Back to school?
So – we are going back?
Following our significant period of home learning schools are now getting ready to go back, some sooner than others. There is a lot of work required to enable this to happen following the pandemic and a plethora of advice about how to go about it.
This advice presents an ever-changing rollercoaster of information making it difficult to put in place a practical solution that is user friendly and relevant. So where to start?
It is important to have a solid starting point from which you can build your strategy, risk assessments and tools whether this is for the summer term or September.
What will going back to school look like?
The first decision is what coming back to school looks like. The primary sector is the first to receive direction, the government making it clear that returning is not to be a staggered approach but straight back to full time for the named year groups in term 6. Whether this will also be the directive for Year 10 and 12 secondary students remains to be seen.
I would suggest that a risk assessment to look at your school’s ability to maintain social distancing and adequately staff the provision should be your first step. This is a good scaffold for any plans that you put in place regardless of phase or student attendance expectations. There are many risk assessment templates that can be used or one could be created using the extensive government advice on coming back to school on the DfE website.
The Risk Assessment.
Looking at the areas to be covered, the first consideration must be; are the buildings clean and safe and will they be able to remain so. Advice published earlier in March on how to manage school premises during closure or partial opening tackled this. All statutory checks were still required so the premises should be fit for purpose, clean and ready to use on returning to school.
The next consideration and possibly the hardest is how to manage students on site. Social distancing is key to the continued management of the pandemic and at the heart of everything that we all are doing in our daily lives. This requirement has different connotations for each phase but of equal importance. Using a risk assessment to understand the limitations of your classrooms, toilets and general areas will allow you to plan a strategy for use. Arranging staggered play and lunchtimes, toilet breaks as well as maintaining social distancing on entering classrooms and other areas will not be easy.
Staffing and beyond.
Staffing will also be a concern for senior leaders. Initially or at least whilst schools only have a smaller cohort in school, a rota may well suit and ensure that only staff those who are key to operations come into school. The real issue will begin when the whole school community returns, vulnerable adults and those with care responsibilities to name a few may be unavailable to work. This is where your forward planning through your risk management will give you time to address any shortfalls and put in place an alternative model.
This is not going to be easy, education indeed life, in general, may well not look the same for a while but with some planning at least we will be managing it.
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