Staff, parents and pupils recall impact of lockdown

Teachers at a primary school have been recalling their worries and uncertainties when the coronavirus lockdown was announced five years ago.

It was an anxious time for many, but the staff at Bilston C of E Primary School in the Black Country said they believed it had also brought about some positive changes.

Headteacher Gary Gentle said schools were now "better prepared to deal with mental health problems", while teacher Stephanie Wootton said children felt more confident to talk about their emotions.

And one parent, Geeta Jhumat, said the experience of homeschooling had inspired her to go into teaching.

Mr Gentle said he "very clearly" remembered the then prime minister Boris Johnson addressing the nation on 23 March 2020 to tell them the country was going into lockdown.

He said there was a sense of "panic, shock, horror as to what we in school were going to face".

He also said there was "very little clarity" at the time, and they were left wondering what would happen next.

"Our children learn best in school, and the fear was that if our children were not in school, who would be educating them?" he asked.

Ms Wootton, who is responsible for pastoral care and safeguarding at the school, had only just arrived there and said she was panicking a little because she had not had a chance to get to know the children.

She remembered her role, while the school was closed, was partly going to homes to provide families with food vouchers and hampers and "anything that was needed, really".

Alexis, who is now 11, was in reception class when the lockdown started.

She was one of a limited number of pupils allowed back into schools when they were accepting the children of key workers.

She said: "It was quite weird for me and a lot of other people because a lot of our friends weren't there."

She also said she believed she was better at maths and English now because of the homeschooling her father gave her.

Prabhjot, who is also 11, recalls it being an uncertain time.

She said: "At first the teacher told me we were only going to leave for a bit, so that's what we thought, and then day after day we didn't go to school, and then I started to get worried."

She admitted she found being at home by herself difficult and said: "I couldn't be social because there was no one around me, so I just sat in bed, and there was nothing to do."

Geeta Jhumat's experience of homeschooling as a parent was a positive one.

She said she "felt a sense of happiness" from seeing what her daughter could achieve and added: "I felt like I could offer more."

She admitted she was worried at first, though, and said: "I did feel the pressure of being responsible, being a parent and as an educator at the same time."

Ms Wootton said five years later, she believed "children are more sensitive to everyday situations that can occur".

But she added staff had also become more understanding and more equipped to help.

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