MARK BECHER HEADMASTER, THE COMPASS SCHOOL, HADDINGTON

MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Three daughters, aged 25, four and one

MAIN SUBJECT Primary education

At The Compass, we were delighted to welcome our children back to school this term. While the school operated very successfully during lockdown, there is no doubt that children thrive in each other’s company.

Of course, we have aimed to bring back children and staff as safely as possible and like all schools, we are following the Scottish Government’s guidance. This involves staggered drop- off and collection times and break times; an everpresent emphasis on the importance of good hygiene and hand- washing, and a restriction on the number of visitors into the school.

This session, we have the highest pupil roll ever, but a school such as ours thrives due to its size – being relatively small, with just 139 pupils, means that our children become known to all members of staff and to each other.

However, the necessary separation of year groups from each other makes it more difficult for our school “family” to be together. Nevertheless, we hold regular mini- assemblies during the week to develop the children’s sense of belonging and to communicate key messages. These gatherings help to ensure that the ethos of The Compass continues to flourish.

We greatly value contact with our parents and use the Seesaw app to send daily reports and photographs of what the children are up to, and suggestions as to how they can assist us.

Not surprisingly, for a school named The Compass, we provide many opportunities for children to be outside – we began our games and PE programme from the start of term and we make good use of our grounds for learning outdoors. This has been further enabled by the installation of a large covered area in the playground, which allows us to be outside whatever the weather.

A key priority for us has been supporting our children’s confidence and wellbeing as they return to school and it is great to see the beaming smiles and exuberance as they settle back with us.