The inequity within education has never been more apparent to me as during the lockdown period. In my position as a peripatetic inclusion teacher, I have been able to see the disparity in what was offered by schools and what was accessed by pupils.

Armand Doucet advocates a Maslow before Blooms approach and I fully commend this. During lockdown one of my key roles was to connect with referred children – a huge proportion with ASL needs, LAC status, PEF funding etc.
Technology has come on rapidly in recent months, along with our reliance on technology in order to meet, teach, report and interact. With that, local authorities must be able to keep up with this progress and provide technology for staff to be able to use in order to interact and provide remote learning in the event of further lockdowns or blended learning approaches.
The impact on mental health throughout was significant, for all concerned (parents, children, practitioners etc). Personally I balanced the needs of my children (a newborn, a 3 year old and an 8 year old), alongside returning to work following maternity leave and working full time. It was not an easy time for anyone and if these days return I believe more support/ more realistic expectations should be available for practitioners and families.