School's 'wellbeing bus' helping pupils at home

When the children can't go to school... the school goes to the children.

The Longdendale High School ‘Well-being Bus’ was on tour for the first time on Wednesday (10 February) to deliver essential supplies to students learning from home during lockdown.

Assistant headteacher Jenny Willis explained: “Our students’ well-being is of paramount importance to us. To further support this mindfulness and well-being, the ‘Longdendale Well-being Bus’ made scheduled visits to different locations in our community yesterday (Wednesday).”

Stops included Silver Springs and Copley schools, plus Tesco in Stalybridge, among others.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Strict Covid guidelines were adhered to as students visited the bus as it toured Tameside to provide children with their packs. Photo: Nigel Wood.

Further stops in Hollingworth and Glossop are scheduled for Friday (12 February). 

Jenny added: “The bus is packed with free resources, and a familiar face from school.”

Children running low on stationery items, exercise books and paper were all encouraged to go along to collect free packs. 

The contents of the packs. Photo: Nigel Wood. 

“Amongst other things, we have been given free sanitary period products that we’d like to distribute to as many girls as we can,” said Jenny.

In response to parental concerns about the amount of time students were having to look at screens to learn during lockdown, the school also introduced creative and practical tasks for students for the first time on Wednesday.

These educational tasks were all aimed at getting the children away from their screens, with parents encouraged to get involved too. It was all part of a wider well-being afternoon organised throughout the school yesterday.

Main image:

Students abide by Covid rules as they greet the bus to collect their packs. Photo: Nigel Wood.