• Sustain norms as much as possible – creating a safe structure.
• Daily circle time provides a point of contact and orientation.
• Regular assemblies led by class teachers with content pitched at supporting wellbeing – e.g. (a) ‘Worry Bag’ assembly where students are encouraged to discuss what they are worried about and put their worries into a bag | ‘World Happiness Day’, where students are invited to take a picture of what makes them happy.
• Design new events that will bring students together to share their narratives – what life is looking and feeling like for them.
• Identify students you are concerned about and plan how you are going to show continuity of care - phone calls home, regular touch base emails to students and parents. These students still need to know that you care, and the safety net is still there of someone looking out for them.

• Set realistic expectations around learning.
• Daily tutor-student meetings – a chance to touch base, meet as a class, pre-empt problems and orientate for the day.
• Questionnaires to students – it is important to assess how students are doing through regular questionnaires where they self-report on scale on 1-10 on how happy they are. If a student scores themselves low this is an opportunity for the tutor and counselling team to follow up and provide targeted support.
• Calendar of community events that enables students to come together.
• Gratitude Postcards: this idea comes from the Positive Education Movement and is based on the benefits of expressing gratitude. Students send postcards and letters of gratitude to their teachers. This pulls the community together.
• : building a reflective practice is a step we can take in our social and emotional journey, being aware of our feelings and reactions. Starting a journal is one way of doing this.
• Identify students you are concerned about and plan how you are going to show continuity of care - phone calls home, regular touch base emails to students and parents. These students still need to know that you care, and the safety net is still there of someone looking out for them.
• Address the mental health needs of students which will increase in a time of crisis. You may consider having a mental health crisis response team who will support both students (and staff) teaching appropriate evidence-based coping strategies for solving problems and making decisions designed to restore equilibrium. These school teams follow the principles of mental health triage who will make appropriate referrals to the counselling and support services in the school and community.

• Show compassion: recognise that teachers are people too who react to a crisis in many different ways (fear, anger, frustration, anxiety etc.). All of these emotions are normal.
• Intentional communication: Social support is essential for our wellbeing, and therefore make efforts to maintain strong connections. Establish times to connect with staff.
• Build community and create a support system and network. Protect teachers from feeling isolated.
• Encourage staff to collaborate, prepare lessons together and share resources. Social media has also provided great opportunities for teachers to connect with other professionals all over the world and share ideas.
• Weekly well-being survey: use questionnaires to assess how staff are doing. How would you rate your current wellbeing? | Is there anything you think that we could do as an employer to assist you currently?
• Curate wellbeing activities for teachers: things they can do. Encourage staff to take exercise and, where possible, to get into the fresh air. Think holistically - looking after their whole person, not just their work life.
• Offer mental health services and support for staff as well as students.

• Communicate with parents. Develop tools for communicating information e.g., an emergency website, electronic message from school and district offices to provide the latest information, frequently asked questions and answers that can be distributed to media and put on the crisis website, and if you are involved in an active crisis consider using social media outlets for regular updates. Use a social media triage response plan. Accurate and consistent information and updates are critical for restoring order and supporting the wellbeing of the whole school family.
• Support regularly and clearly: a weekly newsletter | providing wellbeing and mindfulness tips. Consider using video messaging for very important messages, such as the cancellation of public examinations or the introduction of virtual schooling.
• Gain feedback - find ways of gaining feedback from parents. For example, an online survey and / or more regular parent teacher meetings (e.g. via Zoom)
• Pastoral leaders check in with parents by phone | virtual coffee hours | break out rooms for parents on your online platform - divide into sections of the school e.g. High School Parents' Forum | parent zooms etc. Adopting a private mobile messaging platform such as Remind or pinging parents via Class Dojo helps educators, students, and families connect.
• Encourage routines: Routines help people keep focused and gain some sense of control.

Here are a few tips on how parents (and teachers) can build resilience in children:

• Talk with your child whenever you can. Sometimes the best time to talk may be when you are driving your child somewhere.  When children have questions, answer them honestly, but simply, and with reassurance. Ask them their opinion about what is happening and listen to their answers.
• Acknowledge feelings: Allow children to talk about their feelings —they may say they’re afraid or they may express hatred or dislike for certain people. Be honest about your own feelings but leave them with messages of hope and encouragement.
• Make your home a safe place emotionally for your child. Teenage children may want more time by themselves so try to find opportunities for creating time when you are together (e.g., watching a film or doing chores).
• Limit the amount of news your children watch during a time of crisis. Don’t hide what is happening but be careful about over exposure so that it becomes the main narrative. Monitor your children’s Internet usage.
• Be understanding. Realize that the stresses of a crisis may heighten daily stresses. Your child might already be feeling extreme highs and lows because of hormonal levels in his body; the uncertainty during a time of crisis can make these shifts seem more extreme.
• Map out a routine and stick to it. Routine creates normality. For example, routines around eating, homework, family time.
• Make sure you take care of yourself. If you don’t, you may have less patience and less creativity at a time when your child needs both to reassure her about her own safety.
• Tell your children that they will be all right. Reassure them that they will be protected. In a crisis you may to have an emergency plan – share it with your children. Give your children instructions for what to do in an emergency and give them a list of your phone numbers—work and home—that they can keep in their backpacks.
• Watch your child for signs of fear and anxiety s/he may not be able to put into words. Your child may have trouble putting their feelings into words, encourage him to use journaling or art to express his fears.
• Put things into a positive perspective for your child.  Point out times when your child has faced up to and conquered something that may have frightened him. When you talk about bad times, make sure you talk about the good times in the future as well.