What’s your view on the reopening of schools?

Parents, carers and people who work in schools are being asked for their views on returning to school.

The survey is being conducted by the University of Brighton’s Centre of Resilience for Social Justice.

Dr Suna Eryigit-Madzwamuse, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health Sciences, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruption to the education system, with no easy blueprint outlining what to do next.

“Researchers leading the area of children, families and schools at the Centre of Resilience for Social Justice (CRSJ) and through social enterprise Boingboing are particularly curious to understand how children can return to a resilient school environment at the end of this summer.

“Population-level disruptions to education have the potential for transformative systems change in schools. This impact can be positive, when change is implemented collectively, strategically and with a systems oriented social justice approach.”

As part of a project, funded by the University of Brighton, researchers are investigating school staff’s and parent/carers’ perspectives on resilient school environments after lockdown.

Parents, carers and those who work in a school can give their views on the reopening of schools and what support might be needed by completing the short online survey by 24 July.

Dr Eryigit-Madzwamuse added: “Everyone is welcome to participate; your say will form part of a national report. Additionally, if you are a school leader and you would like to encourage your staff and parents to fill in the survey, we can draft a bespoke report for your school if we receive enough responses.”