Pupils at St Margaret’s Junior School, a local independent day and boarding school in Bushey, have been enjoying more outdoor exploration this week as the transition back to school life continues.
With whole school assemblies now banned under the current guidance, schools are looking for new ways to provide safe but inspiring experiences for young children during a time when they would traditionally come together as a community.
Having implemented a new ‘Enrichment Timetable’ during what previously would have been assembly time, the junior school has focused on easing the transition of ‘back to school’ for younger children by engaging them in a range of new enrichment activities from ‘woodland walks’ to natural history exploration, outdoor music lessons and creative nature themed tasks.
Emma Gray, who has joined St Margaret’s this term as new head of the junior school explained: “During this period of change it’s really important that we broaden our children’s experiences throughout the school day. Exploring the environment around us while benefiting from the great outdoors is a great place to start.
“Our woodland walks are designed to inspire discovery and nurture independence, but they have also encouraged some much-needed fun and laughter amongst the children, which is wonderful to see.”
“We are working hard to ensure our children are safe within the current guidance. As we head into the autumn and winter term there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the resurgence of infections and anything we can do to provide some semblance of ‘normality’ for children is so important right now.
“Though our children have missed being reunited with their whole school community, we’ve also found they have thoroughly enjoyed the new experiences the enrichment programme provides. It’s certainly something we’ll look to continue with in the future after the restrictions are eased.”
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