On this last day of teaching, let’s keep morale high
What to say to children on the last day of school before the coronavirus shutdown
- by Emma Mallett
The 1939 slogan ‘Keep calm and carry on’ was intended to raise the morale of the British public when threatened with widely-predicted mass air attacks on major cities. The 2020 adaptation serves much the same purpose.
With school systems thrown into disarray and teachers trying to grapple with new information and guidance daily, it’s no wonder that parents, pupils and teachers are all feeling overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
School closures have been scheduled for Friday, with the exception of key workers’ children. Schools are considering how best to support the children still attending while also delivering provision for those working from home.
So what can we do to best help our pupils?
- Provide packs of work for pupils to do at home, complete with answer sheets.
- Utilise online services that are offering free membership for teachers and parents until the end of the academic year. Share this information with parents/guardians.
- Look into online learning platforms such as Purple Mash – an online self-marking system that allows teachers to set specific work for pupils. Children can attempt pieces of work more than once following feedback.
- Video yourself explaining certain trickier concepts before setting pupils work on this. Upload them to your school’s website. Videos can be watched multiple times and ensure that a consistent method is being shown to all pupils.
- Encourage pupils to help vulnerable groups. Could they spread kindness by video calling their relatives or neighbours who are self-isolating? Could they help with online food shops for those no longer able to leave their homes? Offer to walk the pets of those unable to do so?
- Encourage children to spend quality time with their loved ones. Can they learn a new skill together. Duolingo is a free app to help you learn a new language.
- Ask children to practise skills outside of the national curriculum, including sewing, crafts and cooking.
- Encourage pupils to undertake physical activity, whether that’s going for a walk, attempting the ‘toilet roll challenge‘ or trying kids’ workout routines from YouTube.
These resources are also great if you’re supporting the children of key workers in school.
You may find yourself working with children of mixed ages and abilities. Pair children up to encourage pupil-led learning.
It’s our job to ensure our pupils do not panic and that they feel confident that their education has been considered.
Trending
The cancellation of SATs will have relieved the pressure for many Y6 pupils, yet they still need to be secondary-ready and should continue to study with this in mind.
The length of time schools will close for is very uncertain, but on this last day of teaching, let’s keep morale high and children calm.
Reassure pupils that their education is still your top priority. Together, we can use this period to spread kindness and take some time to consider how fortunate we truly are.
Emma Mallett is an oracy lead and Y6 teacher.
