Teachers and school staff in Richmond are receiving a letter from council chiefs thanking them for their service.

The letter is from Richmond Council leader Cllr Gareth Roberts and Cllr Penny Frost, chair of the Education and Children's Services Committee.

The duo praise employees' "superb response" to the Covid-19 pandemic as the school year draws to a close.

Read the letter in full below

[i]Dear Teachers and School Staff,

As the end of term approaches, we wanted to write to you to share our sincere thanks for all that you, your whole school team and your governing body have done for children, young people and their families during the Covid-19 pandemic. These have indeed been unprecedented times for our schools and school staff but through it all, your commitment to providing the best possible education to your children and young people has remained paramount. Your efforts have been nothing short of phenomenal.

I believe you are among the unsung heroes of COVID-19: preparing resources and guidance for remote learning; providing safe places for children of key workers and vulnerable children; cleaning our schools; dropping off supplies; providing free school meal vouchers; producing PPE; connecting with children and their parents to make sure they're OK — even while many have children of their own at home.

Your passion, commitment and drive to inspire the borough's children and young people is something we are extremely proud of and grateful for – especially so this year – and we want to pay tribute to you for your hard work and dedication during what has been a difficult and challenging time for all schools, school staff and pupils.

Now you are busily planning for the return of all children in September. We know how important it is for children to return to school, and the careful planning you are doing now will help them to settle back into their routines and get back to learning with their peers. We also know that the care they will receive from you and your school teams will support their emotional wellbeing, which will be such a key part of the curriculum and your provision in the new school year.

We hope that you have received the support you need to do this from the Council and Achieving for Children, but if there is anything more that we can do then please do get in touch with us through Achieving for Children.

The last few months must have been exhausting. We hope that you and your school team manage to get a well-deserved break over the summer holidays, so that you can come back refreshed and ready for the challenges ahead.[i]