Bruno Mars helps primary school reach pupils during lockdown

Easington Colliery Primary School has produced a video of staff sending their own individual messages to pupils after the school was forced to close early for the summer holidays.

The video is set to the Uptown Funk star’s track Count on Me, which includes the lines: “You can count on me like one, two, three, I’ll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you, like four, three, two, you’ll be there.”

Deputy head Rachel Francis said the video had been the brainchild of assistant head Amy Marshall – and the upbeat track had been the perfect message to send to the pupils.

“We licensed that song because it is such a nice message,” said Rachel.

“We were just talking about how to continue communicating with the kids because we are such an important part of their lives as a primary school. All the stuff we were trying to work out was to do with staff to pupil communication.

“We’re just helping the pupils see that we are there for them.”

The video went out on the school’s Facebook page was was an immediate hit, reaching more than 35,000 people in its first few days.

It starts with a message from the teachers and other school staff to their ECPS ‘family’ as a reflection of the vital role the school plays within the community.

While most staff are at home, some are still working – including delivering free school meals in an area where they are needed more than most.

Rachel has been overwhelmed by the reaction of the team, from teachers to catering workers : “We have got over 80 staff at Easington Colliery Primnary School,” she said.

“Every single one of them has been amazing and just desperately wanted to do something. We have got people out delivering over 250 packed lunches a day.

“The staff have been absolutely fantastic.”

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