Returning to teaching in the classroom might feel challenging in the context of COVID-19 and weeks of interrupted schooling. There are also opportunities to improve teaching and learning practices:

• Plan

  • Start by planning activities and lessons that focus on wellbeing and practicing the new school routine and rules.
  • Even if there is pressure to catch-up on lost school time, make time for safe relaxation, play, arts, music, dance, and games. These all help academic learning.
  • Plan lessons that allow students to do their work independently due to physical distancing rules.

• Assess

  • Expect that children and young people will have forgotten skills and knowledge while schools were closed. Reassure children and young people that this will be the case for everyone and that you will work together to catch-up.
  • Assess what students are able to remember and adapt the level of the learning content. Identify key areas of knowledge that students need to practice and provide them with constructive feedback.

• Adapt

  • Individual children and young people will have had very different experiences of the school closures, so it will be necessary to adapt teaching to meet their individual needs.
  • There may be high levels of absent students, particularly in the first weeks of reopening, so adapt lesson plans and do not expect to be able to build on learning from one lesson to the next at first.