Education, MY Classroom
Reducing Anxiety Around School Return
29
May
May
With UK schools set to open to more children from June 1st, understandably there is lots of talk about how to do so safely. One concern surrounds supporting children who may feel anxious or have additional needs.
In this post, I have gathered some resources that may be useful in supporting parents/carers, teachers and school leaders planning for wider school openings in the short or longer term.
The BUILD Process
Our BUILD Process provides 5 interlinked areas we feel are essential as we begin to think about the changes we face and establishing a ‘new normal.’ It has been designed to stimulate conversation and thinking – hopefully acting as a catalyst for effective educational transformation and regeneration. We would love your feedback on this document such that we can share good practice and learn from one another. Download it here:
Dumond-Education-BUILD-Process-2020
The B in BUILD stands for Belonging. Research has highlighted the importance of belonging in terms of student motivation and attainment. More widely, however, a sense of belonging is crucial for all members of the school community.
Many of our guiding questions in the BUILD Process focus on building/rebuilding trust, ensuring we have open lines of communication such that people feel they have a voice and are heard, and on embedding new norms and routines such that everyone feels safe, comfortable and happy in the environment. Establishing this is key to reducing anxiety around wider school attendance.
Risk Assessments
In order to identify necessary changes and eliminate potential risks and hazards, undertaking a thorough risk assessment is essential. The Independent SAGE Report provides this one. Apologies, the uploaded image is not very clear so you will need to zoom in. Otherwise, it is to be found on page 18 of the linked report.
10 Resources for Teachers and Parents/Carers to Assuage Anxiety re. School Return
@SLTinSEND
In terms of resources to use with pupils, Kate, @SLTinSEND, has created this document to promote understanding and reduce anxiety around the return to school.
Starsteam website
She also links to the Starsteam website which has many excellent resources including social stories, symbols for visual stories, talking mats, advice on alleviating worries and much more.
Taking just one of the Talking Mats (Attending school whilst others are self-isolating) as an example, here is the list of the areas of concern the authors highlight children may have.
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Feeling anxious
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Travelling to school
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Not knowing what will happen at school
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Not knowing which room(s) I’ll be in
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Not having usual timetable of lessons
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Not knowing which staff will be there
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Not knowing which other pupils will be in
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Other pupils being noisy/messing about
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Friends not in school
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Worrying about catching Coronavirus
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Other activities not usually associated with school, e.g. playing games
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Staying 2 metres apart from people in school
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Having access to phone and earphones in school
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Being in bigger groups than usual
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Being in smaller group than usual
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Lunchtimes Break times
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Having to do PE/exercise
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Washing hands in school
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Using hand sanitiser/gel
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Using the toilet in school
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Eating food in school
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Doing school work whilst other people are at home
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Parent(s) having to go to work because they are a ‘key worker’
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Staff understanding my needs and being flexible
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Feeling unmotivated to do school work
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Exams being cancelled
A lengthy list so something we must plan and prepare for. The following videos may be useful in helping you to do so.
SchudioTV
SchudioTV have released a video on Preparing Autistic & SEND Children for going back to school and another one on The Big Transitions for Autistic and SEND Pupils after Lockdown. There are resources to accompany the videos provided.
An additional video on Navigating Stress for Teachers & Staff is also available. These feature Lynn McCann, @ReachoutASC.
Reachout ASC
The Reachout ASC website has many additional resources available. In her courses, Lynn stresses the importance of preparing children for changes and transitions.
NASP
Although written at the time of school closures, this article from NASP (National Association of School Psychologists) entitled Helping Children Cope With Changes Resulting From COVID-19 offers parents and carers pointers and advice on supporting children that continue to be relevant.
Beacon
This Beacon article, The New Normal: Returning To School After COVID-19, is similarly helpful for teachers and school leaders.
Families Under Pressure
Parents and carers may find the Families Under Pressure resources helpful in supporting their child to deal with negative emotions or if looking for help to deal with difficult behaviour. Some children may exhibit poorer behaviour or increased negative emotions due to anxiety about school return. It may also be difficult for children to adjust to the changes that are necessary in their school so sensitive support will be essential.
Parenting Under Pressure
King’s College have produced a helpful guidance document on Parenting Under Pressure. Their advice centres on:
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Keeping positive and motivated
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Making sure everyone knows what is expected of them
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Building your child’s self-confidence and trust in you
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Getting your child to follow instructions
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Promoting better behaviour
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Limiting conflict
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Keeping calm when your kids act up
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Using sanctions carefully
All of these resources are as useful to teachers as they are to parents and carers as they serve as good reminders for us to regulate the emotional temperature in our classrooms and to ensure we maintain our calm in stressful situations. It is imperative we look beyond the presenting behaviour and consider underlying causes.
