Many children have again missed out on their end of year celebrations. Although some of the restrictions may have been lifted before the schools broke up not many schools actually did what they normally would. This has left many children feeling that they have not had the opportunity to say goodbye to their friends or teachers properly.

IT may be that they normally Covid case still on the rise, many teachers thought that it would not really be possible to organise such an event.

If your child has missed out on end of year activities then try and think of other ways that they can have fun whilst still staying safe. It could be that you plan to do something once they are back in school in September or October time although no one knows exactly what the rules will be at that time and it could be if cases start to rise again, we have to go in to another lockdown.

Starting secondary school can be daugnting enough and many children have not been able to go for taster days at their new school, so those first few days may be a little different for them and you may need to offer them some extra reassurance.

For over 12 months now teachers have had their job roles turned upside down. Teaching has changed very much and when lots of people were told to stay at home, teachers were one of a handful that were told to continue working.

As the year progresses, we are seeing lots of different restrictions being lifted, but that of social distancing is still in place and children are still being taught in their class bubbles. Assemblies are still being done virtually at present and children can only play with people in their bubble not their usual friends. Many staff rooms are closed except to make a drink and teachers are having to give up lunch and break times to sit with their class. Although this has been the situation for some time now, it is still not a nice way of working for anyone and many teachers have said that they cannot wait until they can get back to some sort of normality again and teach the way they used to. Use of equipment is very limited and so lessons that have been taught for years before have suddenly had to be scrapped. It is likely that even if restrictions are lifted in June, many schools will stick to the bubbles until after the 6 week holidays.

Many students have missed out on a huge amount of education over the last 12 months due to the Covid pandemic. During the first lockdown, schools were simply not set up to execute remote learning and therefore many pupils did little or no schoolwork. During the final lockdown, schools have been able to offer various ways in which pupils can still access online learning such as virtual video lessons or software that allows them to send and receive work digitally.

Even with these additional processes in place, some students if not all, will have fallen behind and the government are looking at ways in which they can help them recover. There are currently a number of different options being considered such as lengthening the school day, running summer schools or shortening holidays. All of these options are going to require teacher and students to be in school for additional time and not everyone agrees that this is the best way forward. Not only have students missed out on their education but there has also been a huge lack of social interaction. For some, this has had an effect on their wellbeing and mental health which is surely more important than education. There needs to be a balance and it is yet to be seen if the right balance is going to be found.

Many people are still working from home at the moment but if the schools start to return in a couple of weeks, it is likely that some businesses will start to allow employees to return back to work.

It may be that working hours have to be staggered to allow for social distancing and so not all employees are in at the same time. If this is the case then you need to think about what hours or days you may be able to work. If children are only going back in stages then it may be that you still have a child that is going to be at home. This could impact on the times you can go in to work. You may still be allowed to work from home if this is the case or if you need to isolate at home.

If you are looking for a new job, then knowing what hours you can work will allow you to narrow your search down and only apply for jobs that are suitable to your situation.

If you really need flexible working then you may consider going self-employed. This will give you the ability to set your own hours to a certain extent although you may have to fit in with other businesses.

As a teacher it is important to recognise the children that may need extra help within the classroom. It may be that they are not sitting quietly and chatting or that they are not interested in listening, but other times it can be that they have other issues which is making it hard for them to understand what they should be doing. It is very important not to dismiss a child as acting up when you don’t know the reason that they do not seem to be doing their work. It may be that the child has a hearing issue so they simply cannot hear all the instructions or it could be that they cannot process the information that you are telling them quick enough. These issues can be missed for quite sometime but it is important to get any tests done as soon as possible if they may be needed.

You should always be trying to find ways of encouraging children to work. Often shouting at them because they refuse to do something will only make them more stubborn so often rewards work better. A simple rewards chart that allows them to see their progress can be enough to help them focus on the task in hand.