The government and media are heralding March 8th as the ‘Return to School Date’. There has been much talk about ‘missed learning’ opportunities and the need for ‘catch up’ classes.
But, is it realistic to expect a return to school to be a panacea to correct all the difficulties associated with the disruptions to daily life caused by lockdown?
Schools provide so much more than just teaching to a target-based curriculum.
For most families, school closure disrupts everyday functioning and has plunged children into social isolation. Despite the seemingly ever-present use of telephones, zoom, and social media, children suffer from the lack of ‘in-person’ contact.
Social isolation can contribute to depression and other mental health issues in children such as stress, anxiety and family conflict. There is also evidence to show that during lockdown and home-schooling, there has been an increase in behavioural problems such as irritability, inattention, and aggressive behaviour and self-harm.
Some children will have experience grief and possibly changing economic circumstances. All children will have had to adapt to different circumstances, which is in itself a form of learning.
However, it would be safe to say that the majority of us now carry an emotional burden and we will need more than just an academic catch-up program.
In my work as a child therapist, many young people admit to having mixed feelings about returning to school and have some anxiety about resuming friendships in the flesh. With friendships and social interaction being largely via social media and zoom, youngsters have learnt how to disengage from the visceral feelings we evoke in one another when we meet in person.
I doubt that we will see a reduction in referrals to CAMHS just because children are more able to socialise.
We will need a period of recovery and some children will need to re-learn how to learn.
Rather than concentrating on academic learning, we need to encourage a sense of safety, curiosity and playfulness in our children. These are the building blocks needed to enable them to relearn how to learn. Some children may benefit from counselling or child therapy.