Black Country schools ready to support community through coronavirus pandemic

Although schools have shut down for the general public, children whose parents work in a variety of "key" roles such as for the NHS emergency services or utility providers, will still be attending school along with those classed as 'vulnerable' or with special educational needs.

The measure is hoped to relieve pressure on parents working on the front lines of the global pandemic or struggling to arrange sufficient childcare.

Each school has been contacting parents to estimate the number of children who will still be coming in and to arrange teaching.

Jamie Barry, headteacher at Yew Tree Primary School in Wolverhampton, said: "I feel devastated about the closure. Schools are not just about academic study, they are a place of safety and sanctuary for our children so I worry about that not being the case for a while.

"I am sad that the children will lose so much of their school year, however, we are expecting 50 to 60 children next week and I am pleased that schools can still continue to be a source of support for our communities at this difficult time as they will need that hope and positivity."

Instead of a regular timetable, schools will be offering enrichment activities, focusing on PSHE, mental wellbeing and arts, while also touching on educational skills such as maths and English.

And with exams cancelled, students are set to be awarded grades based on their teacher assessments.

Matthew Carpenter, Principal of Baxter College, in Kidderminster, said: "As you can imaging there are a range of feeling - a strong sense of unity and pride in keeping going in such challenging times, but a lot of sadness to be saying goodbye to our year 11 and 13 in these circumstances.

"There's some relief that the exam series has been cancelled because the run up to the exams was becoming increasingly disjointed. We are all concerned about not seeing our students for a long period of time, as we are a close knit community."

Baxter College is planning to send food hampers to parents of students who receive free school meals.

Jubilee Academy in Bloxwich will also be offering breakfast and lunch to children who are still coming into school and free school meals for parents to collect for children at home.

David Brownsword, headteacher, added: "We've been very busy, but we have the most tremendous staff. Even our cleaners and parents have offered to help people by delivering food to those in need.

"Our teachers are being massively positive, smiling through everything and making sure the children are at ease, they are always putting them first. I'm so proud to be a part of this community."

Senior leaders of schools across the West Midlands have continued to thank their staff for their hard work during this period.

Lee Thomas, headmaster at Stafford Grammar School, said: "We have been overwhelmed by the number of staff willingly volunteering to come in and support this - at Stafford Grammar and Stafford Prep schools we really have seen the best in people during this challenging time for all of us.

"All of our staff and pupils will be staying in contact throughout this period to support each other."

Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, Wolverhampton Council's cabinet member for education and skills, said: "We estimate that around 10 per cent of children in Wolverhampton will continue to attend school in the coming weeks, and we will support local schools to continue to deliver this provision.

"These are extraordinary times and they require an extraordinary response – and I would like to place my thanks, and that of the council, to our city’s children, families, school leaders, teachers and everyone working in the education sector for their incredible efforts."