Sheffield education publisher releases electronic book to support children in returning to school after lockdown

The free ebook, titled ‘In It Together’ has been created by Twinkl Educational Publishing and introduces four characters who demonstrate how their life has changed due to the closure of schools as they are seen practising social distancing, learning from home, clapping for carers, and missing friends and family.

With schools in Sheffield set to begin reopening for some year groups from June 15, the enforced lockdown period has made for a challenging and emotional time for children.

According to Barnardos, 88 per cent of school staff said the pandemic is likely to have an effect on the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils.

Twinkl said it produced the book in response to a number of concerned parents and carers who reached out to the firm through its social media groups and customer support, asking for resources to support their children or pupil’s return to class.

Jonathan Seaton, co-founder and CEO of Twinkl, said: “At Twinkl, we understand how extremely challenging the current situation is for parents, teachers and children.

“We wanted to create a story targeted at young children to support them with their return to school. The team have worked incredibly hard to produce a story which allows children to talk openly about their concerns. We hope that it will encourage conversations and be useful to people at this time.”

The children’s story was written, illustrated, designed and published in a matter of weeks.

It is available for free on the Twinkl website and the Twinkl Originals app, which is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.

There is also a reading of the book from a former teacher and team member at Twinkl, available on the Twinkl YouTube channel.

Parent and reader, Katherine Richardson, said: “It helped my daughter to show empathy for other children's circumstances during lockdown and how they might be different to hers. It has given her the reassurance she needed for the next step of this journey.”