The Headmistress at a local independent primary school has said she is optimistic about some children returning to school in March but that any return should be carefully managed to ensure the safety of staff and pupils. 

Lesley Barton, Headmistress at Fairfield School in Backwell, North Somerset, said she is looking forward to in-person teaching resuming on site for all year groups, when scientific data and guidance indicate it is safe to do so.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month announced that schools would not reopen until March 8 at the earliest following the latest national lockdown. Now as schools have settled into remote teaching and learning programmes, thoughts are turning to a roadmap out of restrictions.

Lesley said: “I’m sure schools up and down the country are beginning to think about when and how we will come out of remote teaching and learning and return to on site teaching for more children. The priority must be the safety of our staff and pupils though, so we need to be patient and follow the data and the scientific guidance and advice. 

“Whatever happens I am so proud of our children and all of our teaching staff, for how well they have adapted to the current circumstances and how dedicated the teachers have been in delivering a full curriculum remotely.”

Fairfield School is a PNEU primary school and nursery (Lambs) on the outskirts of Bristol. Renowned for its values and extra-curricular programme, the school has developed a robust remote learning curriculum in recent months.  

Lesley continued: “Throughout this lockdown period, the school is delivering a full curriculum of remote teaching, including music and PE.  

“Our remote curriculum includes a mixture of live teaching and pre-recorded video clips made by the class teachers, PE and music teachers and the children receive a pre-recorded message from me each morning.

“The children are being offered a full day (8.30am-3.30pm) of teaching and learning, whether at home or on site here in our Key Worker Children Bubble and, in addition to the live teaching and pre-recorded video clips, their teachers are available throughout each school day to offer further help and support. Our Lambs Nursery remains open on site too.  

“We continue to issue our weekly newsletter each Friday and include in it everything we would like to celebrate for that week, which helps to keep our school community connected and strong. We are aware of the potentially negative impact of lockdown and feelings of isolation for some people and we are striving to support our families by fostering a sense of strength of community and remaining supportive, upbeat and optimistic.

“The teaching staff are working exceptionally hard to ensure that our children, from our youngest to the oldest, are given every opportunity to engage with the remote teaching and learning and that they receive the support they need to continue to learn and make progress.”

Fairfield School is an independent co-educational school for children aged 2 to 11. Class sizes are limited to around 20 at Fairfield, with many much smaller, and there is a wide range of clubs and activities, sport, music and drama.

For more information about Fairfield School visit http://fairfield.school/ or contact bursar@fairfieldschool.org.uk