Author: Daniel crossfield

Friday May 29th 2020

Sheffield based company, Twinkl Educational Publishing has released an electronic book (ebook) which focuses on the experiences that children may have faced during lockdown and the emotions they may experience when returning to school in the coming months.

The free ebook, In It Together, introduces four characters who demonstrate how their life has changed due to the closure of schools.  The simple text and child-friendly illustrations show the characters as they live, learn and love during lockdown. They are seen practising social distancing, learning from home, clapping for carers, and missing friends and family.

The Twinkl team understands that returning to school after lockdown will be a challenging and emotional time for children. According to Barnardos, 88% of school staff said the pandemic is likely to have an effect on the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils.

A number of concerned parents and carers have also reached out to Twinkl through its social media groups and customer support, asking for resources to support their children or pupil’s return to class.

Twinkl encourages parents, carers and teachers to use the story to talk to children about COVID-19 and going back to school, if they are returning. The company also offers further free resources and advice on its site.

The Twinkl Originals book was written, illustrated, designed and published in a matter of weeks as the team recognised the need to support children as schools reopen on the 1st June.

The children’s story is available for free on the Twinkl website and the Twinkl Originals app, which is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. The story is one of the educational publishers Twinkl Originals, a range of books that the company has been producing since 2018.

There is also a reading of the book from a former teacher and team member at Twinkl, available on the Twinkl YouTube channel.

Jonathan Seaton, Co-Founder and CEO at Twinkl, said: “At Twinkl, we understand how extremely challenging the current situation is for parents, teachers and children. We wanted to create a story targeted at young children to support them with their return to school. The team have worked incredibly hard to produce a story which allows children to talk openly about their concerns. We hope that it will encourage conversations and be useful to people at this time.”

Katherine Richardson, a parent and reader said: “It helped my daughter to show empathy for other children’s circumstances during lockdown and how they might be different to hers. It has given her the reassurance she needed for the next step of this journey.”

Kate Parnham, a parent and reader said: “My daughter loved it. She liked seeing how some of the characters have been doing similar things to what she’s been doing whilst at home and also how the character, Matthew, is like some of her friends who have been in school during this time.”

Twinkl’s mission is to help those who teach and the company offers over 640,000 teaching and learning materials on its website, which are all teacher created and checked. The company has recently created a free Home Learning Hub, full of daily activities and materials, to support parents, teachers and carers during school closures.

 

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted restrictions for certain parts of hospitality and leisure sector to reopen in England only with the 2 metre rule reduced to 1 metre.  Here’s a list of places you will be able to go to from 4^th July:

Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and Holiday homes

A lot of us have had holidays cancelled so it’s welcomed that we can go back on our UK staycations and make the most of hotels, B&B’s and return to those beloved holiday homes.

Here’s a couple of hotels and B&B’s that we’ve found are opening up again:

Oulton Hall Hotel Leeds 4^th July

The Judges Lodging Hotel York 4^th July

Pickersgill Bed and Breakfast in Yorkshire are taking bookings again from 3^rd July

With the sunny weather setting in, now’s the time to book those holiday parks, boarding houses, campsites and caravanning trips again. We have fond memories of camping, doing a fairy trail and seeing the gauges at Studfold Camp  and caravan site in North Yorkshire.

Here’s a couple of examples of campsites, Caravan Parks and Boarding houses we’ve found are reopening:

North Yorkshire Moors campsite

Knaresborough campsite

Caravan parks

Black Bull Caravan Park in Pickering  is reopening on 4^th July,

Flower of May Caravan Park in Scarborough is reopening 4^th July

Boarding houses

Willow Dene Guest House will be opening from 10^th July

Woodlands Farm Guest House reopening from 4^th July

While you can now attend churches, mosques, synagogues and places of worship for private prayer, on 4^th July all places of worship will be open but singing is banned.

Here is one place of worship that is open for individual prayer

York Minster is open for Individual prayer

We all know the power of reading and learning…  so it’s with a welcomed relief that libraries are also set to reopen which are much valued free resources for many people.

Here’s a example of a library which could reopen in July:

Wakefield Libraries could reopen July

Love or hate your workplace canteens,  when things suddenly shut we suddenly miss the convenience of it, and work canteens are also set to reopen.

For people who enjoy a drink after a tough week at work, here’s a few pubs and bars that will be reopening, providing they’re Covid secure:

Ecclesall Road in Sheffield has lots of places to eat and drink to Westgate Run in Wakefield and Call Lane in Leeds…. There will be a welcome return to some nightlife for pubs and bars throughout Yorkshire.

Here’s some cinemas in Yorkshire that will be reopening in July:

Film buffs and movie lovers can breathe a sigh of relief  with cinemas set to reopen too.  Multiplexes and smaller screens have been closed since the coronavirus pandemic  but will start to reopen from July 4^th.   Showcase Cinema will reopen from July 4^th, Cineworld will reopen on 31st July as a delay in film releases has been blamed for this, Vue cinemas is hoping for a mid-July reopening and Picturehouse cinemas will reopen from July 31st, whereas Odeon, Curzon and Everyman are yet to announce when they are reopening, with independent cinema and The Showroom in Sheffield pencilling in mid September for their reopening.

Museums and galleries

We’ll be keeping an eye out for when Leeds Galleries and Museums, Sheffield Galleries, York Gallery and Wakefield Museums amongst all the other fabulous venues from across our region re-open.

Hepworth Museum is reopening 1^st August, the Bill Brandt/Henry Moore exhibition will be extended until 1^st November, and advance booking is strongly recommended. Initially the gallery will open Wednesday to Sunday 10am-5pm.

Jorvik Viking Centre is reopening on 11^th July and here you are standing on the site of one of the most famous and astounding pieces of archaeology.

Outdoor playgrounds

From local parks to treetop adventures, summer is the perfect time to go outdoors with the family.

If your kids like going to outdoor playgrounds, then here’s a few outdoor playgrounds you can go to from July:

We can’t wait to get swinging from the through the Treetops at Go Ape Adventures … we’ll be heading to Normanby Hall near Scunthorpe, this is reopening in July, but you will need to book from 4th July if you want to have a go at these adventures.

Now is the time to go paddling, or wild swimming where allowed! Padley Gorge, near Sheffield South Yorkshire is located in the Peak District in Derbyshire near Hathersage and Grindleford. It’s a stunning place to walk, a paddle in the stream and to take a picnic too.  The kids love it as you can park close to the roadside, there’s normally an ice cream  van, short walks and the stream is easy to get across.

Mama mei.co.uk says: “I have fond memories of here as a child we would start at Padley Gorge for a splash and a picnic then we would walk to Grindleford and stop at Grindleford Cafe then walk back and have a soft drink or food at the Fox House pub near by.”

Parking at Padley Gorge is free on the roadside but check signs for parking rules or there is parking at the Fox House pub if you are going there or alternatively a short walk away is the Longshaw Estate which is a National Trust Property and parking is £4 for the day.

Padley Gorge is reopening

There’s also Slippery Stones for paddling, wild swimming and picnics.

Theme parks

If you enjoy going to theme parks, then here’s a few theme parks in Yorkshire that will be reopening in July:

North Yorkshire Theme Park in Scarborough is a theme park where you can make a splash, you can blast on the floating inflatable AquaPark, challenge yourself by experiencing open water  swimming, and their lakeside cafes serve serves delicious hot and cold food, surrounded by picturesque countryside, this has been reopen since June 13^th.

Flamingo Land Resort Yorkshire  is Yorkshire’s ultimate Theme Park attraction & an award winning zoo, plus a luxury resort village for family days out, holidays and short breaks.  However the zoo is only open at the moment.

Lightwater Valley is hoping to reopen on Saturday 18^th July  and still has most of the rides it had before lockdown, however there is a few that will remain closed including: The Ultimate, Raptor Attack and Apollo rides.

Amusement arcades

Not opening yet

If you like self-contained apartments, then here’s an example of a model village that is opening from 1st July.  It’s cottages, houses and shops are lovingly hand-crafted and give a taste, in miniature, of traditional village life

Bondville Model Village in Sewerby in the East Riding of Yokshire,