Since our return to school, after the last period of remote learning, as a staff we have been reviewing and reflecting on our experiences. Whilst we would all much rather have been able to be at school, we have learned a lot from remote teaching and we hope to be able to use some or our new skill set to develop teaching and learning within the school.

As a teacher, one of the things that concerned me especially during the last period of remote learning was the increasing debate in the media that children needed to catch up…. Catch up from what?

Of course, I am in no doubt that we are incredibly lucky to be well resourced and have the backing of a supportive parent body as well as a staff of committed and talented teachers. However, the question remains, what have children missed out on? I think this goes to the heart of what we aim to provide as a school.

Amanda Spielman, the Head of Ofsted, said recently “Parents know that after a year of heavy restrictions children need time with their grandparents, with their friends, to get out of the house and enjoy themselves again. These are things that will help them learn well in school.”

She also said that whilst,” it was clear “that for most children, getting back on track will happen through lessons in their normal classrooms, with their normal teachers”.

Of course, in Scotland we operate under a slightly different regulatory regime known as GIRFEC (Getting it Right for Every Child). This is a multi-organisational approach which means in essence making sure children and young people can receive the right help, at the right time, from the right people. The aim is to help them to grow up feeling loved, safe and respected so that they can realise their full potential.

GIRFEC is at the heart of what we do and it is these extracurricular things that (bubbles permitting) we have been trying to develop since our return. Our priority has been to get the children socialising and interacting with their peers and with their teachers, enjoying time outside during games and activities. If anything, I think it is these things that children need to catch up on. The lovely weather so far has definitely helped. The multi activity camp that most of our children participated in during the Easter break, was a great way to start. It is amazing to walk around the campus and see the Art Room and the Music School full of children just doing their thing. Debating is in full swing and the weekly boarders are back and enjoying baking and barbeques amongst other things. We are making plans to restart our weekly PSHE sessions with form 8 on Wednesday evenings and looking forward to when we can start a more comprehensive range of clubs after supper. Although we are taking things slowly and in making changes as and when the regulations allow, the mood is definitely optimistic with staff planning lot so exciting things for the autumn term.

It is great to be back!