I hope that all members of the school community are well and staying safe. We approach the most unusual half-term break of our school lives with a mix of emotions and inevitably feeling unsettled about the situation we have found ourselves in. I said to the students before the school closed that the time would come when we would all return to school and we continue to look forward to that happening. What I would reiterate is that we should appreciate the efforts of all members of our school community in adapting to new ways of working and living and admire their resilience, commitment and creativity; our lives are already different and will continue to change but we shouldn’t forget the spirit of community, the emphasis on kindness and the appreciation of those who work selflessly to support others which have been so prominent over the past couple of months. If our students are growing up in a society in which these things are seen to be valued then that can only be a positive thing.

Thankyou to all the parents and carers who have completed this week’s survey*. It was deliberately broad-brush and we will analyse the feedback over the next few days. Once this is done we will provide a summary of general points and the actions which we will take in order to keep evolving our provision and to address common concerns or questions at the start of next term.

I think it is important to acknowledge the very many parents and carers who wanted to express their appreciation for all that our staff – both teaching and non-teaching – have been doing over the past few weeks. This is uncharted territory for all of our school community and the spirit of togetherness which I quickly realized was characteristic of Wallingford School is to be celebrated and not to be underestimated.