Let's face it, school is still a challenging place for teachers and school leaders aswell as pupils. All colleagues recognise the impact that Covid is having on children and the difficulty of planning a broad curriculum and providing experiences that are memorable.

Last week my youngest child's school cancelled their trip to the  to the annual concert in Sheffield, in January, in response to concerns over large numbers travelling together on transport to the venue. Only a few weeks prior to this his Year 6 leavers residential was postponed for much the same reasons. Year 6 residentials have over recent years have long been regarded as a coming of age milestone, in much the same way year 11 proms celebrate another milestone in children's lives. My eldest was looking forward to history trip to WW1 battlefields and was immensely disappointed that this is unlikely to go ahead.

We know that resilience is one of the core life-skills. We all have had to deal with disappointments and set backs, however for children there have been so many in a short space of time. It is important to give them that sense of perspective that if trips and residentials are cancelled it is 'not the end of the world, although to children it may seem like it at the time.

As a former teacher, I can emphasise with how much work goes into planning an off-site activity or residentials. We would plan months in advance and spend considerable time booking accomodation and extra activities and instructors, not to mention the extra work planning the curriculum and cover for the cohorts not on residentials. As Head of Large department I was passionate about providing young people with exciting experiences and had an extensive off-site programme, such as visits with the Armed Forces or emergency services. On occasions due to operational reasons trips were pulled at the last minute. I can still remember, with huge sense of dread, the difficult conversations we had to have with students. So I really do not envy some of the difficult decisions and conversations that teachers and School Leaders have have with children and parents in the last two years.

Schools that are inventive have found other ways to celebrate and reward achievements or even just celebrate being together again. It is important to manage expectations as we do not know how long these changes will last. Managing expectations of parents is also a huge challenge. So to focus on the good things that are happening around school and also re-engaging with friends are now more important than ever.

We provide an inexpensive solution for schools to improve confidence, resilience, mental health and well-being, with activities that can take place on-site in schools.  We bring the activities such as Archery, NERF, Problem Solving, Zorbing and much more into schools which more than make up for some of the things that children have missed out on over the last two years. Our inflatable arenas make a real impact and we have worked with schools all over the country but it is not just the equipment and activities we bring. The key is in our exceptional delivery.

"We provide the memories, YOU make the memories"

Since the first restrictions were lifted in July 2020 we have been trusted by schools to provide children with the memorable experiences they deserve. So you don't have to have those difficult conversations. We have provided activities for small primary schools for just 30 children right up to large secondary schools providing activities for 800 students per day.

Here is what one Deputy Headteacher had to say about her colleagues and children's experiences of working with Speedkix.