Remote schooling for all parents has been hard. Each one of us has had huge ups and downs this past year.
For me, personally, I’ve had to balance my job as a Solicitor, looking after my 18-month-old, renovating a house and vaguely trying to keep the house clean, in addition to the demands of becoming a (very poor) Teacher for a few hours a day.
For many other parents, the task has been just as challenging and more so.
All that said, my experience of St Peter’s approach to it, and to my son, has been extraordinary.
Having read and spoken to friends about experiences in other schools, I have understood that this exceptional situation that we have all been placed in has exposed a lot of the inner workings of a school. We have seen on a daily basis what the curriculum is like; what the different personalities of the teachers are like; how they treat our children and can see their professionalism and motivation laid bare in a way that has not been experienced by parents before.
From others, I hear of inexperienced teachers; of a poor and redundant curriculum; of disorganisation, and of a lack of communication in other schools.
For me, there has been none of this. My son has loved the morning Google Meets with his Teacher and classmates; the 1:1 reading; the science experiments where we tallied the most popular ice cream flavour amongst family members; learning about pandas; French and Music and he has absolutely adored the P.E. lessons with Mrs White, where he did burpees and jumped in the air with such a fervent enthusiasm that I thought he might pass out!
But, what was most astounding was what I saw in each and every one of the Teachers who interacted with my son. Not only did they constantly endeavour to ensure that he was engaged, but they displayed endless amounts of warmth, kindness and respect to him and, for that, I am so truly grateful. I now know that this is the best possible place for him to grow into the confident, inquisitive and happy young person that he is already becoming.
Parent of a Year 1 pupil
