There has been so much debate about how best we can support students in September that we have neglected to look at how we can best support staff, too.

The past few months has involved teachers teaching in very different ways, splitting time between schools and home, all under a cloud of anxiety about how the coronavirus impacts children and how easily it transmits in schools.

Coronavirus: How to support staff when schools reopen

So what should we do to help staff? Here are the three areas I think need to be prioritised. 

1. Wellbeing

So often, the focus of wellbeing is on the students, and teacher wellbeing can be left in the background. Training staff on how to ensure they don’t burn out upon their return is of huge importance. Never before have teachers collectively had this much time away from the classroom. The time will have created anxiety and this needs to be managed effectively to ensure that schools function effectively and pupils get the education they deserve.

2. Curriculum planning

Teachers need to be trained or, hopefully in most cases, reminded about the importance of low-stakes testing, questioning and the importance of quality-first teaching. If we are to close the gaps created by the time out of school, we must focus on ensuring that wellbeing is balanced with effective teaching.

Naturally, teachers may panic about “what has been missed” but I echo the thoughts of Tes columnist Mark Enser in that it’s all about teaching the subject and not trying to frantically cover everything that should have been covered in the time off (see video below).

Teachers need to have the confidence to not fixate on the past. Training on planning sequences of learning is so important to help teachers plan their time moving forward.

3. Skill degradation

When you don’t do something for a long while, you can lose your edge. 

If we get back more “normally” in September, some of us will not have been in front of a full class for six or seven months. Although a lot of us will have been in school with the children of key workers and those most vulnerable, it just isn’t the same.

To ensure that teachers aren’t anxious and they feel as able as possible to teach high-quality lessons, there may be scope for pedagogy top-ups. 

I don’t think that this needs to be instructionalist in approach by any means, but some efficient and effective reminders of what constitutes exceptional teaching can help to ease teachers back into the classroom.

This also allows for some transactional training between groups of teachers within your school. Discussion and dialogue around teaching and learning would be a great way for people to share any CPD that they may have been on during the closure period. 

Some teachers are hard-pushed for time, but there have been so many phenomenal free sessions put on that many teachers have seized the opportunity to build their knowledge of teaching.

Adam Riches is an assistant principal and senior leader for teaching and learning, specialist leader in education and head of English. He tweets @TeachMrRiches