during break and lunch times he also feels the situation could be exacerbated with the onset of autumn.

Mr Anders added: ‘We’ve been lucky with generally having good weather during lockdown. However as this changes over the next few weeks, and grim weather may restrict further outside movement, this may be when the mental health side of things begins to kick in.’

One of the biggest challenges for the experienced headteacher is ‘dealing with the unknown’ and the potential of having to send whole year groups home.

SEE ALSO: New Portsmouth school celebrates its first day – as pupils get used to new normal

Mr Anders said: ‘The biggest challenge is being able to respond to things we don’t know about yet. For us that may be having to send whole year groups home if two or more students have a positive test or having to go back into lockdown.

‘Come the winter months, there could also be an issue for schools with staff attendance as people have to quarantine if they have displayed symptoms.’

One of school’s concerns over post-lockdown attendance has, in part, been allayed by the ‘full turnout’ of Year 7 pupils.

‘We were concerned there may an issue of attendance in the first few weeks but we were expecting 205 pupils today and they have all arrived which suggests the children are keen to start,’ said Mr Anders.

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