Schools are now back in Scotland following the coronavirus lockdown and, as education professionals, we are delighted. We have continued to support our young people throughout these challenging times, but having them back in school really allows us get back to what we love doing best.

At Beath High School, our students have faced up to the challenges of lockdown and Covid-19, showing resilience and determination to come back stronger. We do recognise, however, that there are a significant number of students who experienced a very challenging lockdown and continue to be affected by the pandemic as they return to school. We appreciate that, as a school, we must do what we can to ensure that the negative effects are mitigated where possible.

With that in mind, we have created a new role for session 2020-21: enhanced wellbeing support teacher. Adding to excellent pastoral work already in place at Beath, we aim to ensure that for those students where need exists, we create an extra layer of support - and that’s where I come in.

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Having worked as a guidance teacher for over 10 years, I have a wealth of experience and knowledge to call on in this post. The role is very much hands-on, with an intensive, focused programme aimed at addressing the challenges our young people face in these unprecedented times.

For some, that is the anxiety caused by being away from busy classes for almost five months. For others, it is the gaps in learning created by not being able to access online support, or the availability of a parent or carer to help with their studies. Add in the trauma and bereavement that some students have had to deal with - and, indeed, still might - and it is clear that we need to be ready to help our young people more than ever.

Coronavirus: Prioritising wellbeing in schools

Wellbeing is always a hot topic for debate, but at this time it’s out there in capital letters and underlined. 

I have already been able to start making an impact in my new role. I have supported several students back into school who were extremely anxious about the new school routines. By creating a nurture class at the start of the day, this has enabled some students to ease their transition back into full-time classes. I have created study classes, focusing on students who feel that they were not able to complete enough work during lockdown, helping them to feel confident in learning. I have also helped to identify a number of used laptops, which are “cleaned” and passed on to students who do not have technology like that at home.

Overall, our aim is to ensure that we invest the right support in our students, and the role will focus on one-to-one and small group work. Careful planning will make sure that we set clear aims to allow students to gauge their progress. We are also really clear, however, that in order to maximise the impact, bureaucracy needs to be kept at a minimum. And I will be drawing on my experiences as a PE teacher to work on meaningful outdoor learning.

As this school year starts to take shape, it already feels like it’s going to be a busy one. We, as a school, are adapting to meet the challenges ahead and ensure that our students are supported in the best possible way - whatever that entails.

Martin Terry is the enhanced wellbeing support teacher at Beath High School, in Fife