To the EYFS teachers delivering remote learning

Here in the UK, we’re back in lockdown, and schools are only open to vulnerable children or those whose parents are critical workers and so we find ourselves with Early Years teachers having to deliver remote learning.

I’m currently on maternity leave but my own son is in the EYFS so I’m watching his teachers delivering remote learning and it set me thinking about what a difficult position this is for EYFS teachers whose planning, teaching and assessment is so child-led and relies on relationships. Yet, every day I see them rise to the challenge, and I wanted to really encourage those teachers who have found themselves in similar circumstances.

So here it is:

To the EYFS teachers delivering remote learning,

I’m sorry, because this is not what you signed up for; you took on a job with a classroom full of little people with big personalities; a gaggle of chatter, glitter and mess. You took on a role where you could play with blocks and sand and cars alongside these little ones, where you could co-create, make art and read books to a small circle of enthusiastic children. Now you find yourself with children sat on mute, in small rectangles on a screen. No hugs, no high fives, no playing side-by-side.

I’m sorry, because it feels impossible to deliver the EYFS this way. How do we even think about planning in the moment, when we can’t be in the moment? How do we observe children when we’re not with children? How do we plan for individuals, when we have such limited access?

I’m sorry, because you haven’t been trained and you’re learning as you go. There’s parents stuck in the virtual “waiting room” your computer keeps updating, and crashing, mute, unmute, sharing the screen. The learning curve is steep.

I’m sorry, because you’re juggling this, and looking after children in school, because the pressure has never been higher, because ethe weight of responsibility has never felt heavier. There’s all the normal demands of being a teacher, which many already felt they were crumbling under and a whole heap of extra stress; do I have the virus? Might I give it to these kids? Might I take it home? Am I doing enough? How can I do enough? Can anyone do enough? And then you’re holding the weight of your own home life too; whether that’s your own little ones, a vulnerable partner, the loss of a parent, financial worries…the list goes on…

I’m sorry, because despite all of this, the mass media and the much of the public insist on characterizing your profession as lazy or selfish and moan about how teachers should be teaching…even though you are!

But, to the EYFS teachers delivering remote learning..

Thank you, because we know that you’re putting in crazy hours to serve our children in the best way that you can right now. We know that you love the children, that you are always fighting for the best outcomes for them.

Thank you, because every time you show up on screen you remind our children of their “normal” life. Your consistent showing up reminds our children that you are someone they trust, that you are a constant in their lives. The healthy attachment relationship you spent time crafting is still there, it just looks different.

Thank you, because you are ‘showing resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge’ and little eyes are watching. When you show resilience, they learn what it looks like, and when they know what it looks like they can emulate it. Your can-do attitudes teach children to find ways around problems, to keep on going when the going gets tough and to find joy in the midst of hard times

Thank you for being innovative, for finding ways around and for seeing solutions instead of problems! This isn’t normal, it isn’t easy, but it isn’t stopping you.

Thank you for everything you are doing in school and online because little by little and day by day you are delivering the EYFS online, which is something we thought was impossible, yet here you are…doing it! And week by week, month by month, we get closer and closer to the end of the pandemic, and the return to in-person learning.