Working from home as a teacher during lockdown means doing a lot of juggling. We have to provide quality home learning for students and possibly our own children; perhaps care for vulnerable family members; all while managing other responsibilities. 

It is so easy to do too much and - terrifying to those in a profession that works so tirelessly - to be perceived as doing too little.

Coronavirus: Remote learning and wellbeing

How do we maintain a sense of personal wellbeing in the midst of all of this? How can we ensure that the work that we set is high-quality, but not too overwhelming? How do we monitor engagement, while also making time for any personal life that we can sustain during a national lockdown? 

My personal approach to this issue can be summarised in three words: realistic, flexible, compassionate. 

Be realistic

We are human beings, first and foremost. This is not “business as usual”. We have all heard it over and over: these are unprecedented times. It is not realistic to expect staff and students to just carry on, nor is it sensitive to the very threatening times in which we find ourselves.

We must accept that we are in uncharted waters, and that we will make mistakes. Now and then, we will need to throw (and catch) buoyancy aids whilst we all get to grips with new technology, consider elements of our students’ home lives in more detail than ever before, and communicate virtually, rather than in those all-important corridor conversations and face-to-face meetings.

With good leadership and a real consideration of workload, rather than just paying it lip service, we can overcome this situation. Without those things, we risk causing long-term damage to our students, and to our profession.

Be flexible

During term time, a typical day starts with the routine of: alarm, shower, dress, commute, teach. It is a routine that we are used to, and - monotonous though we may find it five days a week - it provides a level of certainty that we can rely on. 

Swap this routine for a day working from home, in which you are simultaneously playing a multitude of roles (in my case: parent, teacher, nursery nurse, servant to resident two-year-old), and you have no certainty - no routine, no “normality”. Is it me or are we suddenly far more empathetic about sensory and cognitive overload now that we are so privy to it?

If this is the impact on us, we must consider the impact on our students. We must consider our remote learning expectations in light of their “new normal” and - as a result - we must constantly review our approach.

Be compassionate

While education is imperative, we must always remain sensitive to the fact that students and colleagues may lose, or may even already have lost, loved ones. We must acknowledge that many families are facing unprecedented challenges. 

It is our moral duty to ensure that students, while accessing their education as best they can via the variable means available to them, are able to cope and are not overwhelmed. Emails, telephone calls and online tasks can make us all feel as though we are drowning, without the added stress of a global pandemic.

If we, as school leaders and teachers, do not approach education within this crisis with reality, compassion and flexibility, we will contribute towards the very things that we work so hard to combat: the attainment gap and problems with staff retention.

Let’s stay realistic and keep hold of our amazing colleagues, let’s show some compassion to those who are treading choppy waters, and let’s understand if a student or colleague didn’t meet that deadline, without judgement.

Kaley Riley is a head of English in Nottinghamshire. She tweets @MrsRileyEng