Mental Health in school following COVID-19

Over the last few months there have been significant changes to what most of us would class as ‘normal life’. Schools are closed, companies have been shut down and the short-term future is uncertain. This uncertainty inevitably leads to anxiety. This most definitely applies to us as adults who for some might be facing a loss of job, new jobs rescinded or facing being out of work for the foreseeable future. For our children, there is also much anxiety, they have never been through anything like this before and so have no idea of how or when it will end. With Universities threatening to be online, at least for the first part of the year, ‘freshers’ week’ as we used to know it will be very different. This has left many of the current Upper 6th unsure as to what lies ahead for them and what their options are. With A Level exams cancelled, it is important to keep them focussed and ensure the pastoral support is there. I run our GAP programme and many of the applicants have been keen to defer their university places so that they can hopefully get the full experience next year.

Effect on staff teaching who are currently outside the UK

In China, we broke up for the Qing Ming holiday as normal and at a time when the COVID-19 was in its infancy and no one envisaged it to become so widespread. Many staff and families returned to their home countries to see family back home and with the sudden and unpredictable lockdown of the borders, left many stranded. Our parent company, BE, and the Wycombe Abbey SLT have done an incredible job of looking after the staff throughout this difficult time. We have delivered lessons online through the mediums of Microsoft Teams and SeeSaw. The staff outside of China have had to adapt to working on China time to best support their children here. This has of course had its challenges. Schools with this predicament should ensure that their wifi is upgraded as far as possible and that clear policies and regulations are in place to ensure the wifi is being used for teaching purposes as far as possible during the school day. Now that we are back at school it is important for schools to continue to embrace this online aspect. We have made a huge jump to online learning during the lockdown, it is now important to continue using it in school.

Effect on staff teaching in China

At school, we are delighted with the percentage of pupils who have returned. 95% of our pupils are back in school and now that we are five weeks into our reopening stage we can say it has been a success. Our Kindergarden is set to open on Thursday, which means almost all our pupils will be back in school. This means that the number of classes and timetabled lessons are the same and so there are classes which need cover staffing, as some teachers were unable to make it back from overseas. Over the lockdown period, our staff became very accustomed to using Microsoft Teams and at Primary level SeeSaw. As I mentioned in my previous post, this was a steep learning curve but it has proven that you are never too old to learn. I look back five years and it was my grandfather who first proved this to me, buying the iPhone 7 at the age of 87. He might have appeared upside down during our video calls but being able to catch up with him every few weeks was wonderful.

It has taken a huge amount of effort to get to know different pieces of software, however the collaboration between staff and indeed online between different schools, who have shared best practice has had an immensely positive impact. There has been an increased workload, wifi does go through its rough patches too, and so staff should have a backup plan for classes in school when the inevitable happens, which they can pull out at any time and so eases the stress and panic when problems do arise. Our Headmaster has also been incredibly supportive with regards to expectations. We have to remember many of these pupils and parents have been cooped up for ten weeks or more. To try and alleviate some of the pressures, our performance management has been postponed to the start of the next academic year with all staff moving up. We have put a halt to observed lessons and some of our meetings are now through Zoom, which means our staff can access them from the comfort of their own homes and continue to adhere to social distancing. We have a wonderful staff, capable of so much and so to trust them and be there to guide and help when necessary is an essential part of our ethos.

We have extended the school term by three weeks. This is in line with the government dates for the exams. Despite this being quite an extension to the school term, we have again been well looked after. For those staff who had flights booked and need to get back to family, that will be honoured. For the Chinese and Western staff who stay in school, it is double pay for the three weeks, including the first week being a national holiday where the children will all be going home. The response from the staff has been incredibly positive, with staff cancelling their flights home to support the pupils and their colleagues for those three weeks. For the pupils, many were looking forward to going to the UK for the Primary UK Trip with myself. They were of course incredibly disappointed when they found out that the trip would be unable to go ahead. Instead, we will be running a multisports camp at school where they can come and join us each day, with an hour’s English each day too. At school, BE will also be running their English language summer course too as well as a school KG summer course. This has been possible due to the recent flurry of interest from so many of our staff who would like to offer their services on the summer courses.

Keeping morale high at school is also important. As DSL, my door is always open and staff know they can come and have a coffee, even if there is not necessarily an agenda. Two brand new coffee machines have been installed in the staff room with access to hot chocolate, cappuccinos and matcha tea (my wife’s favourite tipple). We have also facilitated regular opportunities to relax and have fun, during the week and especially at weekends. Work hard and play hard is an important motto to go by at the moment. Having these regular social opportunities are an important way of breaking up a busy week. The staff bar is been well stocked, and each Saturday staff have had free access to it. Our staff band has been active and, whilst social distancing it has provided some great entertainment for the staff.

The mental well-being of the children and the parents has become more fragile. Recently the whole school completed a self-reflection well-being wheel, which gave us an insight into how they were feeling about themselves. From here we have been able to implement a slight flexibility in the weekend timetable to accommodate for this. The parents have in part had to become teachers facilitating a learning environment and so they have not necessarily been able to be parents as we knew it anymore. Sharing of laptops, office space and working areas have had their challenges. Some parents have had unrealistic expectations of their children and are not as accustomed to giving their children the support they may need, especially if they have been working from home themselves. Schools and teachers should continue to keep regular contact with their families. Form teachers should highlight those who have been struggling and should look to give them a personal call through Teams, with the parents or another member of staff to check in. In my experience, this has made a very positive impact and has meant a lot to our families.

The future is unknown

They are tough times ahead, but we are in the knowledge that our school and parent company are behind us, supportive and we continue to look to the future. Take every day as it comes, support the children in our care and stay in touch with the families and indeed your colleagues. If you are struggling, this is rational and quite normal in the circumstances. Please do find someone to talk to and try to rationalise what is happening. People are sympathetic and will be there to support you.

Here are a few tips, feel free to comment below with some of your own ideas:

-         Be realistic with expectations for work. Also plan fun activities each day, things to look forward to.

-         Make sure you are still taking time for you. Pass on to those you care for and ensure they are contacting their friends and speaking to others.

-         You are not alone with your concerns, share them. Someone else will be sure to have the same question, so do ask.

-         For 6th Formers, keep in contact with the universities, they are being supportive and will do their best to answer questions.

-         Even though there are no exams, continue to complete and review the work. This will also help with the transition to university.

-         Try to exercise and ensure your meals are healthy and proportionate.

-         Be flexible. Pupil and staff wellbeing is the most important thing!