Co-Vid 19 Blog
Date: 29 May 2020
Covid 19 – Staff Wellbeing - Healthy Schools Blog!
Firstly, I think you all deserve a big thank you for doing your best to keep young people of Swindon learning, active and in many cases calm during this difficult time. It’s very different for all of us this year as we define a new ‘normal’. Normally, the two terms at the end of a school year are the fun ones. It’s just after exam season, so pressure eases, there are the goodbye’s to pupils in upper school and then welcoming the new ones arriving into lower school. This year we have changed school protocols, reorganised classrooms, practising social distancing all to prevent the spread of a viscous virus.
When I started writing this blog, I thought of you, the school staff and your wellbeing. I am sure some of you are keen to get started again but some of you may have reservations, anxiety and uncertainty about returning to school. So we decided to pull together a few resources that you may want to look at and share with your colleagues. These can be found on the Healthy Schools Website. We have created a new page in Core Themes, Staff Wellbeing.
We are also working closely with the Swindon Educational Psychologists and the Emotional Health & Wellbeing Team to develop a SBC document ‘positive return to school’, which we will be shared with schools soon. Until this completed document gets to your school, this simple guide can help start the process of support and alleviate anxiety.
Another area of importance is welcoming back the students, we have some teaching resources that you may find useful. The PSHE Association are providing resources which can help you with advice on how to address Co-Vid 19 in your lessons. Pastoral support is important for those who may have experienced loss or bereavement, this is a guidance of how the issues can be addressed.
We have just been introduced to a new and reliable PSHE website ; www.chameleonpde.com they will be providing FREE resources, ‘Life after Lockdown’. The resources are available for both Primary and Secondary students and downloadable. Their forthcoming materials will be for SEND settings and PRU’s, a ‘nurture’ programme for Primary Schools and a complete scheme of work for Secondary Schools. They plan to host free accredited online training from September which will cover the fundamentals of RSE. Watch this space for more details and resoruces.
We hope our support can help ease any doubts and fears of returning to school and as always if you need any further guidance with areas we have not covered, please do not hesitate in contacting us.
