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Primary teachers' experience of the COVID-19 lockdown – Eight key messages for policymakers going forward

Moss, G; Allen, R; Bradbury, A; Duncan, S; Harmey, S; Levy, R; (2020) Primary teachers' experience of the COVID-19 lockdown – Eight key messages for policymakers going forward. UCL Institute of Education: London, UK. Green open access

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Abstract

This report is based on a survey of 1,653 primary teachers in state schools in England. The survey was conducted by Teacher Tapp during May half-term 2020, just before schools started re-opening. It forms part of the ESRC-funded project “A Duty of Care and a Duty to Teach: educational priorities during the Covid-19 crisis”, based at the International Literacy Centre, UCL Institute of Education and led by Professor Gemma Moss. This research is exploring how primary teachers in England have prioritised their responsibilities towards families and children under the unusual circumstances that Covid-19 has created for schools. This report is designed to contribute to public debate on what should happen next in education. The survey asked teachers to reflect back on their priorities during the period of lockdown from mid-March to late-May. During that time, primary schools were only open to children in key worker families or vulnerable children, providing a limited amount of face-to-face contact time for many staff. Indeed much of primary teachers’ work was focused on supporting children at home, either with their learning or with their general health and well-being. Many teachers were particularly anxious about vulnerable children not in school and staying in touch with them. We often think of a duty of care and a duty to teach as two separate elements in each teacher’s work, yet a single conversation or action can fulfil both roles at once. The survey questions were designed to explore how teachers managed both dimensions in responding to the needs of the families and pupils that form part of their local community during this time. We wanted to know where they thought the main priorities lay; and whether and if these unusual circumstances had led them to think more broadly about the role schools play in their local communities and how this can be more fully recognised going forward.

Type: Report
Title: Primary teachers' experience of the COVID-19 lockdown – Eight key messages for policymakers going forward
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/
Language: English
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Education, Practice and Society
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Learning and Leadership
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10103669
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