There is a lot of talk about schools reopening today, when in fact they have never closed.
The difference is that all pupils are now expected to return, albeit with various new measures in place.
It should not be overlooked or forgotten that staff in all schools have worked incredibly hard, often in extremely difficult circumstances, all the way through the full year of the current pandemic.
It is strange that self-testing has just been introduced after a whole year of expecting school staff to work on the front-line without such an important measure being in place, but despite some loud voices offering opinions to the contrary, school staff do have an extremely strong sense of duty and genuinely do care about children and their families.
CSC Teesside has never stopped delivering chess lessons to our schools either.
We have had to evolve, retrain and often go beyond the call of duty.
Yet we never stopped - and didn't even come close to giving up.
I know for sure exactly the magnitude of our impact on schools.
Enrichment has become more important than ever. Teachers openly report to me that they have not seen the children so enthused about anything else for a long time. It has been worth the journey just to see all of the smiling faces.
We have delivered lessons online to nearly all of our CSC Teesside schools and from tomorrow we will be delivering partly online and partly in person.
School renewals for 2021-22 are going extremely well, proving that loyalty works both ways.
The CSC Tessside tutors - Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Harris and Mr. Edmunds - are three heroes, who have never shirked a challenge and who inspire hundreds of children all across our area, every single week.
We are certainly not out of the woods yet, but we are ready, willing and able to continue delivering top-quality lessons whatever happens next.
The Teesside roar will never fade away.
