The importance of a teacher- from the perspective of a teacher.
When we think about the school summer holidays, we all think about beaches, children’s laughter, splashing in the sea or the pool and barbeques. We are sold a dream by TV adverts, love, laughter and relaxation and nothing but an amazing time.
As a primary school teacher, I can assure you that for the most passionate teachers, even though we are more than ready for the summer holidays and a break from; marking, times tables, lesson planning, school assemblies, data and of course fixing every scratch and scrape with a ‘wet paper towel’. School holidays can also fill you with nothing but dread and worry when it comes to your pupils, they can certainly cause more problems than they resolve.
For many pupils we teach, school for them is a lifeline. School is a safe place, and as their teacher you become their one constant. A primary school teacher can spend roughly 195 days a year, 6 ½ hours a day with a group of children. Our main purpose is to teach and educate these children, but from experience teaching is so much more than this. You become a teacher, nurse, source of comfort, life coach, mediator, and motivator. From the moment you have your first day in class with these children at the beginning of the academic year, you instantly feel protective and start to form relationships with each and every one of them. They almost become your extended family. As much as people tell you; ‘Don’t take your work home’ This is simply not possible, these children will be on your mind every day.
Family Pressures
The school holidays can certainly put significant amounts of pressure on any family unit. I grew up in your ‘typical’ nuclear family to then becoming; a mum, a single mum, a mum to two beautiful boys, step mum to a little girl and now living in a wonderfully blended family. Changes in family circumstances like these, along with parents feeling pressure to keep up, pressure to choose work or time with their children, and learning to parent and provide every day, with the added pressures of modern life, can have a bigger impact on children than we think.
It has been proven that food banks across the UK, have seen a rise in parcels given out during this time of year than any other. The summer holidays begin to put financial pressure on families from extra food needed, to an increase in childcare. I recall children coming into school without having eaten since lunch time the previous day, their last meal they ate being their free school meal. Teachers understand that you cannot begin your daily sessions until this child has eaten, their wellbeing has to be at the forefront of your mind. Knowing this information, it is a teacher’s responsibility to care for this child as a whole and report any circumstances such as this that may be of concern. It allows the school and any other relevant professionals to form a picture of the child’s home life and how we can help the family, or provide the most appropriate care and support, to prevent this happening again.
During the school holidays this cannot be monitored, many children may go hungry and become malnourished. It is the responsibility of the school and teachers to create an environment where the child feels safe and secure. Many schools now have a system where the children will choose a teacher as their, ‘go to’ person. Someone they feel happy to talk to and someone they feel comfortable to go to if ever they have a problem. Some children more than others choose to use this, most of these children being in the most vulnerable group. During the school holidays, this resource is then taken from them, and many do not have this support network at home. This can then affect a child’s mental health and how they can express their feelings and emotions.
Safeguarding Children at School
The Department of Education states; that ‘everybody that comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding, with teachers being among those who have the most time with children.’
There is an uneasy feeling about the school holidays as they draw closer, many children look forward to the holidays and other pupils can react in quite a different way.
As a teacher you start to notice changes in behaviour of some pupils, some children become withdrawn, others display anger and aggression. These have always been key indicators in identifying if there are any issues at home. As stated above as a teacher you are with these children for a significant amount of time, you start to recognise behaviours that are usual for that particular child and when those behaviours change in any way. I have learnt through theory and practice that behaviour is not necessarily a negative thing, it can show us emotion, feelings, and strength. Behaviour is a way to communicate, and it is important that teachers identify, observe, and record any change in behaviour and report any concerns immediately. We all know, we can have a bad day and take out how we are feeling on the people closest to us, and this is essentially what is happening. Looking at the trend of behaviour is also important particularly at this time of year.
Changes to Routine
Significant changes to a child’s routine, such as the school holidays, for some children can be difficult to cope with. It has also been identified that this transition can be particularly hard for children with SEN and, Looked After Children. Looked After Children may feel as though it is a threat to their safety, as school often is usually used as their safety net. I have witnessed over time children come into school either with extreme behaviour or being reserved and withdrawn, then they walk into the classroom, and you can quite literally hear a sigh of relief. This same relief for many children cannot be found at home. It is important to work with these children to prepare them for what is to come, count down and create a plan. Many PSHE lessons can open this up as a conversation, how we feel and family life. This then allows us to work one to one with the child and encourage preparation for such significant events like the school holidays.
Overall, when working as a team around the child, I feel schools and in particular the child’s teacher can provide a vital insight into the child’s life, feelings, and behaviours. Teachers can be one of the few people to provide consistency for the most vulnerable children.
What are schools doing to help?
Schools have started to increase free school meals and their availability in the summer holidays and opening more holiday clubs for children to attend. This is a significant step in the right direction; however, I feel we do have a long way still to go to protect these children and keep them safe during times where they do not have the protection of school life. I believe many of us who work with children will never disagree that multi-agency working is the most effective key to safeguarding the children in our care. We all want every child to have the best start in life and to keep them safe and happy, particularly, at this challenging time of year.
I suppose the question is, if the school holidays weren’t quite so long; could this be something else that could help us to try and protect our most vulnerable children?
-Mellissa Pye
