Kineara's Education Services

Practitioner Insights: Teaching your pupils during the pandemic 

Over the last year, you’ve seen how challenging teaching during the pandemic has been. Kineara’s holistic approaches to school and home life can provide you with some helpful tips and tricks to support your pupils’ learning and wellbeing, as well as your own. Use these learnings to build upon your own, deepen your empathy and recognise the hidden challenges that your pupils and families may be facing during the pandemic. You can also visit our education page to read more about how holistic support works in practice, and how we can support you.  

 

Emotional health and resilience 

Many pupils and families have been struggling with their mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic. They may also be feeling stressed, fearful, and anxious about the upcoming changes, including the reopening of schools.  

Studies have shown the negative mental and physical health effects of increased screen-time, so it’s natural to see a dip in pupil motivation and energy levels during online classes. For some families, this is coupled with practical challenges like the lack of space (or workspace), financial hardship, or personal struggles with maintaining a daily routine. All these challenges in the home can make it even harder for pupils to focus. As for returning to school, psychologists have warned that the current “catch-up narrative” is also putting huge pressure on pupils. Recognising these pressures will help you to prioritise pupil wellbeing, which will positively impact on your pupils’ learning.  

While we equip parents with effective tools and strategies to support their children’s wellbeing, we encourage you to prioritise this, and your own wellbeing too. As a teacher or school staff, you know that you play a crucial role in the academic progress and attainment of your pupils. Focusing on your own wellbeing will not only help you thrive in your role, but it will positively impact on your pupils. Here are some top tips to get you started: 

  • Genuinely check in with your pupils and let them know that you and the school are here to support them.  
  • Give your pupils the opportunity to communicate and ask you for things. 
  • Create a positive classroom culture which includes mutual respect, kindness and sharing. 
  • Introduce team building exercises and different activities like the “emotions meter” or “emoji game”, if you haven’t already.  
  • Maintain and build positive relationships with your pupils and families.  
  • Focus on your wellbeing (Remember that ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’) 
  • Get extra support for yourself or your pupils if needed (See ‘further support’ below) 

Challenges for ‘vulnerable’ families  

Families living in precarious situations, facing financial hardship, and going through other personal challenges have borne the brunt of the lockdown. Some families have felt particularly isolated and fearful, and/or have fallen behind on rent due to rising living costs and income hits. To this, both benefit cuts and the end of furlough are set for spring, along with unemployment levels predicted to rise, all of which may drive up rent arrears even further.  

As you want pupils to engage and benefit from your lessons, it’s important that  these families get the necessary support. Otherwise, you may see a fall in your pupils’ learning and attainment, emotional wellbeing, and even their relationships with others. Families who took part in our M2E programme have told us that their children have now started to engage more in school and in the home, developed emotional awareness, and improved their grades. While organisations like Kineara work to uncover these hidden challenges through tailored, holistic support, here are some top tips you can try:  

  • Teachers are natural problem solvers – teach and model this to your pupils to help them develop problem solving skills, which is key to building resilience during adversity.  
  • Be compassionate and lenient, but also hold your pupils to high expectations. You could, for example, not penalise pupils on deadlines, but also give constructive feedback and hold students to account.  
  • Encourage your pupils to set goals and coach them to achieve these goals. Whether they achieve them or not, it will help them boost their confidence, self-esteem, and motivation in school.  
  • Recognise that often pupils are dealing with things we know nothing about, which may affect their time in school. Help your pupils relax by introducing breathing exercises or other mindfulness activities if possible. You can read how his has helped our M2E pupils here.  

Working together 

This pandemic has highlighted the resilience and passionate resolve of our teachers and school staff. As our CEO, Maria Morgan, said, “We recognise that teachers give a lot – their work doesn’t just stop at school, it’s at home, and it’s not just teaching children – they’re social workers, doctors, parents, they’re everything!” While we like to believe that teachers are superheroes (which you are), we know that superheroes need support too. Here are some key learnings from other teachers:  

  • Don’t try to do it all. Acknowledge when you need support. And if so, get support and advice from other teachers and/or someone you trust. 
  • Connect and socialise with other teachers, friends, and family. This will help you maintain and strengthen positive relationships, emotional wellbeing and even job satisfaction. 
  • Strive to maintain work-life balance. Not only will this help you become a better teacher, but it will also help you take care of yourself mentally and physically.  
  • Be flexible at home and at school. Planning is important, but you need to be able to quickly adapt plans when new situations and challenges arise.  The changes brought about by the pandemic is a key example of this.  

Further support 

As a school or teacher, you are already dealing with heavy workloads and ongoing pressures, so it’s important to seek out support you need it. Kineara is well equipped to support you to work through multi-complex or hidden challenges your pupils are facing, as outlined above. Our intensive support for pupils and embedded wraparound support for schools are part of our holistic service that aims to improve wellbeing at school. All this is delivered by experienced practitioners and is tailored to meet the needs of your school.  

With the rising demand for pastoral care and specialised support post-lockdown, contact us today to find out how we can help. We’d love to support you.