Parents at St Catherine's Catholic Primary School 'buzzing' by return

The group of parents we spoke to at St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School this morning couldn’t hide their delight at seeing children back in school, particularly after a "difficult" lockdown.

After their first day back yesterday, the parents agreed they had seen a huge and "positive" change in the mindset of the children – even after just one day.

They also hailed the staff at St Catherine’s, both during lockdown, and for what head teacher Nicola Kane and her team have done to make the site Covid-secure.

Yogi Patel said his son Kiyan, who is in year 3, was too excited to even go to sleep on Sunday night ahead of the return on Monday.

He said: "Kiyan was like a different child on Sunday. He had so much energy, he couldn’t go to sleep. My daughter Leah was also super excited and desperate to see her friends again.

"While the older children can be left to get on with work, it’s tougher for those who are younger to concentrate. The school have been great and there was a structure provided and work was available. But it is healthier for kids to be in school."

Louise Murphy was equally happy to see school gates in Garston open to all pupils.

Her daughter Poppy, who is in year 6, ended up returning to school last month due to the challenges of home learning.

She said: "Initially, the home learning was really difficult. Poppy has ADHD and it was tough for her being out of a school setting. So she returned in February. As parents, we don’t have the specialist knowledge that teachers do. Poppy was initially gutted to come back but now she is so happy.

"It’s also her last year at the school and St Catherine’s do a lot of things to make that last year exciting for them."

left to right: Parents' Natalie Pepper, Stephanie Currie, and Louise Murphy at St Catherine's

Stephanie Currie’s son Andrew also returned to school earlier than planned.

"Andrew finds it difficult to concentrate so we told the school about it, and he came back in. I'm so glad now to see all of the kids back. There is a real buzz.", Ms Currie said.

Natalie Pepper, who has two children at St Catherine’s and the rest of the group of parents we spoke to all agreed they weren’t too apprehensive about the big return to school and said it has all run "very smoothly".

Thank you messages and drawings hung up by pupils at St Catherine's to teachers

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Head teacher Nicola Kane, who gave us an outside tour of the school, seemed equally as delighted to have school fully reopen.

She said: "We’ve actually been quite busy with pupils in during the lockdown – around a third – and what was hard this time was also juggling remote learning.

"But it was a case of everyone glad to be coming back on March 8 rather than the last lockdown when there was stress. There wasn’t as much apprehension this time round."

Head teacher Nicola Kane, left, and assistant head teacher Stephanie Taylor

Ms Kane added: "All the staff, kids, and parents have come back really positive and happy. There hasn’t been any major anxiety whereas there was last time. Everyone feels relieved to be getting back into a normal routine again, it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"All in all, everyone feels confident with the measures in place."

The first two weeks back in school will be focused on improving pupil's mental health and wellbeing and helping to rebuild social skills.

Keep an eye on the Observer website for a further insight into how St Catherine’s is helping to keep pupils and staff safe in school.