James Traynor, Educational Welfare and Safeguarding Adviser, offers some useful tips to help staff when returning to work.
I don’t think it needs to be said that we really are living in strange times currently. Many people are describing it as ‘living in history’.
So, as we face the prospect of schools re-opening and creating the new normal we are all wondering: What? When? Where? …and most importantly how?
So, I’m going to offer some helpful tips to guide you along that journey:
- Consider Training: Schools are going to be in a very different place over the next few months, and with new environments, routines and procedures, training ensures staff receive the same consistent message and also provides an appropriate time for staff to ask questions.
- Make Time: Parents, staff, pupils are going to have more questions than you can count, so making a time and a place for these questions to be asked is going to be really helpful and ease many anxieties for everyone.
- Sharing (ideas) is caring: This really is a great time for cluster schools to share ideas and brain power. Together schools really know their communities and having consistency in an area of schools can give a really strong message of care and cohesion.
- Supervision: More now than ever it’s important to look outward as well as inward. Having those conversations of how difficult this time is with someone outside of your setting provides a fantastic space to let go of some of those anxieties and gain further support.
- Review, review, review: Everyday in school has the potential to be vastly different so continuous review of the routines and procedures that are in place will allow for that conversation to continue to move forward.
- Be transparent: This is a very difficult time for everyone, parents, pupils, staff and leaders. Being honest and transparent in our decisions, policies and procedures allows our stakeholders to feel involved in that process and continuously informed.
- Be Honest: We are all learning in these difficult times, no one is expected to have all the answers all of the time, we are all trying our best.
- Be kind: Being kind to your pupils, parents and each other is a given but throughout this time you must be kind to yourself. Look after yourself in the same way you would look after everyone else.
If you have any further questions around training, guidance or support do not hesitate to contact us here at One Education.
Stay Safe!
