Hello, my name is Claire. I live (currently very closely!) with my husband, adopted daughter and adopted cat. Living together in lockdown has meant we have all had to get used to living differently, not doing some things and trying new things. This blog is one of my new things – a different way to connect with others in this strange time.

I think ‘different’ will be our abiding memory of the pandemic for those of us not directly impacted by the terrible loss of family members or friends. Working and learning from home, the way the outside world looks and sounds, shopping, spending time with loved ones – all different.

As an adoptive family we have always had to do things differently. And as such we have had to approach school and education differently (thankfully never quite like we are approaching it now!). As a teacher I refocused my knowledge development when I became a mum, on understanding how to advocate for pupils who have experienced significant relational traumas and losses in their lives. These pupils need a different approach to support them in their learning, Attachment Aware rather than the usual traditional approach mainly used in most schools. Relational interventions are necessary for these pupils to be in a position to thrive in school. Relational interventions will be necessary for all pupils to be in a position to thrive in school as a result of this pandemic.

This collective, community trauma that we are all going through won’t end when the lockdown does. The return to school will be different from any other. Society is already thinking about how we recover and this is an opportunity for all of us who parent, teach or support these young people in other ways to share our knowledge and experience of what works for young people who have been through difficult experiences. This is a potential opportunity for us to influence education to ensure attachment principles are embedded within our schools to support all children to thrive. Schools will need to be different.

Over the coming months I will use this blog to share ideas for how to support your young people to return to school as well as any potential opportunities for us to support schools to manage this transition. This will hopefully include positive developments in the education system focusing on how we restart relationships with all our vulnerable young people.

Maybe different can be better?

Claire

First published in www.saia.org.uk/blog 2020
© Claire, Adoptive Parent and teacher

Permission granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only. Copyright notice must remain intact.