How the return to school post Lockdown has gone for us

Last Updated on 24 August 2023 by Colette

Today marks four weeks since Ben and Amy returned to school post lockdown and I wanted to share a little update on how that’s gone for us.

Initially the conversation about whether we should send our children back to school felt a hard one. My gut feeling was that it would absolutely be the best thing for them but the more I spoke to other people and read opinions online, the more I questioned my decision. I felt judged. I felt that in sending my children back to school, it somehow showed the outside world that I didn’t care about their health, about mine & Dave’s health or the health of the wide community.

The rhetoric on social media appeared very much to be that people didn’t want to send their children back into school as they felt it wasn’t safe, it was too soon, that they didn’t want their child to be a guinea pig . . . but actually, what I found when I shared my post explaining my thoughts about if it was the right time for our children to return to school, was that many people felt the same as us; that, on balance, it was probably the best thing for their children to be back in school but they didn’t feel able to say that in the pubic domain for fear of being judged and jumped on.

Once Dave and I had made the decision to send Ben and Amy back to school, I found the best thing for me was to avoid engaging with and taking on board other people’s opinions as, at the end of the day, we know our children and our family situation better than anyone. And we also knew that if, for any reason, we decided that it wasn’t working for us, we could take the kids back out again and continue with distance learning.

Ben and Amy were both very lucky that they were able to return to their normal classroom, with their normal teacher and their normal school hours – I know other children in other schools haven’t been so fortunate. Initially there were about 8/ 40 children in Year 1 who had taken up the offer of a return and 24 / 40 children in Year 6 but over the past four weeks, as people’s circumstances have changed, or indeed they’ve realised that perhaps the children being back in school isn’t as scary as they thought, those numbers have crept up and school sent out a letter last week explaining that they are now functioning at almost full capacity within the current government guidelines.

Although I spent quite a bit of time talking to Ben and Amy about what school might look like for them, I was nervous that they might find it all a bit too much – the staggered play times in small groups, the spread out tables, lunches in the classroom or strict social distancing meaning no hugs with their teachers – but actually they took it in their stride. Amy literally skipped into school on that first morning and came out again just as happy on the Monday night. Four weeks in, she’s equally as thrilled to be going to school. Not once has she complained or asked to stay at home. She’s just really happy to be back with her friends, and seeing faces that don’t live within the four walls of her home.

From the very first day back, we knew we had made the right decision – and the general feeling of others I’ve spoken to, both in real life and online, has been overwhelmingly positive and that the return to school has gone well for their children.

Start and finish times have been staggered to try and avoid too many people being at school at once – there’s a one way system in and out of school too. The infants are entering the school site through the car park as this is a much wider space than the usual path from the main road. The children go straight to their classroom when they arrive and are greeted by their teacher. It’s all very efficient – and frankly preferable to hanging around in the playground of a morning waiting for the bell to go – especially when it’s raining! That said, I do miss a good chat with the other parents!

To ensure a continuity and equality of provision, the children in school are being set the same work as the children at home who are still distance learning – so in theory there is little educational benefit to the children being in school however, I do think they are working in a little more depth in school – and of course they are simply more motivated to get the work done for their class teacher than their Mum!

The biggest benefit to Ben and Amy being in school from their perspective is social. Seeing other people outside of our family, interacting with their peers and their teachers. For Chloe, who isn’t at school at the moment and won’t now return until September, the benefit is of her siblings being at school is peace. She gets time to crack on with her work and the extra time and attention from Dave & I which she is really benefiting from. She is definitely the easiest of the three to have at home on her own – she doesn’t need me to motivate her to get her work done, she just does it.

For me, the return to school has meant the days and weeks have gone much faster. I wrote a little while ago that the time during Lockdown seemed to stretch out like chewing gum – but with the school run book ending our days once more, time seems to have more meaning again. Weekends are a real tangible thing, all the more so now that we are able to visit family or go for days out (albeit our choices are limited). That little bit of routine and social interaction on the school run has brought a real sense of normality back to our lives.

I have had a number of conversations with people saying, “What’s the point, it’s only a few weeks till the holidays anyway” – my response to that was, but just think how refreshed you feel after a two week holiday? Whilst two, four or seven weeks doesn’t necessary seem that long in the scheme of things, we felt the benefit of our children being back in school immediately. It’s about re-framing how you see things I guess – this isn’t normal school by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a break from the monotony of distance learning, of being at home full time.

Of course I know it’s not a simple return to school for many children, some children are perfectly happy at home and don’t want to go back for all manner of reasons, some parents are absolutely enjoying the extra quality time with their children but if you’ve got to go back to work, or you think that being at school will be better for your children’s mental health, I just wanted you to know it’s not as scary as you might think.