We’ve put together some information and resources from a variety of sources to help prepare you and your children for returning back to school.

Preparing your children for back to school

Some children may struggle with yet another change to an already confusing and disruptive time in their lives. This could affect their behaviour and mental wellbeing and tackling this as parents may also be tough - below is some advice on how to prepare your children for retuning back to school in September.

Re-live the good times:
Discuss what you have done during the lockdown period, what new things were learnt and achieved. What you did together, no matter how big or small. Tell them these are the things they can share with their class, friends and teachers when they go back.

Explain & reassure:
Talk through why they have not been at school and explain and reassure that things are now getting better and that it is ok for everyone to be returning back to school, including friends and teachers. They need to understand how things might be a bit different in regards to who they can be in contact with, that classrooms may look different and assemblies might not be part of their everyday life. Allow them to ask any questions they may have, and reassure them of any concerns they may have.

Reinforce the positives:
Ask your child what they are most looking forward to when they get back to school, who they are looking forward to seeing - get them to go in to detail about their who their new teacher is or how their new classroom might look and talk about favourite subjects as well as the little things they may have missed.

Create a countdown:
It is important to explain when they will be retuning to school - you could create a visual ‘calendar countdown’ or use the term ’20 more sleeps’ for example - you want your child to feel positive about retuning to school and engaging them in a countdown like when they go on holiday or for a day out could help them to feel more excited than apprehensive.

Bring back your routine:
It is important in the run up to returning to school, that you get back in to a routine as close to normal as possible so the initial first day/week back is not a shock to the system. It would be useful in advance to discuss what you will do on the night before they go back to prepare as well as what will happen on the morning they go back if they are particularly anxious.

Encourage open discussion:
Acknowledge that it is natural to have mixed feelings such as excitement as well as worry - conversations about returning back to school could be approached in a more casual way which can be less intimidating and formal than a sit down discussion - try approaching the subject whilst doing something they enjoy with you, such as drawing, cooking, playing with their toys etc.

Make a worry box:
If your child is feeling worried or anxious, reassure them that it is ok to feel like that and that many other children including their friends will be feeling the same. Consider making a worry box or jar which so they can write down their concerns - worry boxes help to symbolise the idea that anxious feeling are simply thoughts that we can distance ourselves from - it is suggested that writing down a fear or worry can help gain control of your emotions and actively process them.

Making a worry box:

  • Get them to source and decorate a small box, such as a tissue box
  • Once a day, perhaps before bed when worries can be heightened, with down on a piece of paper;
  • What is the worry
  • How big is the worry - 1 is tiny, 5 is huge
  • Who can support me with the worry
  • Fold the paper and place in the box
  • Repeat this each and and re-read the worries from the previous day, if they are no longer a worry rip them up, if they are, place them back in the box.

Star Stream offers a great range of Visual resources, guidance documents and links relating to Coronavirus - find them here

Source

Actions to take and points to consider:

Check in with your child each morning for signs of illness. If your child has a temperature of 38 degrees or higher, they should not go to school. Make sure your child does not have a sore throat or other signs of illness, like a cough, diarrhoea, severe headache, vomiting, or body aches. If your child has had close contact to a COVID-19 case, they should not go to school.

Identify your school point person(s) of contact if your child gets sick so you can notify them immediately. Be familiar with local COVID-19 testing sites in the event you or your child develops symptoms you can get tested quickly. Make sure your information is current at school, including emergency contacts and individuals authorised to pick up your child(ren) from school. If that list includes anyone who is at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, consider identifying an alternate person.

Review and practice proper hand washing techniques at home, especially before and after eating, sneezing, coughing, and adjusting a face cover. Make hand washing fun and explain to your child why it’s important - see our handwashing guide

Be familiar with how your school will make water available during the day. Consider packing a water bottle, as well as whether any restrictions are in place for reusable lunch boxes and bottles - some schools are requesting disposable packaging for all food and drink items.

Develop daily routines before and after school - for example, things to pack for school in the morning and things to do when you return home like washing hands immediately to reinforce good practice away from home.

Talk to your child about precautions to take at school. Children may be advised to:

  • Wash their hands more often - see our handwashing guide
  • Keep physical distance from other students when asked to do so
  • Avoid sharing objects with other students, including drinks bottles, food, pens, devices and books
  • Monitor how they feel and tell an adult if they are not feeling well

Be familiar with your school’s plan for how they will communicate with families if a positive case or exposure to someone with COVID-19 is identified and ensure student privacy is upheld.

Plan for possible school closures or periods of quarantine. If transmission increases in your community or if multiple children or staff test positive for COVID-19, the school might close. Similarly, if a close contact of your child (within or outside of school) tests positive for COVID-19, your child may need to stay home for a 2-week quarantine period. You may need to consider the feasibility of taking leave from work, or identifying someone who can supervise your child in the event of closures or quarantine.

Assess the availability of transport and the arrangements being made by the transport providers for compliance with social distancing.

Attendance expectations:

In March when the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was increasing, no parent was penalised for their child’s non-attendance at school. Now the circumstances have changed and it is vital for all children to return to school to minimise as far as possible the longer-term impact of the pandemic on children’s education, wellbeing and wider development.

School attendance will therefore be mandatory again from the beginning of the autumn term 2020. This means from that point, the usual rules on school attendance will apply, including:

  • Parents’ duty to ensure that their child attends regularly at school where the child is a registered pupil at school
  • Schools’ responsibilities to record attendance and follow up absence
  • The availability to issue sanctions, including fixed penalty notices in line with local authorities’ codes of conduct

Source

Our Back to School Covid Resources Page has a a really good selection of downloadable resources to help with the transition of back to school for children.