Coping with Covid at Cockburn schools

Cockburn Multi-academy trust has been delighted to welcome back students to Cockburn School, Cockburn John Charles Academy, Middleton Primary and Cockburn Haigh Road Academy.

All students have made an excellent start to the term following the period of lockdown and long summer break. Learning in classrooms has got off to a great start with a focus on recapping important knowledge and beginning exciting topics for the new academic year. Students have been so positive and respectful, we are very proud of them all.

A Middleton Primary student said “I’ve really enjoyed being back in class, learning with my friends again.”

Of course some parts of school life are different to keep students as safe as possible with staggered starts to the day and finish times. Year Groups are now operating in bubbles in line with Government guidance and each Year Group bubble has a staggered break and lunchtime. As government guidelines states that students are not required to follow social distancing within these bubbles. We are really pleased that students have very quickly got into the routine of sanitising their hands before and after school, and at the starts and ends of lessons.

A Cockburn John Charles student said “it was easy getting back into the routine of learning again. I’ve been busy getting on with my homework again.”

Teaching staff in all schools have been planning excellent lessons and are enjoying delivering these back in the classroom. There is great engagement from students; in our secondary schools, class discussions have been enthusiastic with interesting and mature contributions from students.

In our primary schools, children have been engaging in learning, exploring interesting new topics and also getting back to the basics of reading, writing and maths. Our new reception children have settled into school life really well, using the outdoor play areas to explore new concepts and make connections with the world around them in their new learning environments.

Our new Year 7 cohorts have also settled into secondary school life really well, making new friends, learning new subjects and enjoying challenging lessons. A Cockburn student said “I thought I might not know where to find my next lesson, but everyone was really helpful, it was easy for me.”

All schools would like to thank all parents and carers for their support with ensuring such a great start to the academic year; students were punctual and prepared for learning with correct uniform and equipment. A great start to the academic year despite being in the most unprecedented and challenging year.