Letter of thanks from Councillor Sarah Nield, lead councillor for schools
Today is National Thank A Teacher Day and I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you on behalf of the council to all the amazing teaching and support staff in our city.
We’re coming to the end of a tough academic year, but across the city we have seen our teachers, teaching assistants and support staff in school, colleges, nursery and childcare providers, do an incredible job navigating the endless changes thrust upon them.
Many of you have had to become experts overnight in many different areas. For example providing remote learning, which we know was challenging, alongside onsite teaching, as well as, organising testing and track and trace for students.
You’ve had to juggle all these demands on top of responding to Ofsted inspections and the added pressure of exams being replaced with assessments of pupils’ work.
This has not been a ‘normal’ year for anyone, in particular our NQTs – newly qualified teachers - who have had a very disruptive first year induction to teaching and our teaching assistants have had to support some of our most vulnerable children during very difficult times.
Headteachers and college principals you’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to keep your education settings open and to support your children in their return to school.
We’re still living through uncertain times, but we really do appreciate all the tireless work you’ve done to ensure that measures are in place to keep everyone safe to enable the continued provision of high quality education for our young people and for them to catch up with lost learning.
You, our teachers, teaching assistants, college and sixth form staff, childminders, nursery carers, support staff, lunchtime staff, cleaners, and so many more, have been unsung heroes throughout this entire crisis.
As we now near the summer holidays, I really do hope that is more relaxing one for you than last year.
I really can’t praise or thank everyone who works in education enough after what you’ve all been through this last year and more.
The fact that you’re all still standing at this point after the wave after wave of changes and challenges that have been thrown at you is frankly very humbling.
Thank you so much.
Councillor Sarah Nield, Lead councillor for schools
