There and hopefully not back again... Or how I hope that the flavour of radical change is pervasive

And just like that, everything changed. Issues that have challenged and frustrated me both personally and professionally were transformed rapidly. Not solved entirely, and probably only temporarily, but significant change occurred, more rapidly than I can recall at any other time. Homelessness was an active political priority rather than a convenient community drum that’s banged by MP’s in the run up to a by-election (albeit because the potential for scenes of the bodies of homeless victims would have been political autocannibalism rather than for philanthropic reasons or out of any sense of community to our fellow humans). The welfare state was rapidly, but temporarily expanded to provide those unable to work with the means to a financially viable life. Many fell through the cracks, but the impetus for change was seized and acted upon rapidly.

In our educational setting we experienced rapid change with the adoption of digital tools to facilitate learning at home during the suspension of attendance on site for most children. Again, this hasn't been perfect; some institutions are focussed on providing ‘tasks’ (the ‘what’) and are still grappling with the mechanism to do this effectively. Others however (us included) were more prepared (fortuitously) and have been able to consider how we provide meaningful instruction and facilitate a dialogic approach. 

With the protraction of the situation, which went from ‘How do we keep Year 6 SATS ready?’ to ‘How do we provide relevant learning opportunities for all?’, the cycle of rapid deployment of solutions has abated. A more pensive, considered cycle of planned change is unfurling in the context of us all trying to become comfortable with accepting that we in fact have little to no control - of anything. This new paradigm enables us to consider the ‘why’, the ‘what’ and the ‘how’, without the need for immediate implementation. And this is where I have found a new anxiety (it seems I’m always looking for another). 

Now that we are not required to pull solution rabbits from the hat of circumstance twice daily and thrice on Sundays, I am concerned that we will lose the radical element of any change. Contracts are potentially ending with hotels and many find themselves faced with the prospect of homelessness once more. The furlough scheme is scheduled to dissipate leaving in its wake a trail of the newly unemployed. Both of these have the potential to leave a system shaken up and with, at the very least, the newly formed. green shoots of reformation visible. New relationships forged with hoteliers and landlords could see unoccupied spaces generate an income, but more importantly generating hope and chances for the unfortunate and disenfranchised. The welfare state had the mirror held up to it, and the reflection was that the current system doesn’t provide people with the ability to support themselves and their families adequately. Only the passing of time will highlight whether my unconscious cynicism or the optimism I force myself to project will be right. 

And Education? I suspect we may have a period of grace. Whilst we grapple with the quest to fully reopening, the all-seeing machinations of judgement may be sufficiently distracted that we may may be able to forge some lasting change that enables us to reflect on this period in the future and recognise it as a turning point for our system. Or at the very least it might mark a sizeable shift in thinking, the echoes of which will still be heard  when we’ve all achieved herd immunity, are finally innoculated or are living underground.