Thursday 11 June 2020
The first few days of reopening schools and the College of Further Education to all students have been a resounding success thanks to both the hard work of staff and the support of parents and students, the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture have said.
Following weeks of distance learning from home, preparing each of Guernsey's unique schools for reopening, while ensuring they were able to adhere to public health guidelines, was not an easy task.
Schools and students have had to adapt to new ways of operating as head teachers and their staff made changes ranging from the way lessons are taught to how pick up and drop off works.
While not without challenges, after three successful days the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture wanted to express its thanks to all of the staff who worked so hard to prepare for reopening and parents for their continued support.
Deputy Matt Fallaize, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said:
"When you step back and look at the number of things which have been considered, it quickly becomes apparent how much work school and Education Office staff have had to do. Each of the island's schools is its own community, in its own environment, and each of them have had their own hurdles to overcome, yet this week has started off extremely well. We are delighted to see how many families have evidently jumped into the Guernsey Together spirit, deciding to travel actively to school to prevent traffic problems, and embracing the changes that have had to be made. As a Committee we wanted to thank staff, students and parents for all their efforts."
Parents and other volunteers have helped at drop off and pick up times to provide a safe environment for children to walk and cycle. Other volunteers have helped with cleaning equipment after break and lunchtimes.
Staff from Traffic & Highway Services have also helped out by making some roads one way to help with traffic flow around schools, and have also provided extra personnel to be on site at key times.
Deputy Peter Roffey, a member of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said:
"When you consider how hard our island's teachers and school staff have been working for the last few months - first keeping schools open for vulnerable students and the children of essential workers, then adapting to distance learning, and now to getting the schools back in a way suitable to phase four - it has been a fantastic effort. From everything we have heard so far, the excitement of the children seeing their friends and teachers again on Monday has contributed toward making it worth it.."
