Children from our poorer postcodes will suffer most. That is a dreadful loss of potential

Angela Sandland spent 29 years as a teacher and fears the impact of the Covid pandemic will do most harm to the education of pupils in the country’s poorest postcodes. Before retiring two years ago she was head teacher of Glencoats Primary, in Ferguslie Park, Paisley, where she led Families First Ferguslie, aimed at improving the life chances of children in what was then Scotland’s most deprived community.

The chasm between the educational opportunities and life chances of children from different backgrounds was already too wide before lockdown and seems certain to get wider afterwards. The impact of the pandemic is likely to halt and reverse any progress made in closing the attainment gap.

Children facing additional challenges because of poverty need additional support and, most importantly, committed teachers who care about them and understand the need to support them in a holistic way. That extra support is vital to ensure they gain the best possible education and the best possible chance in life. That is difficult enough, face to face, in a classroom every day. Remotely, at a distance, it will be virtually impossible.

Children in more affluent areas are more likely to have parents with the resources to engage more fully with their education, to provide more learning support, from laptops to tutors. For these children, with access to layers of advantage not available to every child, blended learning may work.

But many, if not most, children living in poverty do not have that access and the safety net provided by their schools could not be more important. That is not a criticism of their parents but a simple acknowledgement of the debilitating impact that poverty can have on families.

These children often require a stronger relationship with their teachers. There is only so much that remote learning can replicate and nothing can compensate for really motivated teachers, properly engaging with them, every day, to identify their skills and make the most of their potential.

When I worked in Ferguslie, we made a significant investment in family support services. We worked respectfully alongside families, supporting them in engaging with health, engaging with the voluntary sector, and making the school a locus of support for the community.

Ultimately, any pupils living in poverty who cannot go back to school full-time will lose vital face-to-face contact with teachers who care about them and want them to do well. That will be a terrible loss for them and a terrible waste of potential for Scotland.

The decisions about reduced school attendance may be necessary for public health reasons but are, like so many other aspects of this pandemic, having a disproportionate impact on communities affected by poverty.

It’s clearer than ever that as a society, we need to prioritise closing the poverty gap between our communities, not just the attainment gap.