A HEADTEACHER has told of how her school is doing all it takes to stay open for key worker families and vulnerable children.

Kinga Pusztai, headteacher at Newcomen Primary School in Redcar, has even personally prepared meals for the children with colleagues as the school stayed open during the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays.

The children of key workers and vulnerable children have been kept engaged with a variety of educational activities including writing messages of support for frontline carers, learning first aid and even having a go at orienteering.

Miss Pusztai said: “We pride ourselves on being a family focused school with a strong community spirit. Our absolute priority has been a clear and deliberate focus on the health and well-being of our wonderful families. This is what matters most.

“We are taking great pride in supporting our remarkable key worker families by ensuring the school remains open to their children for as long as they need us. We’ve had a myriad of exciting activities for the children organised by our phenomenal staff on a daily basis. We endeavour to offer them some form of stability - and joy - during this testing period.”

She said the school staff have been touched by the support the school has received.

“Our children and their parents and carers have greatly appreciated the incredible effort the school has gone to and we have really appreciated their cards and gifts with heartfelt messages of gratitude that highlight just how much we are valued," she said, "this means so much to us. It was the right decision for the school to remain open during the Easter weekend. The children were treated to delicious lunches hand prepared by our reception teacher Kate Whitehead and myself and we were also able to distribute Easter eggs to our families after a very kind donation from Morrisons.”

She also explained how the school was engaging with children who were at home.

She said: “Manageable homework packs have been provided to the children with a clear message to parents and carers that during this unprecedented time, absolute priority should be given to showering their children with love, compassion and reassurance.

“Parents and carers know their children best and know how to keep them motivated and engaged. The key point of any learning at home is for families to spend quality time together."