‘I want to make the lives of our kids better than my life was’
HERO TEACHER ZANE POWLES ON GOING BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER THE LOCKDOWN
GRIMSBY’S hero teacher, Zane Powles, has spoken about what life has been like going back to school after the coronavirus lockdown.
In an interview with The Observer, Zane discussed his reasons behind his heroic packed lunch deliveries during the lockdown, as well as the response he has had in the aftermath. Zane, assistant headteacher at Western Primary School in Grimsby, made international news earlier this year by walking more than five miles a day to deliver packed lunches to vulnerable children.
In the time since then, Zane has become a local hero, being honoured by North East Lincolnshire Council and undertaking a 1,500 mile cycling fundraiser around the UK for two charities.
But Zane’s original decision to help vulnerable children through the pandemic stemmed from his own upbringing, as he knew what it was like to grow up in “quite tough circumstances” after his father died when he was a baby. He said: “Lots of things happened after that which weren’t great… I think, because I’ve lived through that, I want to make the lives of our kids better than my life was.
Zane also said that delivering roughly gy 7,500 , lunches during g the pandemic was “doing the right thing”, and he could make sure that the kids were “all safe” during his visits.
He was also struck with the strong response he has had from everyone, ranging from the press to the pupils at his school.
He said: “When the media first got involved, and people started making nice comments, I found it overwhelming. I’d get back to school and just cry.” Children began putting posters in windows and chalking the walls along his route to say thank you, and, at the end of the summer term, hundreds of people lined up outside his school to applaud him when he returned from his deliveries.
ane said: “I went round the corner and the whole school was there. The kids had made banners and they y were singing gg and their parents were there… and that was just the best thing ever.”
Since going back to school, the children have been incredibly affectionate to him, crowding around him and trying to cuddle him en masse.
He said: “They’re certainly more affectionate, even though they know they shouldn’t be, because of Covid.”
Zane has also had a strong response from the parents and believes his relationship with them is stronger than ever.
He said: “They call me by my first name and the connection is so much tighter. I can joke with them. They realise I am there for them, that I’ll do whatever I can to support them and their kids.”
The assistant headteacher also spoke about returning to school with Covid restrictions in place. W While he considers them “chall lenging”, he believes they are doing a all they can to guarantee student s safety, but does have concerns a about their mental health. Zane said: “The head calls me ‘C ‘Captain Covid’ because I’m the o one who’s put the systems in place a and is making sure we’re following t the guidance as closely as we can. “Six more months of restrictions will be extremely tough on the children. My biggest worry is their mental health. It’s already taken a battering.”
He also spoke about how the packed lunch walks helped his own mental health.
He said: “I relax by doing exercise and being active. If I hadn’t done all that walking, if I’d had to sit at home and not go out, I really would not have been able to cope.” If his school’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils – “our kids” he calls them – had not needed his help, “I’d be in a bad place now. I know that.”