A semblance of normality returned to Hambledon today with the reopening of the village nursery school. David Evans, chair of the Trustees, explains the latest developments.

Hambledon Nursery School has been working towards a phased re-opening from June 1st, in line with government advice. The issues this raises for all involved are challenging, as the following article explains.

Since late March, for the first time in its history, Hambledon Nursery School has been closed. Usually bustling with the play and laughter of small children, for the past two months the school has been strangely empty and quiet.

But although the children have been at home, a core group has been keeping the heart of the school beating. Outreach to parents coping for the first time with home-schooling, with a steady flow of ideas and links and personal support. Videos from teaching staff letting the children know how much they are missed, and looking forward to when they return. Liaison between members of staff, keeping everyone in the loop over a period when every news report seems to say something different, and the government’s advice and plans have taken time to take shape. Physically looking after the fabric of the school itself. And behind the scenes, administrative and financial activity: applying for and administering the furlough schemes, monitoring our financial health, and working out what in different scenarios the future might look like.

But now, at last, it looks like we have a route back to normality.

The strong advice from the Department for Education is that nursery schools should re-open, from 1st June. So long as appropriate changes, for which they have provided a framework, can be designed and introduced to safeguard children, parents and carers, and staff.

Looking carefully at these changes we are confident that they can be introduced successfully at Hambledon Nursery.

Most important has been engaging with parents and carers and staff, to be sure that they too have confidence in our plans. There are, very understandably, some exceptions; but the great majority do.

So we have been working out the details of how to make this happen; seeing how we can minimise “pinch points” (at drop-off and collection times); deciding what new disciplines we need to adhere to for the cleaning of surfaces, for hand-washing, for respiratory hygiene; working out how we can organise classroom layouts and outdoor spaces to reduce personal contact; how we can keep children in smaller groups, and keep these groups separate; deciding what testing and PPE we should have to hand in case anyone at the school should fall ill.

What is very clear though is that it would be a step too far to expect all this to just happen on day 1, no matter how much we plan beforehand.

So, we are going to phase the return of children to the school. Over the 7 remaining weeks of the Summer term, starting with the 3-4 year olds for whom this is their last year at the nursery, then gradually adding more 3-4 year olds, and then most (but not all) 2-3’s, we will build back to (as close as we can to) normality. But we will be checking every step of the way that the new processes and procedures are working. And also, clearly, that there are no major negative developments in the environment outside the school.

Seeing first-hand the work, and the care, that are needed to build things back well and safely for a small nursery school makes one appreciate what a mountain we have as a country to climb. In our case it is the skill and dedication, and the hard work, of Kate our Head Teacher, and all her staff, that will do it. Along with the tremendous goodwill and support of parents and carers. The village has every reason to be very proud of the nursery school, which over the years it has done so much to support.