Wave welcomes staff and pupils back for start of new school year

7 September 2020

Wave Trust has welcomed staff and pupils back to its academies across Cornwall and Devon and is looking forward to providing all pupils with safe high quality education and fantastic support during the next few months.

 

 “Everyone at Wave has been working incredibly hard to develop and implement the new Covid 19 procedures” explained Wave CEO Rob Gasson.  “This has meant putting up new signs to support social distancing and providing additional hand washing and hand sanitising facilities in all our buildings, as well as creating bubbles so pupils can work together safely”.

“However we also recognise that some pupils and parents have been worried about coming back to school after such a long period at home. We are very proud of the warm, family atmosphere we provide in all our academies and are making sure that we continue to provide pupils and families with this support so they feel confident and comfortable about returning to the classroom” .

Recognised as the most successful Trust in the country for providing education for pupils who have been excluded from school, Wave runs six academies based in Cornwall, four academies based in Devon, and the Community and Hospital Education Service (CHES) & Torlands based across three centres in Devon and Cornwall. 

While the majority of schools across the country have been formally closed since the lockdown in March, members of Wave’s staff have been supporting vulnerable children and children of key workers at six educational hubs, as well as delivering education remotely to more than 750 pupils across Cornwall and Devon.  

The education staff working at Sowenna, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health unit in Bodmin, have also continued to provide education services to children and young people receiving specialist medical treatment. Part of Wave’s Community and Hospital Education Service (CHES), the five members of staff have provided personalised timetables, including GCSEs as well as therapeutic and holistic interventions, to up to 12 young people aged  13-18 throughout the lockdown period.

With the start of the new school term beginning at the end of last week for Wave pupils, Rob Gasson says staff have been delighted with the positive response from pupils and parents.

“We were delighted to welcome back so many pupils on our first few days” he said.  “We have already had some lovely messages from parents, with one commenting ‘thank you so much, you have been so kind and helpful. Everyone I have dealt with has been wonderful and I know he is going to be so well looked after and have a great experience’, while another said “ Just a note to say thank you again, such a relief that it has all gone so well and to see a happy grandchild again”.

Wave staff are also making final preparations for the opening of Glendinning House, a new special free school for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Devon, later this month.

Ends

Notes to editors

Picture shows Wave's CEO Rob Gasson

For further information/interviews please contact Trisha Hewitt at trisha@trishahewitt.com or phone 07946654121.