THE MAYOR of the West Midlands visited a St Patrick’s Catholic Primary school to find out more about its links to the community and hear first hand how it was dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic.
Andy Street spoke to the children about his role and heard more about how the school had been during 2020.
He found out about the Covid-safe measures put in place and was joined during the visit by Eleanor Deeley, deputy managing director of the Deeley Group which has strong links with both the school and the wider Academy.
The mayor was shown Martin Curtin Room, built by the Deeley Group at a reduced cost after the company found out the school was in need of additional space to support some of its most vulnerable children.
The room, named after well-known construction worker Martin Curtin who worked for the Deeley Group for 58 years, has a range of uses including safeguarding meetings and support sessions, parent meetings, interventions and special educational needs sessions for the children.
Andrea Sherratt, St Patrick’s principal, said it was a privilege to welcome Mr Street who was interested to hear about measures, such as class bubbles, PPE, the refiguration of the classrooms, the removal of many soft furnishings and remote learning methods.
Mr Street said he enjoyed meeting children and staff, adding: “It was good to hear first-hand about how the school has adapted as a result of the pandemic and overcome a number of challenges. It’s clear that the school and the company have a very strong sense of community spirit which was excellent to see.”
