Covid-19 – The Diocese of Ely Education Directorate

We are actively engaged with all our Church schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. As pupils and teachers return to school in September 2020 our team is actively and sensitively aware of the need for Christian love and understanding.

On this page we have documents and resources from our team. We will also add links to other organisations we are working with to help and support schools at this time.

Life on Hold – Children’s Well Being and COVID-19 .

This is an excellent report from The Children’s Society published in July 2020 looking at the issues brought about as a result of Covid19 and its impact on children’s well-being, their emotional and mental health.

It is well worth reading the whole report and the Executive Summary is outlined below.

Executive Summary of Life on Hold

The report combines findings from The Children’s Society’s annual household survey conducted in April-June 2020 with over 2,000 young people aged 10-17, and a consultation with 150 children, seeking more in-depth information on the impact of Corona-virus and the associated lock-down on their lives. Key findings were:

 Parents report a wide range of impacts on their family, and on their children’s happiness with friends and how much choice they have in life.

 Parents anticipate long term negative impacts on their children’s education. Encouragingly, given the range of impacts reported, only around half expect a long-term negative impact on the happiness of adults/ children in the household.

 Most children reported having coped to some degree with the changes made as a result of the pandemic. Those areas where they had coped less well were not being able to see their friends and family. The impact on friendships was also reiterated in children’s responses to our consultation, which highlighted feelings of isolation.

 While most children are happy/satisfied, a greater proportion than usual scored below the midpoint on our preferred, and usually stable, multi-item measure of life satisfaction, which suggests that some children’s cognitive well-being has been adversely affected.

 Parents felt that some children were happier with their time use than before lockdown and children responding to our consultation also highlighted advantages, such as being able to pursue hobbies, and appreciating more what they have in life.

 The self-care strategies described by children are reminiscent of the Five Ways to Well-being, with their main focus being on connecting with others followed by being active and creative.

Re-opening School Provision

Re-opening School Provision Information document is now available and can be downloaded as a Word Document for school use.

Andrew read reflects on developments…

See more prayers from the children of Peterborough below…thank you St Augustine’s C of E Junior School.

Faith at Home – ‘Never the Same’

Leadership Resources for Grief, Bereavement and Loss
based on the Church of England Vision for Education

Re-opening School Provision

Re-opening School Provision Information document is now available and can be downloaded as a Word Documentfor school use.

To all colleague staff and teams working in and with our schools

Reprised from our home page…

Thank you for everything you and your staff continue to do selflessly in our schools, on behalf of our children and young people. It epitomises what the Diocese stands for and the values it was founded on.

Please know that the work of all our schools and academies at this time is deeply valued by the diocese, National Church and most of all by our communities.

A Bereavement Guide for School Leaders

View, print or download a copy here

I appreciate that our resolve is now to be tested further in coming weeks. This pain will eventually pass because of the effectiveness of the collective actions of individual leaders, driven by personal commitment, faith and courage. Through decisive action we are making progress; know that hindsight will conclude that you were core to this passing, just through what has already been achieved by all schools across England.

With our thoughts and prayers.

Prayers are a powerful way of engaging in conversation with God, even if things do not always get better straight away.

We are delighted that so many children and teachers in our schools have composed some powerful and meaningful prayers during our lockdown time. Sharing these with all our schools enables the word to stretch further and for children to reach out to others. Let’s keep writing prayers together !

Rev’d Sue Martin