Last week I visited Robert Arkenstall Primary School in Haddenham to learn about how children and staff adapted to remote learning during the pandemic and the school’s recovery from lockdown. Kate Bonney, the school’s headteacher, provided an update on emphasis staff are placing on students’ mental wellbeing after such a difficult period, as well as how they are building on their experience of virtual education and the benefits of the National Tutoring Programme.
We also discussed the Department for Education’s Opportunity Area programme in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, of which schools will share over £1.15 million. The initiative is having a clear, positive effect on student attainment while laying the foundations for improved social mobility. This money is in addition to awards made previously to all schools under a national Covid Recovery funding scheme. The school is using their Opportunity Area funding to provide staff with training, including student wellbeing, digital learning and to launch new curriculums. Across Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, funding has meant over 1,800 staff have or are receiving training in line with their school’s key priorities.
