TOMORROW, at long last, schools will start to re-open for all pupils and there will be a sigh of relief from parents, children and teachers.
The Government is absolutely right to prioritise opening schools as the first step out of lockdown. The past year has been tough for everyone, but children have missed out on so much. It’s time to put them first.
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Lockdown has chipped away at children’s knowledge and even at their most basic skills. On our visits to schools in the autumn, we heard about very young children forgetting how to use a knife and fork, or in some cases even starting to wear nappies again.
Most older children have missed learning in lockdown, but being cooped up at home has also affected their emotional health and physical fitness. Getting schools open again couldn’t be more important, and not just for education.
There are the knock-on effects of being out of school, the social side that mobile phones and tablets cannot replace.
Children miss their friends and letting off steam at break times. All the parents of school-age children I know tell me their children are bored, lonely and a bit miserable, despite the best efforts of teachers and parents.
Teachers have been working incredibly hard to keep education going for children at home. Everyone working in schools deserves huge credit for that. But I think we can all agree that remote education is a sticking plaster.
It will always be second best to the classroom. It can never match the magic that happens when a great teacher delivers a great lesson to a room full of children. Keeping children motivated to learn at home is a massive challenge for teachers and families. Even the hardest working, most engaged kids, who coped well at first, have lost a lot of enthusiasm by now.
It is one thing to provide work, but quite another to make sure children are actually doing it and learning from it. For parents, the days when home-schooling was a novelty are long gone.
During the first lockdown, last spring, a lot of parents enjoyed the chance to get involved with their children’s education. Fake Ofsted grades for “home schools” appeared in people’s windows and friends shared videos of their teaching techniques on social media.
'Catching up begins and ends in the classroom'
But a year later, this has been a long, hard slog for families. Many parents can’t properly support their kids with home learning. They might want to, but they are stretched too thin. They have demanding jobs, or younger children needing a lot of attention.
I’m sure every parent now has even greater respect for the skill – and patience – of teachers after a year of walking in their shoes.
And teachers are often the eyes and ears who can spot when something isn’t right at home, and who children turn to for help. In my job, I look at both education and children’s social care. It is often teachers who raise concerns when they notice something wrong. These alerts dropped dramatically when schools closed to most pupils.
For so many reasons, it is great that school gates will be thrown open tomorrow. But we know the school experience won’t be “normal” for some time yet.
Testing, “bubbles”, face coverings and other measures will be in place. None of this is ideal but it makes sense. Schools are already safe places for children to be. The more we can stick to the guidance, the better chance we have of keeping them open.
And once children are back in school, how will they catch up with the learning they have missed? There are many good ideas being discussed, but it is important to remember two things. The first is that schools should be free to judge who needs help, and what they need.
Extra backing is always welcome, but it needs to help teachers, not tie them up in red tape. Second, helping children get back up to speed must not feel like punishment for children or for parents. We all want children to be motivated, happy and eager to learn, so we need to get the balance right.
Making school days longer or school holidays shorter could backfire.
Children have missed out on time in school but they have also missed out on time with friends, time in the park, trips to the seaside and all the other things that keep children happy and ready to learn.
Catching up begins and ends in the classroom, so let’s start by celebrating getting children back into school.
It is a big step and it is the right step. For children, it means a return to routine, their teachers and their friends. And the rest of us will all be hoping it is the first stage in our route back to normal life.
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