I have abseiled a grand total of once - more than enough for a person who is of the strong opinion that she should not tempt gravity.

It’s a bizarre experience that goes against all your instincts: you’re stepping off a ledge backwards into thin air. Not only that, but you are forced to put your trust in a total stranger to keep you safe.

It’s a higher stakes version of the old drama game: allowing oneself to fall backwards, trusting completely that your partner will catch you and save you from harm.

Education depends on trust like that. There are a series of interconnected relationships involved in schools and between each is a version of that leap of blind faith. And recently, those in schools and colleges must be feeling the pain and disorientation of someone who has been very much left to drop. Repeatedly.

Coronavirus: The challenge of reopening schools

Who’s to blame for that? Many have pointed the finger squarely at the secretary of state, whose recent faltering performances have failed to inspire confidence and, indeed, provoked whispers about just how much of a grip he has on his brief. In a recent letter to Gavin Williamson, sent by the WorthLess? campaign, headteachers said they felt like they were “working in isolation”, adding: “Collaboration, consultation and partnership have felt in short supply and this [has] caused immense frustration as time, energy and resources have been wasted by headteachers as we respond to shifting policy directives and myriad changes.”

This would be a problem even in usual times. But these are not usual times. Next week, schools prepare to reopen fully for the first time in around five months. Teachers have expressed numerous worries - big and small - but at the heart of them all is this: they don’t believe the government will catch them.

That has a number of disastrous effects, but the one I fear the most is the potential for the mistrust to spread. Once you lose trust in one person, suspicion creeps to the next. The worries, however irrational, start to ripple out, making you question everything you previously took for granted. Will parents hold up their end of the bargain? Will the unions? Will school leaders?

One drop, and suddenly everybody falls a lot less easily.

On these questions, my abseiling experience makes me hope for the best. I had never met the person responsible for putting me in a harness, tying all the ropes and guiding me down. Yet still, I was happy - although that’s perhaps an overly strong word for what I was by that point - to step off the edge into the unknown. I realised that despite my misgivings, I had to have a base level of trust in their professional expertise.

I would like to think that the same will happen for schools. Beyond the headlines, beyond the government U-turns, teachers are still - quite rightly - trusted. Parents trust that despite the problems, their children will be as safe as they can be. Despite the politics, politicians trust teachers will deliver.

What I fear, though, is that teachers may have had lasting damage done to their ability to trust themselves. It’s a trust that has been eroded over months, and those who have carelessly dripped negativity need to recognise the consequences of their actions. Now, more than ever, we need to trust teachers. And we need them to trust themselves.

So in this week before schools open once more, I ask you to do one thing: when you’re back in school or college, look at the people at the front of the room; look to your left and look to your right; look in the mirror. These are the professionals who will make the decisions that matter, who will adapt to the conditions on the ground, who will guide you safely through uncertain times. Trust me - but more than that, trust yourselves: you’ve got this.

@Sarah_Cunnane

This article originally appeared in the 28 August 2020 issue under the headline: “Trust me: if anyone can get us through this year, it’s teachers”