The Chronicle 682

16 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Lisa More O’Ferrall What do you do at Teddies and how long have you been here? I am the Senior Nurse Manager at Teddies overseeing the Health Centre as well as working closely within the safeguarding team under Rachel Bellamy. I have been in post since September 2017. Tell us about the Health Centre team. We are a large team comprising 14 nurses, two accompanying adults and three administrative assistants. The nursing team is made up of individuals who have worked in a number of specialist areas before joining Teddies. Their skills are highly valued as they provide for the varied needs of our pupils. Their experience covers emergency care of minor injuries and illnesses, child development, vaccinology and mental health to name but a few. We also have two accompanying adults on the team, who take care of off-site appointments for boarding pupils, and three administrative assistants who liaise with doctors, parents, pupils, House staff and members of the clinical team. How have you all coped with the past 18 months? It has been challenging but we have remained calm through the difficult times, working cohesively within our own team but also as part of the wider school community. Communication has been key, particularly in our relationship with the local health protection team who have been very supportive, advising us how to implement national guidelines in our unique setting. What have been the greatest challenges? At the start of the pandemic the lack of access to testing meant that we were navigating very much in the dark. Having to rely on a set of symptoms which were relatively non-specific during a season when colds and flu are anticipated made this part of the pandemic enormously difficult. However, as more scientific data and tests became available the situation has been less frenetic. The biggest challenge has been having to adapt to the ever-changing national and international guidelines. Which moments will stay with you? Being able to open in September 2020 and to see our pupils return felt amazing. Whilst it was a very different start to our academic year, the positive attitude of all staff and pupils and the willingness to adapt to social distancing, one- way traffic, face masks, the endless hand sanitising/washing and House bubbles was inspiring and a true testament to what being part of the Teddies community is all about. The incredible mass-testing site that the Health Centre team ran successfully before Easter to facilitate the return to school after the January lockdown was another highlight – it was a monumental day.