Luton school makes special delivery to children celebrating lockdown birthdays

A school in Luton has been spreading some joy to pupils whose birthday celebrations have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Staff from Chantry Primary Academy, in Lewsey Farm, have wrapped and delivered gifts and cards to all pupils who have had birthdays since the schools were partially closed on March 20, thanks to a donation of toys from Discover Islam Luton.

Executive Headteacher, Cori Bateman said: “My own daughter had her 12th birthday in April and I saw how affected she was by being unable to see her friends.

"It made me think of our pupils who would have been affected like this, so when Discover Islam asked if we could make use of these gifts, I jumped at the chance to surprise our pupils and to make their birthdays a bit more special than they might otherwise have been.”

Deputy Headteacher, Jamie Kelly, has been coordinating the delivery of the gifts.

He said: “The staff have been amazing; coming into school to wrap gifts and write cards and then delivering them to the children, who have been absolutely thrilled.

"We’ve delivered over 50 gifts so far and it feels amazing to be doing something so worthwhile at this difficult time.”

All of the schools in the Pioneer Learning Trust have been working hard to support their children and families despite being closed.

Teachers and support staff continue to go into school on a rota basis to provide care for children of keyworkers and those who are vulnerable, and staff regularly conduct socially distanced welfare checks and support visits to the homes of over 200 families, providing breakfast packs, work packs and other support and resources.

The school has thanked Level Trust, Discover Islam and Magic Breakfast for the support they have offered pupils during the coroanvirus pandemic.

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