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Covid-19: Return to School Strategies (Spring Term 2021)Before school startsAll children and young people will need to be prepared in advance for their return to school but children with autism will need specific support for a successful return to school. The students have already experienced being in lockdown and returning to school but this does not mean they do not need preparation again. It would be useful to use this coming week to support your child / children for return to school.Your child may have been attending school for some / part of lockdown so their transition will be different but still a transition that could unsettle them as the school will be different when all the children return. They may require support with this. We have also sent a strategies list to the school settings to support them with the transition process for your child.The ideas below may help support your child in having a positive transition back to school: Prepare them as much as possible: use any information you have received from the school and look on the school website for any updates on how school will be from the 8th March. Identify if they are any changes from when the children were in school in the Autumn Term.Do not leave it until the day before they are due back to school to tell them what is going to happen when they arrive at school. Consider keeping your child’s specific needs in mind when getting ready to return to school. Try to keep things as familiar as possible and introduce one piece of information at a time. This can support your child in not becoming overwhelmed. You may ask them if there is anything they would like to know about returning to school.Use a calendar / visual timetable at home that represents when school is starting again. You can include weekends on the timetable so that they are aware that there are two days of the week that they will not be at school. As the children will be returning for a few weeks and will then be off school again for the Easter break, it would be useful to make a visual timetable that shows this. The timetable /calendar should show when they are returning to school after the Easter break too. Some students may feel that when they are off school for the Easter break that it is another lockdown! You may want to include when they will play with their favourite toys, iPad or computer as they may think that going back to school means that they will not play with their favourite activities anymore.You could practise getting back into the school routine e.g. getting up at the time they usually get up for school, having breakfast and getting resources ready for school. For some students, practising putting on their uniform again may be helpful as this could have become unfamiliar to them. This includes school shoes as your child / young person may not have worn this style of shoe for many weeks.You may want to practice the route to school again whether that is in the car, public transport or walking. You can walk past the school and talk about returning to school.Your child may be having packed lunch when they are used to school dinner. You can practise having a packed lunch at home before they return to school. This can support them in understanding how to open boxes or packets and help them getting used to a different type of lunch.Your child may be working with unfamiliar staff at school. Support your child by discussing this with them. Tell them that different adults may be in the classroom and helping them. You can also remind them that adults will be social distancing from them. If you have concerns about your child returning to school, try not to discuss your worries in front of them. Even if you think they are not listening or understanding, they can often understand more than you realise and misinterpret what is said. They may just hear worry and anxiety in your voice, which could unsettle them.Back to schoolOnce the children are back at school, they will need help to resettle into the environment; after all, they have been at home for a long time. Remember that consistency is key when using strategies with your child at this time as many routines will be changing for them. Your child may take some time to settle into the ‘new norm’ and that is understandable. Please be aware that you may notice some behaviours that you thought your child had grown out of, or that you have never noticed before. The transition back into the school routine could be a challenge for your child and they may act differently to your expectations. Give them time to settle in and if you still have concerns, do give us a call.If your child has been in school during lockdown, you may observe some changes in their behaviour once school opens up for all the children. It is important to be aware that they will need time to adjust to this. Getting back into the school routine may be tiring for your child. They may come home from school and be less able to focus on homework / requests that you make of them. They will require time to build up their stamina to being back to school.Use their interests to support the transition. Provide activities that they really enjoy for them when they come home from school. This can help to reduce their anxiety and enable a smoother transition back into school.When your child returns to school it is understandable that you may be worried about how your child will cope at school and you may want to speak with the teacher. During the first few days, the staff at the school will also be getting used to the ‘new normal’ and may not be able to speak with you immediately. Please try to be patient with the staff as they are adjusting to a very different way of teaching and supporting the children. In addition, the staff may not be able to answer all of your questions; they may not know themselves as this is also a time of change for teachers.If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your BOAT worker on the contact details below. If you are unsure of your child’s current BOAT worker is, please you the main BOAT contact details below:Bonnie Burkell - bonnie.burkell@.uk Tel: 0208 937 4626 Mobile: 07798 690160Sara Morrissey - sara.morrissey@.uk Tel: 0208 937 4658 Mobile: 07867 189270Rupal Dattani – rupal.dattani@.uk Tel: 020 89374637 Mobile: 07909 893608Clare Henshaw – clare.henshaw@.uk Tel: 0208 937 4634 Mobile: 07867 184266BOAT contact details – boat@.uk Tel: 0208 937 4659 ................
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