As teachers in the UK prepare to welcome more pupils back to their classrooms, it is tempting to look to other countries that have already reopened schools, to see what we can learn from them.

Approaches vary from country to country. For instance, in France, students are required to maintain one metre of distance from one another, while in the Netherlands, students are not required to socially distance at all. 

However, there is one place in Europe that has chosen a completely different path from the very beginning of the pandemic: Sweden.

While its neighbours were imposing varying degrees of lockdown, the Swedish government opted instead to keep large parts of society open – including schools for students under the age of 16.

But what has the reality of this decision been like for teachers? We asked three Swedish teachers to tell us about the rules their schools have put in place, and what teaching has been like under the new restrictions.

Coronavirus: How have Swedish schools stayed open?

Minna Isaksson and Malin Liss are secondary school teachers at Fristadsskolan, in Eskilstuna, a city in the south east of Sweden. They explain that although schools have remained open, there are plenty of new rules that teachers and pupils must follow.

“Here in Sweden, if the students feel ill, they must stay at home and be symptom-free for at least 48 hours before returning to school,” says Isaksson. “Pupils must wash their hands continuously, and so must the teachers. Some of the teachers who are in a high-risk group may work from home.”

All national tests have been cancelled by the government, she adds. Large meetings and events, such as school trips and graduation celebrations, have also been cancelled. And social distancing rules apply in schools. 

“We have to make sure that we have an increased distance in the classrooms and in the lunchroom, and as much as we can spend the breaks outdoors,” says Liss.

To manage this, the school have split their classes, making sure that year groups are spread out around the school.

“We have separated the classes and keep them distanced from each other. They have their own home classrooms, while we teachers come to them. Each grade has school in three different buildings,” says Liss.

The split classes mean that learning is also divided – between being in the classroom and learning remotely. This is an arrangement that can be challenging for teachers to manage, Isaksson says, though she believes that it has also forced her to reflect on her practice.

“Every day, we write on the web platform that we use [for remote learning] what the students should do, so that those who are at home can work, even though they are not in school,” she explains. “It has been a challenge, but it has made us become better at writing instructions to the students and to think in a different way.” 

What happens if there is an outbreak?

The school where Isaksson and Liss teach is open for now, but it is not the case that every single school in Sweden has remained open throughout the pandemic. If there is an outbreak of Covid-19, individual schools can be closed where necessary.

“It is the municipality that decides if the school must shut down and send the students home. If that should happen, we must have distance education. We cannot just let the students stay home without education,” says Liss.

Upper secondary schools (which students attend for three years between the ages of 16 and 19) are an exception here; these schools have been closed since the start of the crisis. 

Inkeri Böök is an upper secondary school teacher in Eskilstuna. She has had to switch to an entirely remote model with her classes. 

“Upper secondary schools are closed: students are taught online and teachers are at school unless they belong to any risk groups – then they are teaching from home,” she says. 

Those members of staff who are at school keep a distance of two meters from each other and there are no large meetings. “Students and teachers do not meet unless there are very special reasons, and then only one-to-one,” says Böök. 

All students already have a laptop provided by the school when they start their first year of upper secondary school, and this has made it easier to make the switch to remote teaching,  Böök adds. 

How do Swedish teachers feel?

What do teachers in Sweden think about the fact that their schools have remained open, while schools in neighbouring countries have been forced to close?

For Liss, keeping schools open has provided some much-needed stability, which has allowed her to cope with the pandemic.

“It feels good that we can have the students in school and not teach digitally. It gives us and the students a feeling of normality in this time of chaos,” she says. 

Although Isaksson admits that it can be a struggle to maintain social distancing, she ultimately feels that teachers are adaptable – and that being forced to change how you teach can actually have benefits.

“We do feel some stress when we have to keep social distance but after some time you get used to it and everyone has been good at adapting to the new guidelines,” she says. “We think in many ways we have become better teachers.” 

Böök, likewise, is on board with Sweden’s approach, even though her school has swapped to distance learning.

“Everyone follows the recommendations. All staff meetings are online and so are other meetings as well. The compulsory schools are open and they follow the strict guidelines provided by the government. All the necessary adjustments have been made. I don’t see any problem at all,” she says.