Leading, teaching and learning
Covid Leadership Lessons learned for the future By Sarah Pearce
I
n Winter 2020, this magazine referred on its front page to ‘Coming through the Covid-19 crisis’, with several articles devoted to the topic. Unfortunately, as I write this in Winter 2022, we are still ‘coming through’ the crisis; globally, regionally, locally and individually. Although there have been moments of hope that feel as though we are progressing to a level of normality, the imminent threat of the pandemic is always looming; ready, at the very least, to inconvenience us and, at its worst, to wreak havoc on our lives. Schools have borne a significant brunt of the burden during this crisis. In many countries, schools have still not returned to face-to-face learning in what is now not months, but years. Other countries have pages of requirements for schools to follow, including maskwearing, isolation and quarantine, social distancing, where the children can eat lunch, and if PE is allowed. Schools have had to close and move to online learning with only hours of notice, re-open with safety guidelines in place, ensure parents are following the rules and, most importantly, to act as a haven of safety and security for the young people in their care, as well as for the families
26 | International School | Spring 2022
Schools have borne a significant brunt of the burden during this crisis. In many countries, schools have still not returned to face-to-face learning in what is now not months, but years. of those young people. It has been a momentous task, to say the least, and one which has been in many cases judged, criticised and condemned from all corners of our communities and social media. Through all of this, school leaders around the world have stayed the course for their staff, students and wider communities, ensuring that the health and wellbeing of all is paramount in every decision. Connolly et al (2019) refer to the rock-filled rucksack of educational responsibility that school leaders must carry; I am sure
