After being in her profession for 26 years, head teacher Joanne Wilkinson-Tabi describes herself as an "eternal optimist".

And it's a quality she will undoubtedly need when she takes the helm of the new Ebbsfleet Green Primary in a building eight miles away from its eventual home.

The Covid-19 pandemic has put installing a temporary school at Ebbsfleet on hold before the new primary opens, hopefully in January.

So staff and pupils will be travelling 15 minutes along the A2 to Bligh Primary in Strood.

But careful measures are in place to ensure that minimal disruption is caused as pupils return to the classroom after six months.

The mum of two teenagers said: "It will be a school within a school. KCC is putting on a free bus service and our teachers will be getting on board with children, so right from the start it will be like stepping into school."

The lockdown has prevented plans to home visit the 48 families of new recruits before starting back on Thursday, September 3.

But Joanne, 48, is happy that they have had Zoom calls to all of them and will be inviting parents and carers to meet in person as soon as possible.

The modular build lands on the garden city site in the the new year, but Joanne is keen that the youngsters visit and engage in the rapidly-growing community beforehand.

She said: "If there's one thing that Covid has taught us it is that the relationship between the school and parents and carers is pivotal and cannot be replaced by technology."

Joanne, who is also co-head of Greenacres Primary, Eltham, south east London, said: "The school and its design is part of our curriculum to foster creativity. It is eco-friendly with natural sunlight coming into the building.

"We are lucky to be going to Bligh but we have made sure everyone knows it is a temporary measure, a minor hurdle, and we can't wait to make the big leap into our new school."

September's intake, taught by three teachers, will comprise nursery, reception and Year 2 classes.

The school, along with Bligh, is part of the Maritime Academy Trust, which encourages every pupil to achieve "exceptional outcomes".

As Ebbsfleet designers have set out to make it a health-focused town, she is keen to incorporate healthy lifestyles and eating into the timetable.

Children will have their own kitchen, and parents will be invited to take part in cooking sessions as part of the national policy to crack down on obesity.

There will be a full-sized pitch, a commitment to PE and the outdoors.

There will also be a forest school, landscaped grounds, a vegetable patch and wildlife dipping pond in the grounds.

Joanne has lived in Kent all her life and grew up in the Dartford area where she still lives. She is married to Cameroon-born Walters Tabi, a data analyst, and has a daughter Isis,14, and son, Eno, nine. In her spare time she likes to read, swim and listen to 70s and 80s music.

Read more: All the latest news from Dartford

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend