The Return to School
Last week our school leaders went from preparing their return, and even welcoming children back in on the first day, to remote learning again in less than 24 hours as lockdown was called. Some of our Head Teachers have shared their stories.
Simon Ward – Barnes Junior School
In many ways, after last Monday’s announcement it was like “flicking a switch” to revert to our operating procedures from the Spring and Summer of 2020. Everything was in place from key worker lists, to risk assessments, to timetable changes and packed lunch delivery routes. Our remote learning offer had been honed from a very rudimentary system and lots of photocopied packs, to something a lot more sophisticated due to the self-isolators of Autumn 2020. It was as if everything we had we had been doing had prepared us for this again; unlike the complete leap into the unknown during those dark days of March.
I think everyone had been expecting school closures from about 30 December onwards, (or maybe even before Christmas) but indecision from above left us believing that nothing would change, however more vociferous the noise from the Unions was becoming. Staff concerns started to trickle in as the reality of the New Year began, and uncertainty over staffing levels began to cloud the final days of the holidays.
The letter was written to all of our families at 6.30pm, ready to hit send on our communications system, that has been worth it’s weight in gold in providing our parents with up to date information.
I had initially refused to watch the press conference to confirm the fate, as it clashed with a much anticipated Premier League match between Southampton and Liverpool. When the reality hit (and Liverpool conceded an early goal) it was all hands on deck. The more time spent in front of smaller screens fielding concerns and confirming places for the next day, it became apparent that the sleep that I’d caught up on over the Christmas holidays would be lost in one night.
We could have taken the Tuesday to sort everything, and we possibly should have used that time to finalise plans, but I was conscious that there families who needed the provision and we opened, but with small numbers.
And here we are with more children of key workers, and more vulnerable children (although the most vulnerable families want to keep their children at home.) My staff, who have been brilliant in adapting to every tweak and showing Olympian levels of flexibility, stamina and resilience are now getting used to this newest of normals – until the next announcement….
Angi Gibson – Hadrian Park Primary
As a school, we had already worked relentlessly throughout the weekend to gain an understanding of staff voice on whether they would be returning to work on Monday due to some union input and the updating of all risk assessments to reflect all new guidance. However, we were extremely fortunate that all staff advised that they were happy to return and support our community, and so we opened fully on Monday morning, to the delight of our parents, and we had 97.18% of pupils in attendance.
Luckily, in anticipation we sent out an email to parents on Monday morning advising that due to the ever changing governmental guidance could all parents who qualify as key critical workers please email school to enable us to proactively plan, if the guidance to be announced by the PM on Monday evening was to change the situation.
The fact that the announcement wasn’t made until 8pm resulted in myself as Head, my Deputy and both our School Business Manager and Officer having to come into school to work through the night to check our emails and acknowledge whether they qualified for a place in school to ensure that we missed no learning days or time, as enough had been missed already. In my opinion this could have been totally avoided had the decision been made only days prior by government. The absolute pressure on school leaders and their staff at the moment is monumental and this is due to ill planning and indecisiveness of the current government. School leaders continue to react to these decisions time and time again, however, their wellbeing and workload must be prioritised immediately. I totally understand that we are in the midst of a pandemic, however, a steer and strong lead would be warmly welcomed!
Barbara Priestman – Shiremoor Primary School
Following a lovely Christmas period in school despite the huge challenges, we left for the holidays full of optimism for the Spring term. I had planned an inspiring and safe training day with the staff working outdoors enhancing knowledge of fieldwork skills in small, socially distanced bubbles and we were looking forward to using these skills with children on our return to school.
Whilst on a walk on the Friday before our return, I had news that the NEU members may feel unsafe about a return and that may affect staffing and so I contacted staff, and parents, and then had a meeting with Governors and, after consultation, all staff felt that they felt safe enough with our systems to get back into school on the Tuesday following our training day.
On the Sunday, I watched the prime minister on the Andrew Marr show and heard his assurances that schools were safe and that they would be open as usual. On Monday, we contacted parents to confirm that we were all ready for the children on Tuesday. By mid-afternoon the press were saying there was going to be an announcement. By 7.00 p.m. it was clear what that would be and we were frantically drafting another letter to parents, checking our critical worker list, fielding parent emails, liaising with staff around our remote learning package, ensuring we had enough staff for children who may arrive and trying to close off to get some rest that night before the mania that was to follow.
On Tuesday we had 85 children, that has steadily increased and is now at 115. We spent all of last week ensuring teachers could deliver their live lessons whilst giving out pencils, paper and more work packs, ordering further devices, liaising with parents, sorting lunches, delivering free meals, getting vulnerable children into school and generally working our socks off.
Now we are into week 2 and we have had to fully open our two year old and nursery provision in addition to our 115. We are waiting to see if this decision will be reversed which would help with staffing. Staff are in the swing of remote learning and we have very good attendance at live lessons or in school. We phone parents daily when they don’t engage and we continue to do the same as all schools which is doing all we can to support parents at home and school.
We are frustrated that the press and Government continue to say that schools are closed. We are not. We may be operating at reduced numbers but the rest of the job is actually harder than when we have all children in. I am frustrated as I worry about the health of my staff both mentally and with the threat of Covid 19. I am worried about those children who are vulnerable who we cannot force into school. I feel I am fire-fighting daily rather than leading strategically and I spend a lot of time thanking my lucky stars for my amazing staff team.
My wish is that teachers could be vaccinated and we could get all children and staff back in school, working together but I am guessing that there will be a lot more turmoil to come… and I am waiting on several covid results to see if we need to close bubbles. After I deliver some more food packs tonight, I will contact my colleagues and be thankful that I have them before I wind down for the night.
Dawn Dacombe – Pentland Primary School
The chaos began when we were put into Tier 4, London schools were closed, but we weren’t. As a Trust, we were trying to work out a plan that could support our nervous and worried parents who were rightly concerned. Then came Saturday and Sunday and the union advice. Again, manic but understandable. Working constantly trying to update RAs, support staff and have a school up and running for Tuesday. Luckily for us, Monday was a PD day so I spent the day prepping for a closure that I knew was imminent. The risk with this was I could be working on stuff I would never need, but I felt the risk was a rational one. Monday night came, and the announcement. It was expected, late, but expected, but the big shock was nursery. I then began tirelessly working on informing staff of the plans, then parents, sending emails and google forms, creating registers and lists and replying back to endless emails from parents. Up at 6am, back in school not knowing what we would expect. Luckily, due to my area, our numbers are sensible (unlike many of my colleagues’ school). That day consisted of meetings, phone calls and calming nervous teachers who were about to embark on developing new skills they didn’t have. I arrived home at around 6pm to my husband saying ‘you look like… actually, I won’t finish that!’
To summarise, I know the government have a hard job and are reacting to information as they find it. However, could we have been told on Sunday, or at least 5pm on Monday to prevent the manic rush (and email systems crashing) at 8pm? Myself and all my staff are now end of term tired. Ok, that’s a lie, we’re now end of the year tired, as we were end of term tired by the Tuesday. However, as always, the teaching profession rise to the challenge. My staff are worried, scared and anxious about their and their families safety. You wouldn’t know that, though, by the way they are in school, with big smiles on their faces, welcoming our worried and scared kids.
One thing that has really stuck with me is a comment from one of my TAs. I’ll admit, on the Monday, I was absorbed in strategic planning and organisation. If I’m honest, I thought about the children as numbers that evening, not as the individuals they are. However, when I arrived at school that Tuesday morning, one TA turned to me and said, ‘Poor kids. They went to bed last night, all excited about seeing their friends the next day, and they wake up to be told that is all being pulled away from them. To them, school, their safe place, has failed them again. It’s not fair.’ And you know what? No it isn’t.
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