Barnardo's Scotland Director, Martin Crewe, looks at the importance of schools being properly supported to help every child to achieve their potential.
If the last 18 months have highlighted anything, it has been the essential role schools play in the lives of children, young people and the wider community.
For many kids, school offers a safe, calm and nurturing environment to grow, learn, play and develop. The disruption over the last year and a half, including the loss of the security and structure of the school day for significant periods, will have had a great impact on many children.
As children return to classrooms this week it may feel like the acute crisis of last year has passed, however, we are only at the start of the long journey to rebuild and recover.
The long periods of time at home, social distancing and measures to keep clinically vulnerable people in families protected may have left some pupils disconnected from their peers, leaving them lonely, anxious and isolated. For those who found navigating school difficult pre Covid19, being at home may have given them respite, and they may be resistant to returning to education and the daily challenges it brings for them. Therefore, many children and young people may need extra time, scaffolding and support to transition back this term.
For other children and young people, their home life may have many challenges due to neglect, domestic abuse or other forms of abuse. Although being back in school may provide a sense of safety, these kids may find settling down after months of uncertainty hard, needing a lot of reassurance and co-regulation from staff to be able to manage the school day.
During the pandemic, many young people supported by Barnardo’s have reported increased anxiety and isolation. Throughout the summer, Barnardo’s has run programmes across Scotland to support young people to connect socially, have fun and take part in a range of activities which enhance positive health and wellbeing, as well as provide one to one support to young people who may have been struggling and needed some extra help with their emotional health.
For any child to thrive the wellbeing of the whole family is essential. Kids watch and pick up on parental stress, so where there has been bereavement, financial pressure, and other adversities which have impacted on a family, it’s important they all receive the right support, at the right time to ensure they can heal and move forward in a way that feels right for them. However, schools should not be left to do this alone - there are many community partners who can work alongside them in offering practical and financial supports in addition to opportunities for children and their carers to share their worries and concerns and be heard. Where we work together with a child, family, teaching staff and other partners we have a far greater chance of securing a good outcome.
School leaders and teaching staff have delivered education in incredibly difficult circumstances. It has been a relentlessly busy and challenging period with staff exhausted by the end of the summer term. Structural and sustainable approaches for staff wellbeing need to become part of the fabric of the education system in the same way they are embedded in other professions, ensuring staff have the time to make use of the range of local and national supports available to sustain them in their important work.
Finally, focusing on exam performance as a measure of success or failure excludes other important parts of any young persons journey. Talk of ‘catching up on learning’ feels alienating and dispiriting to many kids, making the return this year even harder. Of course reducing the poverty related attainment gap is important and deserving of our attention, but this also needs to be balanced with an acknowledgement of the wider needs and achievements of pupils.
Schools are very much the key universal agency, reaching almost all children and young people, promoting messages of positive health and wellbeing, and identifying children and young people who may need additional help. The role of schools has never been more important and ensuring they are empowered and supported to undertake their critical task is essential in helping every child achieve their full potential.
Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland