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A new academic year: Schools North East continues to represent your voice.

Everyone at School North East is delighted to welcome you all back for the start of academic year 2021-22.  We hope you had a relaxing Summer – after the last academic year, we’re certain that you deserved a much longer one!  Last year was without doubt the most difficult and unprecedented that any of us have ever encountered, but what wasn’t surprising was the amazing response of all North East Schools, their staff and their students. The passion and commitment that you all demonstrated for the young people of this region and their education was nothing short of awe inspiring.

As we enter a new academic year, however, it should be stressed that despite the hope that we are entering a post-Covid environment, there is the all too real concern that we are not out of the woods yet.  Like the past academic year, we are aware that this year could be just as tough and unpredictable. As your network, Schools North East aims to help you as much as possible to understand the challenges you might face and to bring you together with your colleagues so that you can support each other and face the future with confidence and hope.

To that end, we sent out a poll to a selection of school leaders from across the region earlier this week, asking how the start to the year has gone and what they anticipate will be the main challenges for their schools this term.

We are delighted that 100% of the schools surveyed have been able to open for the beginning of the term, with 69.2% opting for a full opening, with all students returning on the same day and at the same time as each other.

Of the 30.8% who favoured phased returns, only secondaries, a mixture of phases were utilised, with Years 7 and 11 unsurprisingly being the main year groups to be the first to return.  Some schools staggered two year groups returning per day, to allow each student to have a Lateral Flow Test, with all students returning in full the following Monday.  Other schools opted to stagger their students’ return, with Years 7, 8 and 12 arriving on Tuesday, followed by Years 9 and 13 on Wednesday and Years 10 and 11 on Thursday.

It’s also interesting to note that over 90% state that they are retaining the risk assessments they had in place before the summer, ensuring that they are still keeping many of their Covid-related measures in place.  30.8% of the schools polled stated that they are retaining the Risk Assessments they had in place before Summer, with a further 61.5% stating that they are retaining their pre-Summer Risk Assessment, but purely as a contingency. Only one school had gone so far as to rewrite their risk assessment in line with new guidance from the government.

Many schools are continuing to stagger their lunch and break times, as well as using one way systems, social distancing and encouraging facial covering use in corridors and social areas. Other measures being utilised included ensuring all desks are facing forward and that – weather permitting – lunches are eaten outside. Hand hygiene, as well as ventilation reminders and the use of e-meetings are all also still in place.

The pandemic created a lot of uncertainty and many challenges for schools last year and it would be naive to think that the upcoming year will not include its fair share of obstacles.  At the end of last academic year, staff and pupil attendance was the main issue, with many individuals having to self-isolate after being contacted by the Track and Trace system. Subsequently, schools found it very difficult to manage the blend of online and in-school learning, as well as provide support for those students who, due to the pandemic, struggled  socially and emotionally. Furthermore, schools were faced with staff fatigue and wellbeing issues, as well as  a real financial strain.

Moving into 2021-22, schools anticipate facing many of the same challenges again. As well as working to recover the learning lost last year, a major concern is once again staff absences, with schools rightly anxious that relaxed measures in the community could see spikes in positive case numbers. This will, of course, have a further detrimental impact on the education delivered to our young people,  negatively impacting on staff wellbeing, and also further impacting on the already stretched finances of schools, with many relying on supply staff to fill the gaps made by long-term staff absences.

The mental wellbeing of both staff and students is still a major concern for many school leaders, particularly with regards to teachers facing continued uncertainty over how next year’s examinations will go. 

Despite schools doing their best to put in place Covid-secrure measures, the feeling remains that should a significant number of staff be affected by a rise in cases (whether it is themselves who contract the virus or a family member who needs care), schools will struggle. Many have pointed to more concrete guidance from the Department for Education as something that would easily allay their anxieties for the coming year.

Early and clear guidance on how next summer’s examinations will take place is a major issue for many schools, as well as more clarity on vaccinations for under 16s and support on how school leaders should manage unvaccinated staff, such as those who are pregnant. 

Identifying what guidance from the Department for Education is missing, our poll pointed out that much more clarity on expectations, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, is needed.  There were also calls for more information on updates to performance tables. School Leaders also expressed considerable concern over where the money would come from for schools to cover the cost of tutoring and catch-up programmes moving forwards.  

Throughout the pandemic and subsequent ‘pingdemic’, schools in the North East have shown tremendous resilience to do their jobs under unprecedented circumstances. The fear now is that, moving forward, they are now expected to continue with this as the new norm.

However, real clarity from the government will allow them to step into this new academic year with a renewed sense of understanding of their role and how 2021-22 will play out. 

Care to take part in our poll? Voice your opinion on these issues here

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