Our children, young people and families are presently experiencing multiple and interrelated issues playing out in the wake of the recent pandemic. Mental health and well-being, the cost-of-living crisis and a marked shift in attitudes to engaging with school and learning are evident daily. This article examines pre-pandemic schooling in England based on interschool competition, schools’ role during the pandemic involving a much broader agenda, and, as the Covid-19 threat eased, a return to their previous position as though nothing had happened. School leaders and teachers occupied a more inclusive, democratic and humane space during the pandemic, alongside teaching. This approach reflected the earlier extended schools agenda. Starmer’s government set out to provide a school that ‘supports all our children to achieve and thrive’. Could extended schools provide some clues as to what direction schools might take next?
Douglas S. Martin (Sat,) studied this question.