Teaching children to know themselves Lucas Motion, Head of Faraday Prep School, on meeting the challenges of post-lockdown education Faraday is a small, nurturing school committed to academic excellence and children’s wellbeing and emotional health. With a little more than 100 children in total and average class sizes of 15, every teacher knows every child and we tailor instruction to meet the needs of individual children. We recognise that with the right support, children learn to articulate and manage their emotions, deal with conflict, solve problems and understand things from another person’s perspective. Now more than ever, it is essential that we teach these social and emotional skills which are so effective in supporting learning and beneficial to outcomes in later life. The world is faster, smarter and more demanding than ever before and children need language and high
26
quality interactions with adults throughout their daily lives to help them navigate it. With the pressure to cover the curriculum and succeed academically, it might feel as if there is little time for developing such skills. Given our size, we are able to prioritise these high quality social interactions with every child while maintaining high expectations and a love of learning that is so integral to their transition to secondary school and beyond. In the wake of the pandemic, our youngest children have lived much of their lives under lockdowns, many with interrupted social paths. I am not alone in noticing that 4 and 5 year olds have taken longer to settle in. Some find it a real challenge to play together, to share and to regulate their emotions. Some children’s communication and language skills are delayed and meaningful
