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For ALL school staff about to start the fifth week of this very difficult term, here's a message that will hopefully give you a boost and a burst of energy.
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This lockdown feels so much more difficult than the last one. It is darker. The news is worse. We are more scared. There isn't the novelty there was last time. The expectations are higher.
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The expectations for parents have ramped up at a time when they feel more uneasy, more stressed and when their incomes and livelihoods feel more precarious.
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There is a perfect storm brewing! A very unpleasant one. And one that risks having our children caught in the very centre of it.
We, more than ever, need to provide a safe, calm, loving and warm space for our children - both virtually and in real life.
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We, more than ever, need to provide a safe, calm, loving and warm space for our children - both virtually and in real life.
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Of course, we all also have lots going on for us - all of the above applies to us too. We are however in the fortunate positions where we don't have to worry about our jobs, our next pay packet.
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We have weathered many storms together and I have no doubt that we will emerge from this stronger than before.
Speaking personally, I have never been more exhausted, physically and mentally, worked longer hours or felt more responsible for all our children...
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Speaking personally, I have never been more exhausted, physically and mentally, worked longer hours or felt more responsible for all our children...
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...and their families as well as our staff and their families in our community. Yet, I seem to have previously undiscovered reserves of energy to enable me to carry on with joy, hope and enormous job satisfaction.
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However hard it feels, it has also never felt more important and more impactful.
This 12-month period will change the world forever and we are a huge part of shaping that history.
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This 12-month period will change the world forever and we are a huge part of shaping that history.
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When we look back at this and talk about it with our children and grandchildren, it will be with a huge sense of pride that we say 'because of us, we got through that time'.
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Because of us, parents who were key workers were able to go to work in hospitals, in care homes, in doctors' surgeries, in COVID testing centres, in vaccination centres, in police uniforms, in the fire service, in food production and...
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...in all those vital industries, safe in the knowledge that the people they were leaving their most precious belongings with treated them with respect and love and kindness even in the midst of personal anxiety and exhaustion.
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Because of us, the most vulnerable children in our community, those who are being impacted the most dramatically and negatively, knew that they could come to school - a safe, calm, secure, predictable, fair, loving place - and continue to learn and grow and thrive.
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Because of us, our teachers could continue to teach remotely, uninterrupted, to limit the disruption in learning that the children had already experienced.
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Because of us, our teaching assistants could support the children in school emotionally and physically whilst they accessed the learning.
Because of us, monitoring attendance and safeguarding, our children remained safe at home or school.
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Because of us, monitoring attendance and safeguarding, our children remained safe at home or school.
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Because of us, navigating frustrating online systems for hours on end, sometimes in the middle of the night, our children and their families were able to access Free School Meal vouchers and not be hungry.
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Because of us, managing and ordering cleaning supplies and cleaners, our school remained as safe and clean as we could make it.
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Because of us, changing the ways we worked and increasing our safety measures, we were able to offer our children a varied menu of lunches when they were coming to school.
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Because of us, almost seamlessly weaving a testing regime into our systems, our staff knew that they were safe when they were at work.
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Because of us, ensuring that our most vulnerable children's needs continued to be met, our children's academic, emotional, physical and social needs remained a priority and those at risk of not making progress had that risk mitigated.
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Because of us, the budget we managed meant that funds were available to accommodate technological requirements so we could narrow the resource gap at home as well as making sure all the other bills were paid.
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Because of us, unseen, all the demands and directives from the Department and the Authority and parents and PHE and the staff team were managed in a way that didn't impact on the learning of the children and the experience of our families.
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Because of us, and the way we care for the wellbeing of our colleagues, when people were ill or had to isolate or shield to protect themselves or their families or us, everyone knew that we would all do extra and pull a little bit more than our own weight...
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...so that those who couldn't come to school for a variety of reasons could concentrate on their own health and wellbeing and get fully fit before returning to work.
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Because of us, and all the hours (paid and unpaid) that we worked, our colleagues knew that they could rely on us to do our bit and more so that they remained safe and healthy and able to do their jobs as myriad and different as they are in school.
Because of us.
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Because of us.
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I could go on, and probably have gone on too much, but what we are doing is so important and valuable. We couldn't do it effectively without the whole team.
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We couldn't do it effectively if we were looking over our shoulders and comparing how hard our bit of it was compared to that of others. We couldn't do it if we resented our teammates and friends.
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We couldn't do it if we didn't value the contribution made by every single one of us.
Most importantly, we WOULDN'T do it if the happiness of our children wasn't at the centre of everything we do.
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Most importantly, we WOULDN'T do it if the happiness of our children wasn't at the centre of everything we do.
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We pride ourselves on keeping the main thing the main thing at Barrowford. And always remembering that the main thing is our children. Everything else will come out in the wash.
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I have said it before and I will no doubt say it again, but I am honoured and privileged and, more than anything, proud to be part of this profession.
Every week is a week closer to it being less hard. Every day we do is a day closer, every hour we do is an hour closer.
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Every week is a week closer to it being less hard. Every day we do is a day closer, every hour we do is an hour closer.
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And we are doing it together.
Thank you. Own the part you are playing and feel proud. And when this generation of children create a renaissance of creativity, of genius, of innovation and of joy-giving art - we can hold our heads up high and say 'because of us'.
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Thank you. Own the part you are playing and feel proud. And when this generation of children create a renaissance of creativity, of genius, of innovation and of joy-giving art - we can hold our heads up high and say 'because of us'.
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So sleep well. I have so much respect for you all and learn from you every day! I am better - all schools are better - because of you!
Rach xxx
#LearnToLoveLoveToLearn
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Rach xxx
#LearnToLoveLoveToLearn
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