Since March 2020, Macclesfield schools have had to cope with the new normal of COVID-19.

We asked the staff and students at a local school about what school life

has been like. Emmanuel Botwe, Headteacher, Tytherington School gave us exclusive access to the Manchester Road academy which teaches Macclesfield kids aged 11-18. "It is getting close to two years since schools have been 'normal'," he said. "We've had to cope with lockdowns, bubbles, restrictions, testing, absences

and organising grades for students who have not had the opportunity to sit

exams to name just a few of the issues. "They don't cover global pandemics in the Headteacher training manuals! "Since the end of the autumn term, students have had to wear masks in school. "Although we have become used to wearing them, they still present challenges

for students and teachers.

"Communication is crucial in school so mask wearing presents a real

challenge for some students in school who are already struggling

with language.

"They're also incredibly uncomfortable for students to have to wear all day. Having said that, we understand why they are in place in schools."

Around 1,300 pupils attend the leading Macclesfield educational institution.

"During the year and a half, the important thing for us to reflect on

is our core values," added Mr Botwe. "We've tried our best to keep our community safe. This has meant taking a

lead on test, track and trace in school, introducing bubble systems,

an enhanced cleaning regime, masks and one-way systems. "The way in which students have adapted has been tremendous. "We have also tried very hard to keep "normal†extra curriculum

activities going.

"In December, we held our annual school pantomime and we've kept offering sport

throughout. This has really helped students adjust to life back in school. "We also had to make sure that we protected the most vulnerable families

in our community.

"Whether it was visits with food parcels, online sessions for students

with special educational needs or deploying our safeguarding officer

to support those in need, we've all had to go above and beyond to

help those who need that little bit of extra help. "Teachers have had to get used to delivering lessons online. During the last

two months, we have had more staff and students out of school as a result

of COVID infection. We expect students to access online lessons when

not in school. This enables youngsters to keep up with their learning,

however, it is tricky for staff to balance teaching students in school as well as deliver teaching to students who are at home isolating. The OFSTED school rated good, dates back to the 1860s, and was once an all girls school decades before it became the community-driven academy we know and love today. Lissa Cook, Teacher of MFL and Oxbridge Coordinator had this to say on doing her job in these challenging times. 'Students have shown resilience, patience and good humour since lockdowns

one and have kept coming to school and focusing on learning despite

being bubbled, masked, asked to walk round one-way systems, told to

isolate and dial into lessons from home because family's have been ill

or because students have themselves been sick," Lissa said. "In a world where it's sometimes hard to explain ever-changing

government guidelines to adults let alone children, they continue

to amaze me and make me proud to be their teacher.' Tytherington School's motto is 'An ambitious school at the heart of the community'. It became an academy in 2014-15. Liz Healey, Assistant Headteacher, Special Educational Needs Coordinator had this to say on how her job has changed during the pandemic. "Prior to the pandemic, SEND children and their families were already

struggling to access timely assessment, diagnosis and support," she explained.

"Then the pandemic struck.

"Firsthand experience has shown that numerous lockdowns and

government restrictions have affected our most vulnerable children

the most.

"Despite Tytherington making every effort to mitigate the difficulties

our SEND students have faced, it shouldn't be underestimated the

impact this has had on them.

"The constant disruptions to services and support have made it

hard and as a country we have to think hard about how we keep

things going for the most vulnerable in a lockdown scenario. Just

as services were getting back to a new 'normal', we find ourselves

again fighting to access key services for the young people we support.

"Facing virtual only appointments, restricted access to medical and

mental health support and backlogs in assessments, means that

families of SEND children struggle to access the support they need.

Twenty months later, we are still waiting to see any significant injection

of funding and improvement in the provision of services for those

affected." The Manchester Road school post regular COVID-19 updates to their website and to their 2000 followers on Twitter. Isobel Radmall of Year 7 has never experienced secondary school in non-pandemic times. But has settled in well at the Macclesfield place of education. "I had mixed feelings about joining secondary school during COVID, she recalled. "Not only was I worried about finding my way around a new school,

but also about keeping myself and my family safe from COVID.

"The virtual learning from school was really good and helped me to

keep up with my school work whilst I had to isolate when my sister had COVID." The ambitious high-performing school can be contacted on [email protected]. Further enquiries can be made to 01625 610220. Tytherington School is located on Manchester Rd, Tytherington, Macclesfield SK10 2EE. Got a business or organisation to promote in Macclesfield? Promote it for FREE on the Macclesfield Nub News Local List. Macclesfield: Want to write your own news? Simply submit your own stories and opinion by clicking the black 'Nub it' button on our homepage. Macclesfield: Have you signed up for our FREE Friday weekly newsletter? It contains each week's top 10 Macclesfield news stories, and one EXCLUSIVE article? 1050 of you have signed up already. Simply enter your email address in the shaded box below or on this link. Free from pop-up ads, or unwanted suveys, Macclesfield Nub News is a quality online newspaper which produces 30-40 stories a week for our town. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.