COVID-19 & Teach Rex at Schools
If we learned nothing else from the events of Jurassic Park it’s that you can’t keep dinosaurs down for long.
Like most external education providers, the Teach Rex team has been in a state of suspended animation – trapped like a mosquito in amber, if you like – since the nationwide lockdown that started in March.
Now, some six months later, we’re pleased to announce that we’re back!
As children across the UK have returned to schools full-time, we have been working as supply teachers and have loved every minute of it. Teaching kids is what we’re all about and being able to get back into the classroom and teach on the front line has been immensely satisfying.
Reworking our workshops
We have not been idle during this interim period. It has always been our intention to start up our dragon and dinosaur workshops again. They provide so much joy and wonder to young kids all over the country – quite aside from the educational benefits – that there was no way we could let them slide.
However, as responsible and professional educators, we needed to develop a workshop environment that was safe for children and staff alike in these troubling times. We understand that many schools are reluctant to bring external providers onto their premises at this time. We would like to reassure you of the steps we have taken to make our dinosaur workshops COVID-19 safe.
Risk assessment
We have undertaken a complete risk assessment of all our workshops, detailing the steps we are taking to minimise the risk of transmission. We have listed the core points here, but we will furnish you with the full, detailed assessment prior to arrival.
We understand that every school has its own way of working under the latest government guidelines and we would need to see your own risk assessment to ensure we can accommodate them. From experience, most schools’ internal guidance are pretty similar, so fulfilling your specific requirement shouldn’t be a problem.
Working groups
We are not doing full-school assemblies, unless your school is a small one that classifies as a single bubble. Instead we are working with individual classes or year groups – whatever constitutes a bubble under your school’s particular guidelines. This prevents unnecessary mingling among pupils at your school, while still allowing us to present our workshops in the spirit they were always intended.
PPE
We wear visors during our workshops, both for the protection of our team and to demonstrate our commitment to safety precautions. If you feel that doing so would be upsetting or frightening for the children, we can deliver our workshops without them, so long as a risk assessment has been conducted and agreed upon.
Sanitising
All our dinosaurs are thoroughly sanitised before, during, and after each workshop. Likewise, our team will be using hand sanitiser and thoroughly cleaning all equipment throughout the visit.
Get in touch
We’re looking forward to arranging a workshop for your pupils, as much as they will look forward to attending one. For more information about our safeguarding measures, or book an interactive workshop, get in touch with Teach Rex today.