The return to school, March 2020

With the return to school imminent at the time of this blog post we consider how teachers can use and build on their experience of the last 10 weeks of remote and blended learning. Children and families across the country looked to Monday 8 March with a sense of anticipation, relief and excitement. Those who have been at home will see their friends and teachers and feel fully part of the school community again, while those children who have been in school will enjoy the much wider social interaction that a full classroom and school brings. However, while the mass return of children and young people to classrooms in England (some Scottish and Welsh pupils have already returned in a phased re-entry) may have been billed in the media as a ‘big bang’ moment, teachers are all too well aware that the situation is rather more nuanced than it is portrayed. Here we explore some of the issues.