When the government decides to phase-in the return to school, we should be just as accepting of reduced expectations for our institutions in the first months as we are with ‘home learning’. Stability is paramount.
For all the talk of ‘new normals’ and ‘resilience’, it’s criminal to expect schools to run at reduced capacity with a range of new measures, yet have the same expectation of performance reviews, class observations and strictly measured outcomes.
Watching Denmark go back to school, with mandates or 2-meter spacing, reduced numbers, games of shadow tag, and whatever else, almost a silhouette of their former selves, it’s clear to see the emotional support needed for all school community members will likely even be greater than was needed during the lockdown.
So much great work has been done by educators in the last month, but the true impact-range of school staff will be keenly felt when schools return post-lockdown.
People see now just how central schools and all their staff are to the lives of children, parents and the well-being of communities as a whole - It’s going to be a tough time, and we can make it easier by being by taking needless pressure off our amazing educators
