Just in case it’s coming home….

If you have not already cleaned the BBQ, bought the snacks, hung up the flags, learnt the song, tried out your flag face painting skills, and got various liquids on ice… you are likely to be doing at least some of those things in the next few hours. As I am sure you are aware, there is a rather important football match taking place tonight at 8pm, that has caused even the non-footballer lovers across the nation, to get quite excited.

England v Italy, 8pm, Euro 2020 final

Due to the unprecedented challenges and impact caused by the pandemic, the prospect of communities coming together, to celebrate this game, seems even more significant. A game that might not otherwise have caught some people’s attention, has united the nation in anticipation. There is the thrilling prospect of a trophy for England, in a major football championship, for the first time in 55 years.

Just to recap recent history:
Euro 1996 (Germany, penalties, heartbreak)
Euro 2000 (Romania, penalty, heartbreak)
Euro 2004 (Portugal, penalties, heartbreak)
Euro 2008 (didn’t qualify)
Euro 2012 (Italy, penalties, heartbreak)
Euro 2016 (Iecland, defeat, heartbreak)

And so here we are…

We want and encourage families to enjoy this moment together (or more accurately, 90mins + 30mins + time for penalties…) and fully expect you to enjoy it with your children. It is a collective, cultural experience and national sporting achievement and something our children will remember, for years to come. It is also one of the few positive occasions that we have all been able to share in and get excited about, during the last eighteen or so months.

We fully expect and are prepared for your children to be: shattered; delirious; to have lost their voices through screaming; be extra excitable; and (please let’s hope not, but just in case…) even heartbroken. We know that it might be difficult to get some children out of bed tomorrow morning at the usual time, after an emotional late night. You know your children best and what they can and can’t cope well with.

The best start to the school day, for your child, their class, their teacher (and the school office!), is for everyone to be in at the usual time, starting their learning together but we appreciate that tomorrow morning is a bit of an unknown and unprecedented situation. We know that you will do what you feel is best for your child and your family and that might mean that the school routine is not as slick tomorrow morning!

We do ask that your children come into school tomorrow unless they are unwell (or the Prime Minister grants us all an immediate, official bank holiday!) and that they are dressed in full school uniform, with no face paints or dyed hair.

We will delay our usual phone calls home, to follow up absence, so that if families are running a little later than usual, they will not get called until after 9.30am. We must, however, still make these calls home to be able to monitor absence, from a safeguarding perspective. Therefore, if you do receive a call, we would appreciate your honesty if your child’s lateness is ‘Euro-related.’

So let’s hope it’s coming home. 55 years is a very long time.

There is, however, the small matter of a pretty good team from Italy to get past first…

Good luck to Southgate and the England team.

Enjoy!