Parents who are seeing their children being taught first-hand over the internet are getting in touch to pass on their thanks, creating a new digital entente cordiale between home and school, according to a Shirebrook headteacher.

Mark Cottingham, principal of Shirebrook Academy, says that the return to online teaching during the current lockdown has been accompanied by a steady stream of emails from grateful parents praising staff for their efforts.

The school, on Common Lane, currently has all but 80 of its 850-or-so students working from home, taking part in a blended learning approach that switches between live teaching and the completion of set tasks.

The rest are attending school as normal, but are still logging into the same online lessons as their at-home peers.

The Government has yet to announce when it plans to allow schools to let all of their students return to the classroom, meaning that parents, many of whom are also working from home, are having to oversee their children’s learning.

While a far from perfect arrangement, Mark said that it has enabled parents to hear the live lessons – known as synchronous teaching – and gain an understanding of how staff approach lessons and interact with their children, which has prompted many more parents than usual to get in touch.

He said: “We’ve all had many more emails from parents compared to normal times and it’s nice because it means that we are finding out a lot about them and building up the kind of relationship that you don’t normally get with parents of secondary school students.

“At the same time parents are using the opportunity to say thank you for what we are doing and telling us how happy their children seem to be with the learning.

“That’s hugely gratifying and it’s good to know that while we’re all desperate to get back to teaching in a classroom again, parents who may be working on the kitchen table alongside their child are feeling reassured by having witnessed the quality of our teaching and the enthusiasm of our staff live and first-hand.”

Among the parents who have passed on their thanks and praise is Donna Toone, whose children, Heidi and Regan are currently learning online at home.

She said: “I’ve sat in on a few online lessons and I was really impressed, so I decided to tell Mr Cottingham how impressed I was and how grateful I am for the lengths the school is going to in order to teach the students.

“I work in a school myself and I know how sometimes the feedback schools get can be mainly negative, so it’s nice that parents are taking the chance to say thank you when they are doing their very best to keep lessons going at a very difficult time for everyone.”

Fellow parent Kerry Shorthose, whose children, Lewes and Poppy, also attend Shirebrook Academy, added: “My thoughts about the home learning are nothing but positive, the school has given excellent support during this and the previous lockdown.

“Nothing is too much trouble and the lesson content is excellent, while the staff have been easy to contact with any concerns.”