Hannah is walking the walk for Prior’s Court
Preparations are in place as Woolton Hill Juniors finally resumes lessons on Monday
A MEMBER of staff at Prior’s Court is planning a walking fundraiser to support her organisation’s activities.
Hannah Merritt, training and development coordinator at the Hermitage centre for young people with autism, is to complete a 47km walk in June.
She will be taking part in the Cotswold Way Challenge alongside hundreds of other runners, walkers and joggers.
Mrs Merritt has chronic asthma, placing her in the highly vulnerable category throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
This means she has been forced to shield for extensive periods over the past year, which has made training for the challenge difficult.
Her participation will be in support of Prior’s Court, which she joined as a full-time staff member in 2019.
Mrs Merritt said: “Training is tough at the moment with the third lockdown and being vulnerable, so I have to be very careful about when and where I go out for a walk.
“The weather also isn’t helping, but I’m powering through as I know what I’m doing is for such a great cause – a little bit of snow or rain will not stop me.
“I’m excited to get the event under way so I am really hoping it’s not delayed or cancelled due to Covid19.
“The older I get the more it hurts, so I know I’m not in for an easy ride, but it’s all worth it.
“Many people may not have a huge amount of knowledge of autism, which is something I am keen to change and make people aware of through this.
“The young people we have at Prior’s Court deserve the very best for everything they teach us and those that work closely alongside them.
“Every donation, big or small, will go towards helping our young people live their best lives and be as happy and fulfilled as possible.
“Thank you to all those who have supported me so far.”
To donate towards Mrs Merritt’s fundraiser, visit bit.ly/37Cim3A
WITH just four days to go until schools fully reopen, preparations at Woolton Hill Junior School are largely complete.
As a junior school, children aren’t required to wear masks, but face coverings have become the norm for adults throughout the school, except in classrooms and class bubbles.
Staff and teachers began self-testing twice a week – on Wednesday and Sunday nights – during the latest lockdown and that is set to continue, helping to ease worries about possible transmission of the virus.
Headteacher Lisa Rees said much of the preparation for the pupils’ return had been done ahead of the anticipated reopening in January, before the Government’s U-turn a day before they were set to reopen.
She said: “We did most of the changes ready for January 4 when we thought schools were going to reopen, but we’ll now use them next week.
“The biggest change is that the staff are now wearing masks in any areas that aren’t their classrooms.
“The bubbles will be the same as in the autumn term, staggered arrivals and departures and breaks, eating in their classrooms – all procedure aspects will remain as they were before Christmas as there’s not much more we can do.
“All visitors to school were already wearing masks, but we’re now asking parents to wear masks if they come on site at all, even if they’re outside.
“My staff have been amazing – they’ve all been teaching on some occasions in school and they’ve been wearing masks the whole time.
“It’s become more second nature for them now, it doesn’t feel unusual anymore.”
Compared to the beginning of January, when many anxious families weren’t prepared to send their children back to school, Mrs Rees said she hadn’t heard from any parents reluctant for their child to return.
She added: “We had many, many parents who weren’t going to send their children back in January, whereas this time we haven’t had any parents who’ve said they’re not sending their children back.
“There are people who are still worried, but I think the two months at home has helped parents realise that school is the right place for them to be and they can see the gaps on their child’s learning.
“The infection rate has dropped from what it was at Christmas, and they feel there’s light at the end of the tunnel perhaps with vaccinations.”
Mrs Rees went on to say that although there would be attention paid to the children’s personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, lessons from their return following the summer break showed that the children were keen to return to a normal routine.
She added: “We will be including PSHE when they come back in – the whole school will be doing a picture book which is focusing on PHSE themes of being resilient and part of a family, saying school is our family.
“We actually found last time that children just wanted to start their normal lessons.
“They were asking to do maths or English now.
“They want to get back to normal, and see their friends again.”