21 Apr Four-legged friends, our family grows, The Guinness World Records, and much more….
The last time I sat and wrote about the business was back in June 2020, we had glimmers of hope as the world started to open up again, the sun was shining, and we celebrated our 1st birthday! Our teachers, cover supervisors, and TAs all sent videos of themselves sharing their adventures during lockdown life, this is something that still makes me smile today!
Since then, a lot has happened, we are accredited with APSCo, and have sailed the stormy seas of yet more school closures and lockdowns. I (and Hannah in her pram) participated in The Virtual London Marathon, and now part of the Guinness World Records. We have continued to run at full capacity, offering continuous work to our team and supporting our partnered schools. We have overcome the barriers that interviewing via video conferencing can bring, including a significant investment in new advanced technology to validate identification ensuring a safe recruitment onboarding process in a virtual world. We got to grips with furlough, ensuring we paid staff on time irrespective of if the government funds had arrived with us or not, and committed to this until schools re-opened their doors. It has been such a bumpy ride, but I am a huge believer in making the best out of a challenging situation.
We, as a company are moving onwards with our greener goals and are working towards becoming completely paper-free. Moving forward through this last part of the academic year, we are delighted to be supporting our partnered schools with their projects by donating iPads and amazon voucher prizes to students. Last year, I loved working on the eco-project and being part of the judging panel, this year we will enjoy donating the prizes but will miss being part of the panel and seeing the students showcase their ideas. All students really do deserve a special mention they have shown real resilience and determination during a very difficult and challenging time.
We also welcome new members to our team, we have two new four-legged friends, Dolly and Gabe. These pair have kept me sane over the past year and got me back in the saddle, something I truly thought I had given up. Covid and this pandemic has taught me that I really need horses in my life and I need to make time for myself, I love nothing more than giving Gabe a kiss on his lovely nose, smelling his horsey scent and trying to get the stains off Dolly (I now know why greys are not for me!) Watching Charlotte, Henry and Hannah ride and teaching them new skills has been extremely rewarding. I’d love to hear how you have kept sane during the lockdown, any new hobbies that have become normal life?
