If you're a teacher, how do the kids seem at the moment?

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

In light of all the reports of children's mental health and development suffering during lockdown, I've been wondering about this a lot. Have you noticed a big change in the kids you teach? Was it as bad as you feared?

My DS9 seems to have come through it all more or less OK, though according to him he's currently getting told off a lot 'for no reason' so reading between the lines, he's being a bit of a PITA. Hopefully it'll settle down.

I know this sounds like a very 'journalist' post... all I can say is I promise I'm not! Been around for years and would make a crap journalist.

Not a teacher, parent of a y5 and y8. Lots of disruption in y5s school, although our area has lowest Covid rates for many months, three class bubbles sent home and many self isolating. Not sure how much learning is taking place as DSs teacher also self isolating so the TA (who is amazing but can't be easy to take the whole class alone short notice) is teaching. All their Easter events cancelled. So yes not a great return. Y8 DD seems ok if a bit subdued, doesn't talk much about school, so I think that echoes much of what has been said by secondary teachers. She's spent much more time during lockdown talking to her old primary friends who go to other schools, so I'm not sure how her in school friendships are. Definitely lots of gaps in learning, even though both of mine engaged with the home learning, their attention at home was limited.

I can't comment on the kids but I have three family members who have been teachers for many years and I've never seen them as exhausted as they have been this last three weeks.

Thank-you to all you teachers, I hope you all have a relaxing Easter break

@Takeoutyourhen

I teach in year R and all they are interested in is when is home time. They are tired immediately after lunch - not unusual but it’s as if they’ve lost their core strength and can’t sit up anymore. In PE they are knackered after 5 minutes, stamina has definitely taken a hit. Then the difference between those who engaged in home learning vs those who didn’t / tried to stay off the radar as much as poss is very noticeable.

This really struck a chord. You’re taking about YR and trying to “stay off the radar”. You know lots of those children were, by necessity, left alone for hours on end while their parents worked right? You must also realise how hard it is for those working parents, who didn’t have time to engage their children in home schooling to know that their children are miles behind. Not because they didn’t want to. Because they couldn’t.

Big hug to @NeverDropYourMoonCup. What a shit show eh? I’m glad those children have got you

@MrsZola

I teach Year 1 in a school that is part of a large academy trust. We have been told that the children must sit in rows, facing the front of the class. Our teaching focus is maths, writing, reading, phonics and handwriting - oh we are allowed to do PE. I'm bored, the children are bored - 2 phonics sessions a day for goodness sake! We've just had assessment week because the Trust want all the data. That's what it's come down to 😢. The behaviour has gone downhill, they can't sit still and their attention span is zilch. Some children are finding it impossible to adjust to the way it is now and are very disruptive. I don't blame them for one moment - these are the children who didn't even get 2 full terms in Year R, then were thrown into a Year 1 curriculum that they weren't ready for. The 'catch up' period was so brief as to be laughable. They are 5 and 6 gears old and being subjected to an environment and curriculum that is totally u suitable and developmentally inappropriate for the majority of them. I feel so sorry for them all. I'm taking early retirement at the end of the year - I can't do this to them anymore. I know that sounds a bit melodramatic, but I can see tbat it's going to be this way for a very long time. I really miss sitting together on the carpet for a story 😢

Wow that's sounds like an awful scenario for young children. Is there some form of whistleblowing procedure? I know some countries do quite intense learning in 3/4 hrs but I'm guessing these kids are doing 6hour days. Feel sorry for the parents too if they have no alternative, I would hate to put my children through this

@Emeraldshamrock

It is the parents fault, put them in charge for a few months and a pack of sulky wannabe delinquents return. Shocking I tell ya. Glad some teachers are enjoying the return of the DC.

It’s not about enjoyment though is it, it’s genuine concern. As I said I’ve been in the whole time so schools now being ‘open’ only makes it more interesting. I don’t see anyone blaming parents here, lockdown yes parents no.

Secondary SLT in Scotland here. It’s very very quiet. We are still under social distancing regulations so it sort of feels as though teachers at the front of the class are feeling pressured into doing some big performance for an entirely disinterested audience. A few parents of younger pupils have said it’s all too much for their kids and they won’t be back until things are ‘normal’ after Easter. Exam years are completely focused but clearly terrified of upcoming assessments. Vulnerable and key workers kids have had really good provision and responded well but are clearly getting tired now and will find it hard to readjust to less one to one support. No evidence of a mental health crisis at present but I imagine a lot is hidden for now. Parental anxieties have been far more challenging than those of the kids. A good number have visibly gained weight but the majority seem healthy and reasonably happy. They are all falling over themselves to be polite. I think perhaps they have missed us!

My teens are ok and happy to go back.

My 11yo (year 6) seems to be struggling. He's tired and has had a couple of days off sick (really rare for him), but the main problem, genuinely, is that he misses playing football at break which they're not allowed to do because of covid.

I honestly think that the tiny added risk from letting them play football would be worth it to let them relax and enjoy themselves at break time.

I'm not a teacher but from chatting to my daughter's senco the kids who have struggled most (on a general level) have been those who were in throughout lockdown, they have struggled with the others returning and a return to normal school.

This is to be expected, the kids in the hun and under senco are those with additional needs who need more structure and routine than neurotypical dc, often don't cope well with noise. Some have positively thrived in the hubs and agree found it tough to go back to full classes because of their individual needs.

Our class (and the other 2 in the year group) are pretty chaotic tbh. Many of the dc have forgotten the routines and are struggling to sit and listen even for very short time periods. Their behaviour has been terrible and in the playground, very rough. I suspect lots of them have spent a year indoors watching/playing age inappropriate videos and games. It's a worrying amount of violence for dc so young. Plus staff shortages in school as the staggered re start meant staff unable to leave dc that didn't go back so weren't able to come in, some still shielding, now they've been back a few weeks the inevitable bubbles popping all over and staff isolating. We're doing our best for these kids but it's tough.

Secondary English here. Lots look very pale. Lots hang around at the end of the lesson to tell me how anxious they feel. My own DD has been crying most evenings since November, and she has always been a very jolly soul before Covid.

It's bad. I really hope lots of it is situational and that they recover when things become more normal.

Not a teacher, but ds is in Y5. He's got quite physically lazy and seems more lethargic generally. But he's happy enough and we're trying to get him more physically active. No signs of anxiety or worry, loving being back with his friends. I asked him how his friends are and he said they all seemed fine. Most of the class have been on 'green' since coming back, the occasional 'blue' for chatting in class when they should be listening but no real problems. All seem smiling and happy at drop off and pick up.

My biggest concern during the first lockdown was for our then 3yo dd. She missed social interaction hugely and her behaviour, and its impact on the family, was horrendous. She's a social butterfly who loves nursery and seeing and hugging family. We kept her in playschool and at her cm this time and she's thrived. A lot is because she's no longer 3 (I remember ds being awful at that age) but a lot is just that she does better with a routine she's familiar with. She hates change, so lockdown 1 was a massive blow to her.

Primary school. Yes to critical worker children finding it hard to get used to classrooms full of children a bit overexcited to be around their friends again - they are more likely to complain about the classroom noise and the boisterous playground behaviour and clearly preferred having more space and attention. Yes to children being a bit rough with each other in the playground, taking advantage of being able to get physically close to other human beings. Yes to more children being anxious and needing a bit of extra support. Most children seem pleased to be back, though.

TA in a Year 1/2 class.
Academically, the children are doing brilliantly. We had only one child who was at home but not engaging with home learning. Our strong learners have done well and are still well ahead of where they need to be. Our middle level learners have progressed amazingly well. Our weaker learners have almost all made far better progress than they would have done at school, because they were all having work set by a teacher, but having one to one support to complete it at home. The handful that were in school similarly had loads of support available. Where there were a group of weak learners, we now only have one who has really gone backwards. I’m so impressed by them in general and it is so noticeable, listening to reading etc, how much work has gone on at home. So proud of them. Interestingly, the children who weren’t reading at home or anything before have been doing more reading - I wonder if home learning has set a pattern of doing things at home. Or created a parental involvement that wasn’t there before. It’s lovely though, all fantastic for the children.

So academic catch up really isn’t the issue.

Socially it’s a different story. I’ve been properly punched for the first time ever. “But I want it” seems to be an acceptable reason for taking something from someone else, or hitting them if they won’t let you have it. Quick to lose their tempers with each other, quick to tears. No sense of waiting their turn to speak - they haven’t had to do that, or negotiate with other children, for a while and it shows.
“I’m hungry, when is it lunchtime?” “You’ve only just come into the classroom and hung your coat up, it’s not lunchtime just yet... no, don’t get your snack out, you need to wait until playtime”. They are clearly used to grazing more!

No social distancing- I’ve sat and cuddled more upset kids in the last few weeks than the whole of the term before Christmas. A year 1 broke down completely yesterday and I genuinely thought she’d really hurt herself - it took a few minutes for her to calm down enough to tell me and it was actually “I miss my mummy”. You can’t social distance from that so she was on my lap and we had a big hug and a story together. We’ve had more conversations.as a class about “We are a team and we look after each other...”.

Next week the teacher and I are going to role play. Monday morning, we have a plan to go in and just start snatching things from each other, we will talk over each other and shout when the other adult isn’t listening - we’re hoping to make them all laugh and then if they can point out how ridiculous we are being, maybe we can help them think more about what they are doing and how it makes everyone feel.

@GreenBalaclava

My teens are ok and happy to go back.

My 11yo (year 6) seems to be struggling. He's tired and has had a couple of days off sick (really rare for him), but the main problem, genuinely, is that he misses playing football at break which they're not allowed to do because of covid.

I honestly think that the tiny added risk from letting them play football would be worth it to let them relax and enjoy themselves at break time.

Alas, football on the playground is not a tiny extra risk, it’s the biggest cause of fighting, injuries and complaints (and shoes flying off feet and onto the school roof...) in ordinary times, as those playing seem to feel entitled to take over all available space to the extreme detriment of those who do not like football. Endless school council discussions about times and locations when it should be allowed, complaints and time wasted in classrooms dealing with children still upset with each other, etc.

But walkaround those reasons are nothing to do with covid? It's usually allowed and seems to be fine. The problem with banning it is that the kids are hanging around at a loose end in break time and end up getting into arguments with each other.

@Walkaround but isn’t that adults job to help with these issues? Also the lack of space is the lack of space issue again not the kids fault. God forbid children actually wanting to run around and kick their shoes off 🙄

@OhDear2200 - that’s a bit of a silly question. Of course it’s the adult’s job to help with and it is dealt with. It’s far from surprising that in times of covid when classroom bubbles are not allowed to mix, so space is even more limited than usual, not all children think football should be allowed at all as it requires so much space that it does prohibit many other activities while it is going on (unless lucky enough to have a class that all like football and a school with huge amounts of suitable space), and there are often not enough staff available to supervise properly, that it isn’t allowed at the moment though, is it?! I wouldn’t want to be a playground supervisor - there are never enough of them (as an employment opportunity, it’s piss poor, as low paid and likely to cut through the timing of better paid opportunities ). I think anyone who thinks football should be allowed every day should spend a week being the supervisor in a crowded playground, dealing with the arguments, the injuries and the parents who either want to complain about football not being allowed at every single break or who want to complain about dirty clothes, or injuries they spotted at bathtime, etc, etc. Or fund primary schools better, so they can try to employ legions more adults, on considerably better pay, to deal with it!

Year 3 TA here.

Academically, they have all taken a big step back, lost confidence, forgotten basics, no stamina.

Emotionally and behaviour wise . We have lots of tummy aches and headaches that are actually worries. We've had one instance of a proper sobby" i want my mummy". Lots of shouting out, chattiness, squabbling etc

But also happiness at being back. One of them said to me yesterday " this is my best day ever!" Which was really sweet.

It is going to a really long road to recovery i think.

@Fembot123

@Fembot123

Ahh so the pastoral staff like me who have been in the whole time and are now dealing with the worst effects of the lockdown as we are behaviour focused don’t have anything relevant to say, ok.

What do you mean? Aren't pastoral staff teachers and TAs?

Someone mentioned the summer and how they have the same length of time off, and wondered why the difference.
I think it’s the socialising. During the summer holiday, they are normally able to see friends, they might stay with Granny or other family or have sleepovers. They get used to being without Mum or Dad, for play dates if not sleepovers. And they have to negotiate with their friends over what game they are playing etc etc.

This time, they have gone from being in the house, spending all their time with parents, barely allowed out for a walk, not seeing friends at all to back into a classroom with a strict routine and what probably feels to them like a cast of thousands!

My own DD is in Year 3. She talked to her friend on FaceTime during lockdown. When they argued, they simply hung up on each other! Can’t do that in a classroom....

One of the other interesting effects is in our nursery (so 3 and 4 year olds). Bear in mind that for quarter or a third of their life we have been in lockdown, so they don’t really remember pre-lockdown. One of them got the till out to play shops, and the other six kids (tiny village school) had absolutely no idea what she was doing. Couldn’t role play it because they haven’t been in a shop that they remember. Made me really appreciative that there will be experiences that we used to take for granted that kids will have, like going into a shop and using money, that they just don’t have at the moment.

@babybythesea

Someone mentioned the summer and how they have the same length of time off, and wondered why the difference. I think it’s the socialising. During the summer holiday, they are normally able to see friends, they might stay with Granny or other family or have sleepovers. They get used to being without Mum or Dad, for play dates if not sleepovers. And they have to negotiate with their friends over what game they are playing etc etc.

This time, they have gone from being in the house, spending all their time with parents, barely allowed out for a walk, not seeing friends at all to back into a classroom with a strict routine and what probably feels to them like a cast of thousands!

My own DD is in Year 3. She talked to her friend on FaceTime during lockdown. When they argued, they simply hung up on each other! Can’t do that in a classroom....

Yeah it’s vastly different to the summer holidays in my opinion. Firstly our summer holidays are only 6 weeks and this lockdown from the start of the Christmas holidays they were away from school 11 weeks, so nearly double the length of time. Also in the summer holidays we see friends/family, go on day trips, the kids are in holiday clubs when we’re working etc. They’re not just sitting next to me doing phonics/maths etc while I work full time.

As a parent not a teacher I can say that I've got nothing but praise for our primary. No learning before Easter (that the children are aware of, but of course they are learning of sorts) but a total focus on wellbeing, settling into routines again, building relationships etc. YR are focusing a lot on motor skills for helping with writing, stamina etc. They're doing lots of exercise, forest school, and even for the older ones, playing. Dd is coming home filthy each day! They were very engaged during lockdown too, my child's reading level has shot up (but as a SAHM I was able to fully commit my time to doing everything they asked her to do). They were great with regularly providing new reading books each week too, contactless collection.

My DD is in Reception so I can't say how the older children are faring but in her class there are a lot more children who are upset to be separated from their parents (usually the vast majority of them skip off happily, with one or two being upset, now it's more like half the class). They're exhausted, my DDs teacher told me she was swaying on the mat at storytime the other day, and she sleeps 12 hours a night. Lots more ratty behaviour after school, tying in with normal extremely tired five year olds but ranked up a huge notch. There's lots more frustrated outbursts from the children in school, there have been several incidences of the children who generally struggle to regulate themselves at this age being much more volatile, hitting out etc (I know this from our parents WhatsApp group where we chat, the school haven't been indiscreet).

We were told that our school, particularly for the YR and KS1 would have preferred a more gradual reintroduction to school, like half days for the first week etc but they weren't given any choice, so full days immediately was what it was.

I get that’s it’s not the same as a summer holiday I just don’t understand why some are saying all the kids have taken a big step backwards in terms of learning when they’ve all been learning online every day. First week back ok but my kids are back into routine, not tired or emotional or any different now really, I appreciate it’s probably more difficult for younger ones.