A counsellor takes Rita to school

It’s the day before the summer holidays. The children are playing in the playground at Centralskolan.

Jamila and Rita are there along with rector Ulrika Åkerberg and counsellor Gabriella ”Gabi” Gustafsson.

Rita started at Centralskolan in the middle of the autumn term. At that time she and her mother were still living in Hanaskog.

– I took Rita to school and picked her up every day, says Jamila, who is confined to a wheelchair.

When they moved into the centre of Kristianstad she was much closer to her school. It is just a five-minute walk away. Everything went smoothly, until corona came along.

– I belong to a risk group, so my doctor advised me to stay at home. I was afraid to take Rita to school and pick her up, says Jamila.

So Rita had to stay at home for two weeks.

– For a short time at the beginning of the corona epidemic it was unsettled, a lot of children were at home. In the municipality as a whole about a third of the pupils stayed at home, says Ulrika Åkerberg, rector at Centralskolan. The school has 260 pupils from pre-school to class 6.

– It was chaotic. So we tried various methods. We were active on the social media, wrote that the school was open, gave the children brainteasers and challenges, we phoned the parents. It wasn’t long until all the pupils were back again, she says. The school prepared for a shutdown, but that was not necessary.

So you told Jamila you could come and fetch Rita?

– Yes, being at school is a factor in keeping healthy. It’s important for children to come to school, says Gabriella Gustafsson.

– We spoke to the parents whose children were staying at home and asked if there was anything we could do, if they needed more information about corona, or anything else. When Jamila said she would have to stay at home, I said, ”If Rita is not ill, she must come to school, and of course we can fetch her”, she says.

What do you think about that, Rita?

– It was a bit funny the first time, but then it’s been all right. I like going to school, she says.

– It was boring being at home with mum.

There’s no risk that other parents will want you to fetch their children too?

– No, not at all. It depends on the parents’ circumstances, there must be a need, says Ulrika Åkerberg.

Now the summer holidays are here. During the first two weeks the youth recreation centre will have a ”day camp” Lerjevallen.

– We go swimming, paddle canoes, hike and pick berries. Last year we had a water fight, says Gabriella Gustafsson. Something Rita is looking forward to.

But first the end of term.

– We’re going to spend the last day of the term in our classroom, the children want to have ice-cream, says Ulrika Åkerberg.