North Tyneside schools are coming to the rescue of NHS workers by making vital equipment to keep them safe in the fight against the coronavirus.
Design and technology staff at Valley Gardens Middle School, Whitley Bay High School, and Marden High School have used 3D printers to make hundreds of face shields for NHS workers.
Most schools in North Tyneside remain open for vulnerable students and children of key workers, with staff working in shifts and everyone taking care to maintain strict social distancing protocols while in the building.
Valley Gardens staff have taken it in turns to work in the design and technology room and have so far made and distributed almost 400 masks to intensive care staff, GPs, mental health wards and paramedics in the local area.
Whitley Bay High School staff have also manufactured masks and donated goggles, while other schools in the borough have supplied the NHS with hundreds of whiteboards and pens to make it easier for mask-wearing clinical staff and patients to communicate.
It comes after medical staff across the country raised concerns over a lack of PPE to protect staff treating coronavirus patients.
“The demand for our masks has been staggering,” said David Godfrey, Headteacher at Valley Gardens Middle School.
“To date we have made and distributed almost 400 face shields and continue to make between 40 and 60 per day. We have already provided them to Intensive care units, local COVID-19 ‘hot hubs’, GP surgeries, mental health wards and paramedics among others.
“The school also gathered our stock of goggles from our science and design and technology rooms and were able to provide over 100 pairs of goggles to vulnerable frontline staff.
“I am incredibly proud of all of our staff who have each looked for ways to go the extra mile to help the NHS. With their actions they model our school values of kindness, resilience and respect, perfectly.”
The school has also collected donations of toiletries from the community, which can be left in a box at the front of the school building, to be sent to wards where visitors are no longer permitted.
Andy Sherlaw, Deputy Headteacher of Whitley Bay High School, said: “The school’s technology and science department has answered the call to support our NHS heroes in this global pandemic.
“We used our 3D printer to construct PPE facial mask frames which will help NHS staff to be protected from the spread of the virus. Our Head of Technology Ian Teasdale contacted a local NHS distribution company and was approved to produce the equipment which will be sterilised before being made available to staff on the frontline.
“Additionally, our Head of Science Dr Alan Keegan and Biology teacher Ankita Lawson has issued the department’s protective practical goggles to local GP practices and the local ambulance service to contribute to the cause of keeping our heroic NHS staff protected.
“The school is very proud of our staff who have been the drivers of this project and are keen to offer support and protective equipment whenever possible.”
North Tyneside’s Elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn CBE, said: “I can barely express my gratitude to our school staff in the borough for their incredible resourcefulness and compassion towards our brave NHS workers.
“There has been growing concern across the country about the supply of protective equipment, and it’s really inspiring to see our schools come forward with a solution to help keep NHS staff and care workers safe, while treating patients who have the virus.
“The council is incredibly proud of their efforts, despite facing many considerable challenges of their own. It gives me real hope that we will get through these difficult times through our collective efforts and by taking care of each other.”
