Schools and care homes in lockdown keep up spirits

Jilly Hunt, manager at Ashdene care home in Sleaford said her “amazing” staff have been keeping safe and keeping spirits up.

She explained: “Because we aren’t having our usual visits from hairdressers and manicurist, they have discovered secret talents and hair and nails are looking great.

“We have started a private Facebook page so that the relatives can keep up to date with what’s going on at Ashdene. We have links with a primary school in Sheffield and they are Facetiming us on weekdays to sing to our residents or just to chat.”

Jilly added that she has enlisted her nephews, currently being home schooled in Leeds, and they are reading to the residents. “We live streamed a visit to Chester Zoo the other day and also watched Tara Stafford-Allen sing, who normally visits us, who has done live sessions via Facebook.

“I am overwhelmed by the messages we keep getting from our relatives about how grateful they are at how well we’re looking after their loved ones.”

Headteacher at Ruskington’s Winchelsea Primary School, Helen Duckett, said they were all feeling muscles they did not know they had thanks to the daily online workout routine at 9am with Joe Wicks.

She said pupil numbers vary on a daily basis due to shift patterns of key worker parents, making it harder to organise but teachers and support staff are coming in on a rota basis of three days on and six days off, to keep them healthy and give them time at home to isolate and check for any signs and symptoms.

She commented: “I am planning for Winchelsea to keep this flexible approach regarding numbers and we are all set for working through the usual Easter school holidays if required.

“The staff are brilliant and are working in small teams in school to keep the children healthy and happy and to reduce their anxiety at this difficult time. In school they are doing a mix of numeracy and literacy based work but also project work which includes art work, DT, research in subjects like history and geography and we are also taking advantage of all that is online. Today we are planning an art class on line and will be doing a dance class with Oti from Strictly.”

She thanked the caretaking staff and school meal providers for their support too. All teachers are uploading work for children at home on a weekly basis on systems that enable the teacher to see what the children are completing and alter activities and tasks accordingly.

Miss Duckett said: “We are receiving great photos every day on our Twitter feed from children at home sharing the work they are doing.

“Our ‘got to be in school’ squad have designed their own baseball caps, designed and made Lego models of famous landmarks practiced their netball shooting skills and done some research.”