Although this year’s coronavirus pandemic has thrown up some incredibly difficult times, those of us working with vulnerable children knew from the outset that there had to be no change in our being able to provide the support that our pupils need the most.

The fact that we managed it in our school is down to the sheer camaraderie of those in the alternative-provision sector. Our setting requires a team effort even in more usual times, but the second half of the past school year was a really clear demonstration of just how together our staff truly are. From figuring out how social distancing would work with a group of children for whom personal space wasn’t a strong point, to working in teams to maintain daily welfare calls supporting both parents and children, and, probably most importantly, organising and delivering food parcels on a weekly basis - we did all of this as a group and it was so much easier as a result.

We know that those efforts will have a long-term impact: parents will be more deeply invested and trusting of us, pupils will be in a better place to return to “normal” schooling in September, and communities will be more appreciative of our role.

The coronavirus pandemic has obviously been a hugely traumatic event for all of us, but the situation really has showcased the best in pupil-referral units like ours. So, in response to Tes’ questions about my experiences of the past school year, here’s my 2019-20 in more detail.

What was your biggest challenge this year?

The biggest challenge for me has been communication. You could be talking to a parent on the phone and their phone would cut off because money had become so tight they had not been able to top up credit or pay bills.

You could also be explaining to a parent why their child was deemed vulnerable even though the parent did not think that was the case. This was made particularly difficult if they had friends or family with children in the same year group who were not facing the same level of challenge from their school.

Communication in alternative provision is always hard, but the pandemic really did expose the cracks.

What was your most joyful moment of the year?

When a pupil decides that they can trust you enough to let you be the adult, so that they can be the child and take the steps to start investing in themselves - you can’t beat those moments.

The pupil may not see it quite as deeply as this, but every time you get to a stage where you can ask them to do something for their own good, and they do it with minimal challenge, then you know they are ready to start making changes.

I had a pupil who would be late every day, and I’m not talking 10 minutes; I mean they would turn up after breaktime.

After a lot of time building a relationship through his love of music, and adapting his lessons to hook him in this way, we were starting to see him earlier and earlier.

The most joyful moment this year was actually sitting down and having breakfast with him, watching him tuck into his bacon sandwich. It was the first time that he’d turned up early enough to have breakfast with his peers.

What was the most surprising thing that you discovered about your teaching?

I have a bit of flexibility with the curriculum that I teach, and this year I discovered that taking apart a computer was a surprising hit.

The physical action of the task was therapeutic to the pupils, but it also hooked them academically: they began to ask engaging and challenging questions that they would not usually have asked.

I watched as they went from seeing it as a fun, destructive task to something that could be channelled and that they could engage with on an emotional level. It has led to a scheme of work that challenges certain behaviours and actions, and results in a positive personal project and actions.

What was one thing you changed this year for the better?

The ability to work remotely has thrown up potential engagement opportunities for those pupils still within mainstream school who are displaying behaviours that put them at risk of permanent exclusion.

Now that most schools have developed innovative ways of online learning, it has opened my mind, as an outreach practitioner, to possibilities around how I can maintain positive relationships between a pupil and their home school during periods of change.

For example, if a pupil has required a placement within our setting, there is now the ability for that young person to listen in to key lessons, have video talks with teachers whom they have positive relationships with and generally stay engaged.

Also, if a pupil is going to move on to a new school for a fresh start, we may be able to limit the chance of it not working by removing some of the anxieties with virtual activities, such as seeing key spaces and key teachers, prior to attending.

What was one thing you changed this year for the worse?

It was not something I had control over, but not having day-to-day contact with pupils was really tough. I really missed them.

It’s difficult to build the positive relationships we need with these young people if we can’t be physically with them in the school. And it also makes me really sad to think of all of the missed opportunities to spot when a child really needs us. Seeing the body language first thing in the morning can tell us the type of night they may have had.

What was the moment that will stay with you for years?

Sometimes our pupils are not always able to articulate themselves adequately, and one of the nicest things this year was, after returning from a week off with illness, one pupil told me they had missed me.

Well, they said,“Thank God you’re back - the treats are locked in your office!”, but I know what they were really saying by the fact they wouldn’t leave me alone all day. They even wanted to spend break and lunch in my office (probably in the hope of more treats) and went on to write a rap about me.

It just reminds you that although the world still continues without you, you being a consistent adult in these young people’s lives makes the world of difference to them.

What do you hope to change this coming year?

I hope that we will find ways to be able to support our pupils and their families all year round, even if it is working with local childcare providers to help provide activities, and helping to fill the void that youth clubs were able to fill. It would be amazing to be part of a change to help these services come back. It would mean that we would lose less time trying to re-engage the positive behaviours that we want to see after a period of a break for a holiday, while supporting educational standards.

Nikki Cunningham-Smith is an assistant headteacher in Gloucestershire

This article originally appeared in the 21 August 2020 issue