The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Top of the class as schools return
The first week of September is always a key time of year, seeing as it marks the start of the new school year and for many children the beginning of their education.
It may be a while since my school days, but I remember feeling excited to return to class after the long summer break and I’m sure pupils are looking forward to catching up with their friends, teachers and school staff.
As I said in last week’s column, the past year has been like no other for our schools. Everyone involved in education has had to adapt to an unprecedented situation and you have my sincere thanks for doing such a wonderful job in very difficult circumstances.
Having children back in the classroom is the best option for all concerned, giving them the chance to learn, develop and flourish.
But I want to reiterate that our schools are safe places to return to and assure everyone that we have worked very hard in readiness for this week.
Over the summer, schools went through rigorous and detailed risk assessments, as well as clarifying how they could meet the ‘System of Controls’ – steps set out by Government which a schoolmust follow to minimise the number of contacts a pupil has during a school day.
Having worked through the assessments and put in place necessary measures to ensure adequate cleaning and ‘social bubbles’ can be adhered to, we are fully confident our schools are safe spaces.
But rest assured, we will never be complacent and will continue to thoroughly monitor the situation and adapt as needed.
September also marks the start of the new football season. Peterborough United is a club close to my heart and I would like to wish them the very best of luck for the 2020/21 campaign.
Football has been hit hard by covid-19, with fans prohibited fromwatching inside stadiums and although matches are being broadcast online, I dearly hope to be able to return to London Road at some point soon.
On the subject of which, I was delighted to see the club announce a moving in date for the new stadium.
The plans had hit a slight delay following the outbreak of the pandemic, but the new ground should be ready to open in January 2023, subject to the necessary planning permission, funding andconstruction timetables.
We are working closely with the football club on the plans, which will form part of the master development of the Embankment, including the new Anglian Ruskin University, a technology centre, pubs, restaurant and additional entertainment venues.
It is great news that we can continue down our path and look forward to seeing the new stadium, which will be fantastic for the football club, surrounding community and city as a whole.
As I have previously said, the time really is now for Peterborough, with so many big projects under way this is an exciting era for our historic city. You can rest assured that we will continue to work hard to keep you safe and to keep the city moving forward.
Over the past month, the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme has had particular success in Peterborough.
More than 100 businesses signed up to the initiative, which offered diners a 50 per cent discount when in restaurants registered with the scheme from Mondays to Wednesdays. From speaking to those in the trade and seeing the number of people out and about, I know it has helped to increase midweek custom and city centre footfall.
Although the scheme has now officially ended, a number of local restaurants are continuing to offer midweekdiscounts to customers, which is fantastic news.
We all have a part to play to help the local economy continue to recover, so please make the most of our city’s diverse restaurants and cafes.
There was certainly a chill in the air over the weekend, so I stayed in the warm and watched two programmes with a Peterborough link.
Firstly, I was quite literally buzzing, to see the council andlocal residents featured in ‘Jimmy’s Big Bee Rescue’.
This featured presenter Jimmy Doherty showcase our work to help preserve bees, which as you may know, are declining in number– bad news for honey lovers like me.
Jimmy was impressed with our bio-diversity areas and changes to some of our grass cutting regimes which has helped to boost bee numbers.
So a big well done to those involved – this shows how our teams listen to public concerns, no matter how big or small and do what they can to help.
I also enjoyed watching talented young singer George Elliott produce a fantastic performance in the final of The Voice Kids, narrowly missing out on the top prize.
I think he should have won it and his talent was truly amazingtosee– heperformed like a seasoned entertainer. George, who is from from Walton, can be immensely proud of himself.