Smiling children have returned to school, but it might be a while before we understand the impact of lockdown. Teachers will become aware of the variance in children’s experiences and how, for some, lockdown has been challenging with many families having faced significant hardship and loss.

Sadly, some homes have not been the safe and protective environments we hope for. For all, there are many ongoing challenges. With children still at home, teachers must continue to set home learning and maintain connections. There remains the question of when further year groups will return and another big transition looms which may not happen until September. Uncertainty continues.

Even though schools have started to open, demands on parents have in many ways increased. With some siblings split between home and school, family dynamics may have been disrupted. Workplaces re-opening means more parents attempting to work around their children, frequently waking early or continuing to work late into the night.

Children might be starting to behave differently as they experience more changes — a possible increase in outbursts, disturbed sleep and other challenging behaviour. It will be harder for children to maintain enthusiasm for learning when they see friends or siblings go back and without the usual highlights of the summer to look forward to.

We need to be mindful that behaviour is a form of communication —particularly for young children who are no so adept at explaining and sharing their feelings. There are strategies that support children to manage difficulties.

Share feelings and encourage children to ask questions. It is hard for parents to be responsive to their children’s emotions when, as adults, they have so much going on. It is easy to miss the signals or quieten children down. Adults also need support to support their children.

Normalise worries. It is ok to have worries but it is important not to catastrophise them. We have a balance to strike between acknowledging the real concerns that we all feel (but not over-sharing adult anxieties) alongside finding positivity. Reminding ourselves of the things we feel good about will help combat negative feelings.

Revive the routine. At this point the colour-coded planner on the fridge might be long gone. It is helpful to remember the support routines gives, consistency and predictability equals safety. It can help to plan each day with marker points and things to look forward to. Children are more co-operative when they are involved with planning and have some control.

Wellbeing basics: routines, good sleep, healthy food and exercise form the foundations of wellbeing for all of us.

This is not just a challenge for parents and though the wellbeing of students is a priority for all schools, this is a new challenge for us all. In order to support schools Heads Up Kids, in collaboration with Pajes, Norwood and the Community Wellbeing Project, has developed the Back 2 School programme.

Back 2 School provides an opportunity for children to reconnect and a forum to share and identify their strengths in order to build resilience.

Back 2 School has already been downloaded by over 175 Jewish and non-Jewish schools across the country and has been exceptionally well received. As Chaya Ashrae, the wellbeing lead at Rimon Primary School said, it was “tremendous in terms of helping teachers create a sense of community and security within the classroom and has allowed our children to begin adjusting to the changes with emotional literacy and ease.”

In this constantly changing educational landscape Back 2 School will continue to support children in school and at home and help children realise they are not alone. As one child at Hertsmere Jewish Primary School put it, “We are all the same whether we come to school or have to stay at home, we are still all together.”

Andy Hugh and Claire Godley run Heads Up Kids