I’m a glass half full kind of gal and although to coin a phrase, some aspects of this year have been ‘bloody awful,’ with a rather long list of difficulties, I always try to take positives from dire situations because what else can you do, if you don’t want to dwell on the negatives? I believe that every bad situation teaches you something or develops you as a person. In this respect, 2020 has been the year that just keeps on giving. 

The following are my personal reflections of positives; some which no doubt will resonate to fellow educators both professionally and personally. I’m very keen to see the back of this academic year (and actual year). Just like the Japanese concept of Kintsukuroi, I believe that challenging times make us grow as people – unfortunately, you need these times to create light and shade within life.

Now back to the positives – in no particular order:

A sense of community – It has amazed me how communities; both school and local have engaged together throughout this situation. Neighbours and colleagues are literally bending over backwards to be accommodating and to support others. Even those who did not necessarily display those personality traits to start with. Long may this continue. I hope that we now have a lot more kindness in the world.

Teaching without pressures – I love teaching but all the superfluous admin and the ‘performance’ element of teaching (i.e. teaching to what is on a list on a piece of paper, on a clipboard that a member of SLT is holding), sucked a lot of the joy and creativity out of it for me and I left the classroom to be a SENCO after 19 years of classroom teaching. I have enjoyed teaching my bubble due to no pressure and the ability to get to know them as individuals. We have all had a great time and (I think) they learnt a lot as well. Click here for some of the activities we got up to.

New ways of working – I have discovered that children who were previously disengaged with learning have thrived in this new ‘bubble’ environment. They have smaller classes and less movement. They are much clearer on expectations as well as have more personalised learning. Some children are producing more work than they have for the whole year! Others have completely embraced the blended learning and are learning brilliantly online at home, whereas they wouldn’t have engaged as well at school. I’m considering how we can incorporate blended learning into our school for our SEND pupils next year.  

Teaching what is important – Anyone who has read my recent blog post ‘The seeds of change’ regarding curriculum reform (click here), will know that I’m on a mission to use this time as an opportunity to reshape the curriculum of the future with SEMH at its heart. I truly believe that my addressing the foundations upon which learning is built, children will be happier, more confident, more engaged, more employable, more future proofed learners (this list could go on!). If you haven’t read it please take a look and if you agree, share it with as many people as possible!

Homeschool joy – I say ‘joy’ but it has been a double edged sword. On the one hand, my daughter has had a teacher on hand to support and nurture her as a learner. Her writing has really improved, as she now has the confidence to use a wider vocabulary due to the ability to ask Google/Alexa/Siri for spellings and synonyms. Check out my previous spelling rant here: https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2019/04/29/spelling/ . On the other hand, my daughter may have suffered a bit more than other children because, and I quote, ‘you make me finish my work,’ (yes dear I do). It has mainly been a pleasurable experience. As a teacher, I can appreciate all the good work that my daughter’s school is doing and many parents have discovered that teachers are actually saints.

Being with my children – I have never spent so much time with my children. I have never wanted to be a stay at home mum (nor do I want to be after this!), but extra time as a family has been great. All those extra learning opportunities such as hatching butterflies, mending punctures, arts and crafts, country walks have made family memories. The highlight was probably my husband (a working at height electrician), rigging up a zip line in the woods for us.

Appreciating my job – I have had 1.5 days a week at work and I have needed it. This is what has kept me sane and I have never appreciated my job more. Trying to work at home whilst being with the children has been a challenge and hats off to those who have had to stay at home 100% of the time. Work has been escapism for me and I am so thankful I have had a job to go to when many have not.

Home cooked meals – Mr H is an amazing cook and we have all reaped the benefits of his cooking as well as the ability to sit at the dining room table as a family which only usually happens at weekends due to our work schedules.

Communication with parents – I feel I know the families I serve a lot better now due to the increased contact I have had with them. They have also appreciated the calls home and I’ve got to know some of them really well. For some it’s been the only adult contact they have had, some have wanted random non-school related advice, some I have put in contact with other agencies to support them in difficult times. It has helped me to be thankful for all I have. I will be continuing to communicate more regularly with my families into the new term.

The joys of video learning – Can you imagine a decade ago if this had happened? I’m not sure the internet would have coped. I shudder to think how isolated we many have been. Video conferencing, although not my favourite way of networking, has opened up endless possibilities for receiving and giving CPD. I was also able to link up with a learning community in another country to support them during their lockdown as well. I’m now a lot more confident speaking to people I don’t know over video calls. I expect this way of working will be increasingly popular (as this is a positive post, I won’t list the negatives of this!). At least if something is pre recorded and you don’t understand you can listen to it over again for clarification and I have learnt to add sound to a PowerPoint so I don’t have to keep repeating training.

Exploring local area – We have loved getting out locally and really had no idea what was right on our doorsteps despite being a very outdoorsy family. We have found streams, cycle paths and ropeswings!

Creativity – I’ve had more time to have a go at some resin art which was on my to do list and I used this to create the artwork for the blog. I’ve also started writing a few poems again (Instagram #lockdownmantras – see example at the end of the blog) and some people must have enjoyed them as I’ve had some likes. I said from the outset that as long as I’ve had a positive impact one person’s day, that’s enough for me.

Writing a book – I’ve been all out of excuses for making this happen. I have a picture book on the go which is currently being illustrated as well as another book for SENCos which I hope I manage to finish! I’ve had encouragement from the online community as well which gave me the boost I needed to get going.

De clutter – The house is looking much less cluttered however, this area would have been better if I hadn’t had all these other things on the go!

Reading/cpd  – I have managed several educational books I have been meaning to get round to and taken part in various CPD around Trauma, SENCoing and also hearing impairment. There are so many amazing opportunities out there which are often free (see my training page for some).

Started my blog – Of course the blog. I’m amazed with how well it has been received (gush, gush, gush). I can’t even say that I have been planning it for a long time. I have missed blogging and was looking for a new avenue and I literally woke up one Saturday morning, had the idea, considered I could do it and had a fully functioning blog by Sunday night. Learning WordPress was fun and I’ve met so many wonderful people in the world of #Edutwitter through it as well. Thank you readers for supporting my quest for improved SEMH for educators, teachers and children. I received an Edublog of the week award last week from True Education which was the icing on the cake.

Social media – I have discovered Twitter and have spent many happy hours connecting and learning from #Edutwitter who are now Educolleagues. There is so much knowledge and encouragement on this platform, I am well and truly hooked – find me @P__Y__M. The Facebook community is also fab and my usual teacher and SENCO forums have been amazing in supporting this blog and me. As long as you give more than you take, you’ll be well received.

It’s ok to have mental health – Well of course it is! However, I feel that it is even more ok this year than ever before. People are becoming more supportive and empathetic to the often unseen needs of others. Hopefully this mantra will continue to gain momentum.

Despite all this, I still consider that I haven’t achieved as much as I should have. Perhaps it’s the pessimist lurking inside me whispering in my ear and telling me to do better, work harder, get fitter, stop spending so much time on social media. Perhaps it’s the same whisper that motivates me to get things done – maybe I need that voice.

When the positives are written down in front of me, it is easier to see the achievements and if you have the same issue, I’d urge you to give it a try with a simple mind map.

Finally, now I’m at an age where I’ve had a significant amount of life experience and more time for reflection, I have reaffirmed that:

• Everything takes longer than you think. 
• Time passes far too quickly these days. 
• My most important job is being a parent. 
• Life is too short for spending your whole life cleaning.

As the holidays approach – people say we should have a well-earned rest. I struggle with rest. Apart from the odd spa break, I am always on the go!

I will however be continuing to reflect on the positives of the year. I’m hopeful that with the new academic year approaching, I will to continue to grow as a person and a leader by taking these positives forward into the new year. 

For more ideas for staff summer wellbeing see: https://positiveyoungmind.com/summer-holiday-staff-wellbeing-one-size-does-not-fit-all/