The lifelong impact of a traumatic childhood was laid bare on Desert Island Discs last Sunday, when actor Samantha Morton opened up about an upbringing spent in and out of children’s homes and foster care. Violence and abuse were rife, she was expelled from school several times and she ended up with a conviction as a 14-year-old - she had threatened to kill a girl with a knife, after becoming angry at the bullying in the care home where they both lived.
Morton has become one of the finest actors of her generation, twice nominated for an Oscar. That’s because she was talented - but also because she was lucky enough to encounter a teacher who spotted her raw talent. That drama teacher encouraged her to audition for a drama workshop, which led to small TV parts and, ultimately, starring roles in Hollywood blockbusters and award-laden independent films alike.
Who knows what would have happened if a teacher hadn’t steered her towards the life raft that was a career in acting? There are countless tales of the teacher who made a difference, of chance moments in education that set a child’s life on a different route altogether. The problem is that the supply of these life rafts is running low.
For most of this year, children and young people have been deprived of myriad experiences and time with people who could make a difference to their lives. Residential trips have been cancelled, supported study pared back, outdoor education is in crisis, spectator and participatory sport has been curtailed. There have been reports recently of independent schools carrying on with after-school sport while neighbouring state schools have been told they cannot. As ever, crises affect some children more than others.
Many libraries, theatres and cinemas are closed - just this week, the Cineworld chain announced it was closing again and may not reopen until 2021 - and schools would be ill advised to plan foreign trips any time soon.
A huge range of experiences inside and outside of schools, all with the potential to spark some sort of lifelong passion, has been lost. All those life rafts have been stuffed in a cupboard, and some may never re-emerge. From swimming lessons to Scouts, drama to days out - whatever the setting, countless potentially formative moments simply haven’t happened this year.
Schools have, however, been open to all for two months now. The support they provide, and the many opportunities they still offer - albeit with all sorts of restrictions - are more critical than ever when so many other opportunities have been lost. Generations from now, when people look back on going to school during Covid, there will be many fondly remembered tales of the teachers and other school staff who inspired them to get through it all.
Many who work in schools are, however, extremely worried about the safety of being there, of mingling with hundreds or even thousands of others, at a time when you can’t even have a single friend into your house for a cup of tea because that is deemed too risky.
There are hard questions being asked about the demands that are being made of vulnerable teachers - one shielding teacher told us this week that the “lack of empathy and understanding” shown to such people by policymakers was “absolutely staggering”.
These people are deeply worried about their health situation, but, as the shielding teacher wrote, they remain “desperately keen to be working, to be supporting colleagues and our young people”.
Teachers know that their contribution to young lives may be more important now than it has ever been, at a time when other potentially influential figures and experiences are just not there. Their sense of duty to those young people should not, however, be taken for granted - pupils’ life chances are paramount, but so is the safety of teachers.
@Henry_Hepburn
This article originally appeared in the 9 October 2020 issue under the headline “Life-raft opportunities are vital for pupils - we must keep them afloat”
