Will we go into Lockdown again?
I have a fairly limited range of skills, and none of them relate in any meaningful way to statistics, politics, medicine or epidemiology. Definitely not epidemiology, which seems to me a very mysterious discipline somewhere between science and art. So I am not going to attempt to answer the above question.
It seems reasonable to suggest, however, that the government’s firm commitment to the re-opening of schools means that even if we do experience a second wave, and impose some kind of lockdown, schools might be seen as exceptions. The damage to children’s education has already been bad enough and current advice seems to be that the risks to children of missing out on school outweigh those related to coronavirus.
However, who knows? It could happen. We could all be forced to return to the dark days of early summer and parents might have to deal once again with the challenges of home-schooling. Let’s hope not. Most parents did it really well, but I doubt they’d want to do it again.
But what if it does happen? How will we at IGS: Durham respond?
When schools were closed earlier this year, we committed to three principles:
· Frequent contact
· Focused learning
· Family-friendly approaches
Thanks to the commitment of staff, who were at their posts (i.e. laptops) from 8.30 to 3.00 every day, we think we delivered quite well against those criteria. I made the mistake of asking to be copied in on all messages, emails etc. and as a result my phone was pinging away all day as thousands of messages between teachers and parents flew through the ether. (In fact, it wasn’t a mistake at all – it was great to see). Feedback from parents was very positive as we sought to get the right balance – so that parents felt supported but not overwhelmed. Regular Zoom lessons took place and each day ended with a Zoom story-time.
IGS: Durham parents will recall that on 1st June, when a few year groups were “allowed” to return to school, we got approval to open the whole school to all pupils. We put stringent measures in place to manage risk, and we were delighted to be able to welcome everyone back.
If lockdown happens again, we will adopt the same approach. School will continue, lessons will be planned, work will be set and marked and children will progress as much as they possibly can.
Hopefully, having done it once, we will be able to do it even better next time.