Calderdale headteacher responds to claims school provided 'lack of support'

The response comes after concerned parent Adam Dobson said Triangle Primary, in Sowerby Bridge, 'has not supported pupils enough' and instead favoured advice from Pete Keal, secretary of West Yorkshire Authority Trade Union Council, who said ‘it is not the time to reopen schools’.

The union advised the public not to send their children back to school in early June after Covid-19 daily death rate were still in the hundreds, with the new infection rate remaining higher than at the beginning of the lockdown, and the high number of Covid-19 confirmed cases in Yorkshire.

“They say our kids are the future but they’re robbing them of any decent education while this pandemic closed schools.

"Sending learning packs home is all when and good, but if you have a parent doing a full-time job at home, the pressure is huge and it’s very hard to try to balance all this especially knowing it could be effecting your child’s education."

Gavin Davies, Headteacher of Triangle School, said: “We're committed to supporting our pupils to achieve their full potential, and our care for children and their families are reflected in all we do.

"We understand this is a difficult time for everyone, and we’ve have worked extremely hard from the outset of school closures to provide appropriate and engaging support for home learning.

“Our staff have created clear, simple and safe systems to provide this support for families, using online resources such as ‘Class Dojo’ and ‘See Saw’.

"This has enabled us to constantly monitor, support and provide feedback to children and their families.

"We have supplemented this with regular plans that have been sent home to parents that enable them to provide structure and support for their home schooling.

“We have also been assured all parents and pupils that there's no obligation to complete all activities and that we fully understand that individual circumstances may make home schooling a very challenging thing to organise.

"Our teachers and staff are always on hand to give extra support to parents when they need it.

"We have received positive feedback from the majority of parents and carers about our systems and continued support.

“There are no national expectations for schools to provide remote lessons and we’re in line with the vast majority of primary schools in our area that have decided to concentrate on other ways to support home learning.

“Whilst we have continually reviewed our systems of home schooling support, our recent priority has been to plan for the school opening more widely whilst still maintaining meaningful support for children who remain at home."