As always, I left work on the last day of term in December with a head full of good intentions. I had tasks I was planning to complete over the break, and challenging teaching ideas to prepare for the students. 

When we heard in January that schools would not be open for the majority of students, I went to my room and filled shopping bags with a visualiser and mini whiteboards, books and resources. 

Oh, the ideas and plans I had. There were resources and games I could make at home. And that was just the start. I would be returning to work after lockdown the best-prepared and most resourced-up teacher in the land. 

Things - as always - didn’t work out quite as planned. We’re now a weekend away from going back to school, and I find myself faced with a large list of things that still need to be done.

Schools reopening: Am I ready to go back? 

1. The basics

After autumn term - one of the most challenging terms in my teaching career - I came home and threw my school clothes in the washing basket, with the plan to have them all washed and ironed by the beginning of January. Shoes would be shined. Shirts would be crisp. A job for Sunday evening now, I fear. 

And why did I not install that hook next to the door for my school ID? It must be with my classroom keys. But where exactly? 

I did, however, manage to order some new reading glasses. Even if they won’t be ready until the middle of next week.

I must remember to put a note on the front door, so I don’t forget the milk and the coffee. 

2. Technology 

While I embraced the challenge of teaching via Teams, some things never really developed the way I’d hoped. True, I did master narrated PowerPoints and multiple cameras. And I found the photo-enhancement filter on Zoom. 

But the graphics slate is still in the box. I’d promised myself I would learn how to use it to annotate documents. You’re not too old to learn new tricks, I thought, as I reached for my trusty mini whiteboard and pen. 

I should have been trying it out between the online parents’ evening and the Zoom pastoral meeting this week. But, as always, I distracted myself with more traditional tasks and reading. 

How I have craved a fast photocopier, or even a fresh glue stick. And then there’s the new printer I installed - how long have questions for scanning sat, unscanned, on my desk? Now, it seems easier just to wait for reprographics to scan them for me at school. 

3. Tests about tests

Yes, I have speed read the 67 pages of the School Coronavirus Operational Guidance. I have noted the links that I need to follow, but I have not visited them all just yet. I find myself drifting off and thinking about whose turn is it to get the biscuits for the team area. 

Could they really not have made it a succinct, bullet-pointed document with clear guidance? Even just highlighting the guidance that has changed would have saved us so much reading.

Still, at least there wasn’t a test on the guidance. My online lateral flow training did come with a test. And a certificate. The training was held on what was meant to be Wellbeing Wednesday this week: a screen-free day for staff. 

4. Seating plans, bubbles and masks

New start, new seating plans to write. Who cannot sit next to whom, who keeps losing their glasses and must sit at the front? Rigid seating plans are a key element of our preventative practice, but with more than 1,200 students at school, bubbles become irrelevant once the school gates are open. 

Last term it was fire doors open. Who remembers where the stash of door wedgers are? I suspect they are in a desk drawer with the Disney-themed face masks. Which reminds me: I need to go on a shopping run to Boots for more face coverings.

5. Return to real-life teaching

Now we have a live audience again, will I miss my online teaching? Can I still remember how to control a class without a mute button? Can I install a lobby and remove button to my real-life classroom? Will I remember all their names without seeing them written under their faces? 

Which group did I promise I would make that game for? That was another one of the many resources and ideas I thought I would have plenty of time to make while I was teaching from home. I wonder if there is one I can download from the internet and adapt. 

6. Supporting Year 11

With the recent announcement of teacher assessment for GCSEs, there are meetings to book and planning and decisions to be made. I am quickly collating all my handwritten notes from online lessons and downloading GCSE questions from Teams to build my evidence folders. 

I have received so many emails from concerned Year 11 students and their parents. I still haven’t replied to them all. It will be wonderful to be able to support the students in person. 

With just a couple of days to go, am I prepared? As much as I need to be. Am I anxious? Of course I am. Am I looking forward to seeing the young people I teach? Oh, yes, you bet I am. 

Debbie Kite-Williams is a maths teacher in Sussex