Virtual lessons and safe book swaps help keep pupils' spirits up

Swindon's Blue Kite Academy Trust is running a range of activities to keep pupils learning and active during lockdown.

The trust's schools are Abbey Meads Community Primary School, Badbury Park Primary School, Brook Field Primary School, Catherine Wayte Primary School, Colebrook Infant Academy, Ferndale Primary and Nursery School, Ruskin Junior School and William Morris Primary and Nursery School.

The organisation has issued an update on its progress, saying: "Lockdown number three again brought us the news of school closures, with the majority of our children having to revert back to accessing learning from home. 

"We all know the impact a lockdown can have on our children’s education, but also the impact it can have on their mental health and well-being. However, as a trust we pride ourselves on the importance of keeping our children educated, with an emphasis on ensuring they are feeling happy and secure. 

"Throughout this lockdown, we have done our utmost to make our pupils feel connected to their school community as much as possible. The Blue Kite Academy Trust has experienced, passionate and dedicated members of staff who are working tirelessly to keep our children’s interests at the heart of everything we do. 

"Our teaching staff across our eight schools have created a range of home learning materials and videos for their pupils to access each week; we value the importance of structure and routine both in the classroom and at home. The children who attend our trust schools can get involved with a wide range of educational activities, taking part in daily pre-recorded and live curricular lessons with their class teacher, can join school and class assemblies alongside their peers, can take part in a covid-secure book swap, can engage in weekly cookery challenges, be hands on with creative project work and can also focus on the importance of keeping healthy and active. 

"One example from many, is Mr Stratton and Mr Shore, two teachers from Abbey Meads Community Primary School, who have taken on their own spin of ‘Mr Joe Wicks’ by creating ‘Fitness with Stratts and Shore.' 

"Together they are creating weekly PE lessons which are uploaded online, for all of the community to access. The sessions are extremely interactive, fun and energetic and also feature special guest appearances! To get your children involved, please visit: https://vimeo.com/user124261893/videos 

"To keep spirits and motivation levels high, our trust schools have also been recognising and praising the excellent pieces of work completed by our pupils at home. Our schools have been going the extra mile by sending home special, celebratory ‘postcards’ to reward the pupils for their efforts and achievements."

The trust added: "Our individual schools and we as the trust have very active Twitter pages, promoting all the wonderful learning taking place at home, keeping our home and school link strong. 

"We are very grateful to our wonderful parents and carers for their ongoing support and dedication, through these difficult and challenging times. We are proud of each and every one of them. We are looking forward to getting all of our children back into school, as soon as it is safe to do so." 

The Blue Kite Academy Trust has trustees and governors who bring a variety of skills to each of the schools to support the leadership team in offering a positive learning experience for all pupils and supportive work environment for the staff. 

Anybody interested in becoming a trustee or a governor can contact Head of Governance Anna Richardson at [email protected] or go to https://bluekitetrust.org.uk/ and click on 'Governance' for further information.