Silver linings? Teachers’ Reappraisals of Children’s Education in England during the First Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown

In many countries around the world, including in England, efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the closure of schools for the majority of students, with remote learning replacing face-to-face teaching. Rightfully, there has been much media and academic attention focused on the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s educational opportunities, attainment, and mental health. However, such discourse backgrounds concerns about children’s mental health and wellbeing, and the narrowing of the school curriculum, which were growing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter, which draws upon interviews conducted remotely with 30 teachers across England during March and April 2020, highlights some of the ‘silver linings’ of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some teachers noticed an improvement in student behaviour, and were able to explore innovative teaching approaches and provide additional support for students; one spoke of regaining a joy in teaching without the focus on outcomes which had dominated teaching prior to the pandemic. These comments provide a springboard for discussion about the type of educational recovery which should take place once the immediate threat of the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.