How The Enneagram Can Help Us Be More Well

Enneagram Worldwide

Over the last 18 years, I’ve been journeying with the help of the Enneagram – although I would say I’ve taken it more seriously over the last 6-8 years. I have found it to be utterly transformational in how I understand myself and how I can become my best self. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone – it is honestly the best tool I have ever found for personal/spiritual development, and how to live well in human relationships. The hard reality is this – if we don’t do our (inner) work, we will never change. I think it’s also true that understanding our own personality type and those of other people allows us to be much more focused in therapeutic and medical interventions. I hope this blog helps us to get to some of the root issues in our personality types that can cause us to sabotage ourselves then it comes to living well in our bodies.

 

Your Personality Type

 

I have personally found the Enneagram an incredibly helpful framework for understanding how the the human personality develops and why we behave and think in the ways that we do. The teaching is ancient and sacred and I am certainly no expert. There is absolutely no way that I can even begin to do justice to this wisdom in such a short blog, (although it is something I will continue to explore in future posts and podcasts), but I hope some of my personal reflections on what I am learning may be helpful by way of introduction. In short, the wisdom of the Enneagram teaches that there are 9 basic personality types or ‘ego-projections’. In response to encountering the environment around us as we grow, our personality develops around our deepest unmet needs and root struggles/’sins’. This is our ‘false-self’.  If we are not awake to who we are and how we function in the world then we will not understand why we continue to behave in certain ways and trip up over the same issues again and again. The gift of the Enneagram is that it doesn’t define who we are are and what we will be. It helps explain why we’re stuck in the box we are in and helps us break out of it, so that we can be become more fully who we really are. Over time, as we develop and do our work, we are less obviously one number or another and begin to become more whole. The Enneagram invites us to surrender ourselves (to God, as Richard Rohr clarifies) and let go of the need to keep up the pretence of the ‘false-self’ we have created to protect us and/or impress others and instead to become our true selves and a true gift to others.

 

There are two main traditions within the Enneagram teaching. they have some similarities and some differences in their understanding and application of The Enneagram:

 

Enneagram Worldwide (which is what I know more of) and The Enneagram Institute. Their websites are great resources:

https://www.enneagramworldwide.com/

https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/

 

If you’re interested, I would recommend any of these following books:

 

The Enneagram Made Easy – Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Road Back to You – Ian Morgan Cron & Suzanne Stabile

The Essential Enneagram – David N Daniels & Virginia Ann Price

The Enneagram – A Christian Perspective – Fr Richard Rohr & Andreas Ebert

The Wisdom of the Enneagram -Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson

The Sacred Enneagram – Christopher L. Heuertz

The Enneagram of Belonging – Christopher L. Heuertz

 

If you prefer podcasts, these ones are helpful:

The Enneagram Journey with Suzanne Stabile

Typology with Ian Morgan Cron

 

If this is something you decide to explore I would REALLY recommend that you don’t take an online test. Read or listen to some stuff first – take notice of your responses to the various types. There will probably be two or three types that you might associate with, after you’ve got your head around some of the basics. Read/listen around those types first and THEN take a test or two, if you’re still not sure. I really like what Richard Rohr says when he mentions that the type that you most react to may well be the type that you are! Often it is uncomfortable for someone to hold a mirror up to us.

 

Let me just offer some brief insights on each type to whet your taste buds and see if this might be something that helps you, or alternatively, stop reading here and either buy the books or disengage with this idea completely! I am particularly grateful to my incredible Enneagram coach/therapist/friend/spiritual mentor, Paul Wood for helping me in my own understanding and growth.

 

Before we delve into the nine ‘types’, it’s worth saying a quick word about the three triads and the three sub-types!

 

Each of the Enneagram types is divided into groups of three. The head types: – fives, sixes and sevens; the heart types: – twos, threes and fours; and the body types: – eights, nines and ones. As a doctor, I am fascinated by disease and although I haven’t seen any research into this yet, I think it would a fascinating area of research to understand how the various types affect physical health conditions. There are definite links with certain mental health conditions and some personality types are more prone to develop certain ‘personality disorders’. Perhaps more on this another time!

 

The Enneagram also teaches that for each of the 9 personality types, there are wings and also 3 sub-types – social, sexual and self-preserving. For those of you who know the Enneagram, I’m not even going near the wings in this blog! The sub-types though, are pretty important because they can make people of the same type behave pretty differently.

 

Each of us has one dominant sub-type, one secondary sub-type and one ‘blind-spot’. One of these best ways to think about it is this: if you walk into a room full of people, with a buffet on one side of the room, what do you do (other than walk straight back out again – type 5!?!)? If you work the room and like to make lots of contact with people, you’re likely a social sub-type. If you make a beeline for the buffet whilst checking out where the exits are and ensuring you stand in a place where you will feel most safe, then you are likely a self-preserving sub-type. If you are trying to work out who the most interesting person in the room is, with whom you could have a really in depth and personal conversation, then you’re likely a sexual sub-type. I, for example, am a social sub-type, with a secondary sub-type of ‘sexual’ (or I prefer the term one-to-one), but my blind spot is ‘self-preservation’. What that means is that I love to have lots of company, go to lots of gatherings, usually where there is lots of food, with which I tend to overindulge (out of politeness, of course), and I have a great time working the room and can also get absorbed in some really interesting and deep conversations, but I can very easily forget to think about my own needs – so I over eat, rather than recognising when I’m full and I stay out late, when actually I could do with an early night etc. Needless to say, these sub-types have a huge bearing on how we respond within our individual types.

 

Type 1 – The Perfectionist/The Improver/The Reformer

 

Enneagram Worldwide

As children, Type Ones tend to see the world as being pretty perfect and are ‘good children’. Their inner desire is to be able to play and enjoy life. But they begin to realise that life is not perfect. In fact the world is very imperfect, damaged, flawed and spoiled by all kinds of things over which they have no control. They have a need for things to be perfect. However, in their failed efforts to make happiness happen they develop a deep sense of anger (their root sin/stumbling stone) because their need is unmet. But they don’t want to project this to the rest of the world around them, because they are ‘good’. So they develop an ego projection to world that they are ‘reasonable’ – and this leads to rigid self-control. This then causes some pretty unhealthy behaviours, both for themselves and towards others, which are particularly hard to admit to and face up to. These include being self-absorbed, emotionally reactive, controlling, unhelpfully perfectionist, critical and actually deeply resentful of the world around them that isn’t the way it should be.

 

The invitation for all types is to face up to their deepest stumbling stones/sin and this is a really hard thing to do. It sounds brutal, but the invitation for the One is this: to admit that they are actually deeply rebellious and selfish. To stop their judging of others and to stop their unkind self-critique. If they do this, they make room in themselves for irrationality and messiness. When this happens it allows them walk into and receive the grace of an inherent sense of joy and lightness in simply ‘being’ and to find a real integrity between the inner experience and the outer expression. They come into a place of integration where they let go of the anger, so that it no longer controls them and find their inherent goodness allows them to experience life in its fullness and truth. When Ones step out of their ‘ego-structure’ and into ‘gift’ they become incredible leaders. They inspire and instil a sense of goodness. They make a difference in issues of social justice because they know that the world can and should be better than it is right now. They bring change to society through encouraging others to be their best selves and make fantastic coaches and communicators.

 

Type 2 – The Helper/The Giver/The Server

 

Enneagram Worldwide

As children, Type Twos deeply long to connect to others. They would struggle to admit it, but at the root of their problems is the reality that they struggled to get the attention they craved or felt like they deserved. They lack a sense of inner peace that they are deeply and unconditionally loved. So, in a bid to get noticed, they develop a need to be needed by others and start to believe that people will not be able to cope without them, which leads to their stumbling stone/root sin of pride. This leads to the development of their ego projection to the world that they are loving and helpful people. To others it seems like they are reaching out and connecting, always giving of themselves. But deep down this is what the Two craves – the acknowledgement that they are kind, helpful and giving of themselves. But what is really happening (and it’s hard for two to face up to this) is a need to dominate and control others with this attention, which they need in order to fill their inner void.

 

The invitation for a two then, is to admit to the negative feelings they have towards others (and themselves) and to allow their own needs to be important and to be met. In doing this, twos discover and receive the grace that the are deeply and inherently loved and accepted. Not for what they do, not for how they help, but simply for who they are. This allows them to stop being shaped by their need and become truly loving out of a place of knowing that they, themselves, are loved. In their best selves, they become full of strength, vitality and bring a gift of true mercy. They bring deep comfort and empathy to the people and communities around them. They are incredible ‘servant leaders’, no longer worried about getting the attention themselves but able to pour out their love for others, knowing that they are filled from a different source altogether.

 

Type 3 – The Achiever/The Performer

 

Enneagram Worldwide

As children, Type Threes realise that they are vulnerable and they begin to worry about what might happen to them, if people discovered what they were really like. So, through self-effort and self-creation, they become like a demi-god and create an ego projection to the world that they are outstanding. They develop the remarkable ability to play exactly the right part in whatever setting they encounter, because they have a deep need to be successful – but in doing so, they let go of their true self and so fall into their ‘sin’ of deceit. In fact, they can wear so many masks that it’s difficult for them to know their own true self. This leads to them seeking external validation to gain their sense of worth. However, what this leads to (over production, being over stressed, self-neglecting and disengaged from reality) is the exact opposite of what they crave.

 

The invitation for a Three therefore is to allow themselves to admit to their own anxiety and self-doubt. These self-made individuals are often racked with insecurity. When they stop and acknowledge this, they can relax into their own skin and stop needing to perform. For a three this is most often possible when they fail or when something happens which means they can’t perform for a while. When this happens, they can discover and receive the grace that being is enough – the place of true faith and they become grounded in belovedness. It doesn’t mean they stop achieving – it means that they learn to operate out of a sense of knowing who they truly are through an ‘internal’/deeper sense of affirmation, rather than the need for this to come externally. Healed Threes recognise failure as a gift. They are able to let go of the need to excel to win and become simply excellent! They make wonderful leaders and bring a sense of drive, and achievement to the teams they work in and with. Threes don’t just see the vision, they deliver it.

 

Type Four – The Romantic/The Individualist

 

Enneagram Worldwide

As children, Type Fours have a sense of lack or real/perceived suffering. They carry a deep sense of being somehow tragically defective in some way and ‘cast out’ or like they are a misfit, who noone can quite understand and so they develop a kind of longing to be rescued. This creates a sense of comparison and others and leads them to their root sin/stumbling stone of ‘envy‘. So they create an ego projection to the world around them that they are sensitive, which pulls people towards them because they are ‘mysterious’ and feel things deeply. They have a need to be special. But this can lead to them being experienced as emotionally reactive and unpredictable. And this is used by the four (unconsciously) to control and manipulate relationships.

 

The invitation for the Four then is to admit to themselves and others that they are judgemental, envious and critical of others. They then have to risk letting go of their inner identity building in opposition to others and instead receive, in place of their felt sense of deficiency, the grace of an identity of ‘inherent and fundamental goodness’. This integrates with a sweetness and generosity of Spirit and allows the Four to bring an incredibly gift of beauty, artistry and creativity to the world around them. Fours make the world beautiful. They carry incredible creativity and wonder. They are incredibly emotionally perceptive and intelligent and pick up on ‘atmospheres’ and under currents. They are true empaths – sensitive, loving and at their best able to hold space for others to do their own work, without taking it on themselves.

 

Type 5 – The Observer/The Investigator

 

Enneagram Worldwide

As children, Type Fives have a desire to assert themselves and take control of their world. But they find that the world fails to satisfy their inner emptiness. So they disengage and become more withdrawn (it’s quite rare though not impossible to be a Five AND an Extrovert!). Fives withdraw into their minds, because that is where it feels safe and they stumble over their root sin/stumbling stone of Avarice/Greed. This can be greed for ideas, but can be material accumulation also – Mr Microsoft is a classic Type Five. Fives develop a deep need to perceive. It is through their superior knowledge base that they can control their surroundings and gain an inner sense of superiority. So their ego-projection to the world is that they are perceptive and wise. This leads to some classic behavioural traits of withdrawing into their minds to ‘figure things out’. But this can lead to them being quite absent, distracted and have a hyperactivity of their mind – unable to ‘get out of their head’. One thing that can happen to a Five is that because they spend so much time in their head, they forget to listen to what their body needs because to them, what really matters is their mind, their thoughts, their ideas.

 

The invitation to a Five then is to admit to themselves and others that they use knowledge to dominate and undermine others. They then need to risk getting in touch with their heart and allow themselves to feel things more deeply. When they do this, they allow themselves to stop being so standoffish, to receive the grace of real self-confidence and find they can get involved in community and society rather than observing it from their ivory tower, firing sarcasm from a safe distance. When this happens they can also integrate with a deep sense of joy and lightness of being, bringing much more earthed wisdom and understanding into the world around them. Fives bring incredible wisdom and understanding to society. They are well read, able to dig deeply into complex ideas and make it available to the rest of us. Fives care about detail and this is important. They also bring a reality check with a sense of humility to problem solving.

 

Type 6 – The Loyal Sceptic/The Patriot/The Loyalist

 

Enneagram Worldwide

Most Enneagram teachers believe that Type 6 is the most common Type – according to Richard Rohr, perhaps up to half the population might be Type Sixes. As children, sixes have a deep desire to be comfortable and for nothing to need to trouble or worry them. But they realise that the world is not altogether safe – it is random. This leads to a deep and existential sense of fear, which becomes their stumbling stone/root sin. As a result they develop an anxious alertness and believe in the idea of survival of the fittest. They therefore develop an ego projection which is that they are reliable, they are loyal and also sceptical. This leads to them seeking security externally. They can come across as true patriots – often looking for a leader who will make them feel safe – perhaps this is why in a time of uncertainty, political rhetoric around securing our borders and making our nation-states great again (Brexit/USA narrative) lands with so many voters. As a result of wanting to preserve this image of obedience and loyalty, Type-Sixes can easily become workaholic and expedient through are also quite image conscious because they worry a lot about what others think of them.

 

The invitation for a Six then is admit to themselves and others their deep need for security and comfort. Once they have done this, they need to risk quietening their minds, their anxious ruminations, their worries and their constant catastrophising of the future and instead learn to be still. When they do this, they will learn to receive the grace to be relaxed and trust in ‘Being’, knowing their inherent value. In this way and from this place of mindfulness, heartfulness and being present in the moment, they become truly loyal, faithful friends and can accomplish many great things with a sense of deep peace. Sixes make brilliant strategists. They see things very holistically. They consider the possible humps and hurdles on the road in front and are able to plan to mitigate these issues ahead of time. They ask good questions, see things from lots of different angles and perspectives and bring a much needed sense of realism to their work.

 

Type 7 – The Enthusiast/The Epicure

 

Enneagram Worldwide

OK – full disclosure – this is my ego-structure!

 

As children, Sevens develop a sense of lack – that there might not be enough and feel overwhelmed by a build-up of issues. They respond to a sense that the world, or those around them have failed to make them feel content or safe. So, in search of ‘paradise lost’, they escape their sense of or fear of deprivation by drowning out any pain with pleasure. This leads to their root sin of gluttony – of food, or anything really – a false comfort, so they don’t have to face the reality of the pain they are feeling deep down. They develop a deep need to avoid pain, almost at any cost. So they project to the world that they are enthusiastic. Sevens can be huge fun to be around. However, much of this is ‘fake joy’ based in anticipatory energy of the next brilliant thing that’s about to happen rather than being present in the moment. As a result Sevens can become highly controlling of themselves and their environment in order to suppress the truth of what they are feeling. They want it to be fun! But this can be exhausting…..

 

The invitation for the Seven, therefore, is to admit to themselves and others that they really are overwhelmed and face the reality of the pain they are running away from. When they do this they recognise their deep dissatisfaction with life as it is and can learn the grace of contentment. When this happens they can receive the grace of discovering simplicity and a restored ability to focus. When they integrate this with a sense of things being OK just as they are without a constant need for more, then they can bring real, deep and lasting joy to the community and world around them. Sevens bring real deep, sober joy and gratitude to the world. They are enthusiastic and effusive, never lacking in vision or hope. Life is to be celebrated and Sevens love to party. They have an ability to assimilate lots of different perspectives and communicate in a way that galvanises people into action.

 

Type 8 – The Challenger/The Protector/The Leader

 

Enneagram Worldwide

As children Eights have a deep desire to be held and loved, but they experience a real or perceived failure of others to love them as they need. This leads to them feeling let down. So they become determined to never be needy of dependent on anyone else ever again. They live to believe that they are in control and if they need something, they will get it for themselves. This causes them to stumble into their root sin of lust. Lust for power, lust for control, lust to dominate others. And so they project an ego to the world that they are strong. And as a result they have a need to be against. Against the expected status quo. Against the flow. Against the societal norms. This leads to assertive behaviours to demonstrate their strength and fierce ability to cope. But in doing so they become completely detached from their own needs. This can drive others away, and can be experienced as bullying – the exact opposite of what Eights actually crave, which is relational intimacy.

 

Difficult though it may be, the invitation for the Eight, therefore, is to let their guard down. To admit to themselves and others that they have weaknesses and unmet needs. And if they can risk openness or vulnerability with others then they will receive the grace of the experience of being truly loved. When they integrate this with deep clarity, insight and perception they bring true strength to the world and their desire for social justice, rather than burning them out, can come to the fore as a true gift. Healed eights make brilliant leaders. they look after their teams They carry a deep sense of social justice and they are not afraid to upset the apple cart to achieve this. They both challenge and inspire people to do the stuff that matters and live their best life.

 

Type 9 – The Peacemaker/The Mediator

 

Enneagram Worldwide

As children, Nines have a sense that they want to be someone special and get noticed. However, they somehow come to believe that this will only happen if they make it happen by themselves. Not so keen on this idea, they fall over their stumbling stone or into their root sin of sloth or laziness. As a result, they become self-forgetting, zone out from the world, function on autopilot and tune out from the depths of life and project their ego onto the world that they are peaceful, easy-going and will fit in with anything. In so doing they lose themselves. But as they have developed a need to avoid, they don’t mind too much, as long as they feel comfortable. This leads to them becoming both anxious and passive, but when challenged can aggressively defend their comfort zone.

 

The invitation for the Nine, therefore is to admit to themselves and others that they actually do want and need attention. When they do this, they risk experiencing intensity and energy – but when they do it enables them to receive the grace to discover their inherent value. When they integrate this with real faith and courage, they can be present to the world around them and become true peacemakers and mediators – a much needed gift in our communities right now. When present to the world around them, Nines can bring incredible energy and purpose. They are able to hold the space for deeply uncomfortable and difficult discord and use their skill to bring reconciliation.

 

So many of our physical and mental health problems are amplified/worsened/affected by our personality traits. I hope these brief insights have been helpful and create a way of thinking about how your own personality might be affecting they way you view your won body, your own self-worth and how you are creating a story to the world about yourself that might need undoing. When we do our internal work and allow ourselves to admit how much it is actually costing us to keep on living in the way of the ego, we can learn to let go and receive the grace to become our true and best selves. Perhaps when we do this, some of our battles stop being about what we can control or what we are running away from and we can learn to live more presently in the world, awake to ourselves and able to make choices worthy of who we really are.

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Should The Schools Go Back on June 1st?

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Is the decision to send some of our children back to school on June 1st the right one? What are the factors that have been considered and how has the decision been made? I”ve been asked these questions a number of times and they bother me at several levels. They bother me as a Dad (and believe me I have an even deeper respect for teachers and the magic they do every day!), as a GP, as a School Governor of a Primary School, as a Trustee of a Multi-Academy Trust, as a Co-Author of a book about Adverse Childhood Experiences and as a local leader in the NHS as Director of Population Health in Morecambe Bay. So, I come to the questions with several different hats on and feeling conflicted in how I think about the issues involved. To be absolutely clear, this blog is written from a personal perspective and I am not writing in any of my official capacities, as with any blog on this site. I was having a conversation the other day with a friend of mine, who spent years working as a solicitor. We were talking about judicial reviews and the probity of any given decision. The vital test is this: has everything been taken into account that should have been; has anything been taken into account that shouldn’t have been? In other words, it’s not about the decision but about HOW the decision is arrived at. If the test is satisfied, it’s a good decision.

 

Firstly, I want to focus on the process of decision making. Over the last few years, working with the Poverty Truth Commission and using the ‘Art of Hosting’ as a framework for how to encourage wider participation, I have been greatly impacted in how I think about this process. In the PTC we follow the basic principle that ‘no decision about me, without me, is for me’. When the government made the decision to open schools more widely on June 1st, did they talk to the unions first? Did they discuss the ideas, concerns and expectations of many teachers prior to their announcement? Was there any discussion with children or young people about what they might feel about returning to school and what their priorities might be? Was there even an announcement to the house of commons so that the idea could be debated and discussed before deciding on the June 1st date? I think the answer to each of those questions is ‘no’. So, in terms of probity, it seems impossible to say this is a good decision without having taken into account such vital opinions and voices. I absolutely recognise that being in government at such a time is no easy task. If the government, here in the UK, continue to act without involving wider participation and conversation, it is less likely, especially at a time of such national anxiety and uncertainty, that they will be able to take the public with them. We need the government to choose to be listening, inclusive and honest about the complexity of the issues involved. If they do this, they will find national collaboration much easier to achieve.

 

Secondly, we keep being told by the government that we are being “guided by the science”. This statement alone poses so many questions! When Sir Jeremy Farrar, (watch from 10:30) CEO of The Wellcome Trust, and member of SAGE was humble enough to admit last week that it was a mistake not to have been far more on the front foot with testing and contact tracing here in the UK, something which has been shown to have an extraordinary benefit in Kerala, South Korea, Taiwan, Iceland and Germany (as just five examples – there are plenty of others from Africa and Oceana also), it felt like there was a collective sigh of relief across the country. Finally, someone actually publicly stated that things have gone wrong. Since that time Prof Tim Spector has warned us that because the UK has been listing only a limited number of possible Covid-19 symptoms, there are probably between 50000 and 70000 people who currently have the disease and are not self-isolating. He, along with Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van Tam have both also insinuated that the ‘tried and tested’ method of physical contact tracing through local public health teams is much more trustworthy than a centralised app-based model. Without this, the ‘R’ number is very limited in it’s ability to predict much at all, as we’re really in the terriotry of good guess work, rather than more real time data which we can interrogate and probe more thoroughly. The danger with this approach therefore is that we are 3-4 weeks behind with the actual numbers and looking at death rates doesn’t necessarily help us much either when considering the rate of spread. To make matters more complex, the (inaccurate) R number has significant regional variation, which again makes the case for more locally led and connected decision making. Furthermore, the UK Pariliament’s Science and Technology Committee, chaired by the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP have detailed ten significant findings and concerns with recommendations attached, whilst recognising the complexities involved. Of particular note, we’ve had 10 weeks in which woefully insufficient testing, contact tracing and isolation has been the reality. Today, the WHO reported the largest number of new cases of Covid-19, worldwide. With our airports still open and an increase in travel emerging, we put ourselves at major risk of an early second wave, especially if we do not have the necessary systems in place to prevent this. Boris Johnson is still adamant that things are steaming ahead nicely but other government ministers say their new track and trace system will not be ready for roll out on June 1st. This is different to having a fully operational system in place. There are questions that still demand answers! Many expert voices are calling for a much more locally driven, joined up approach, led by our brilliant Directors of Public Health, supported by joined up working across the public sector and supported by General Practice. There are plenty of voices asking us to pause and think again.

 

Thirdly, we need to know if it safe for children to go back to school? The government are confident and clear that it is. It is interesting, however, that allegedly every member of the current cabinet sends their children to private schools, none of which will be opening until September. The answer to this question is not straightforward and there are several things to consider and we should be honest about that.  Are children likely to become unwell from Covid-19, if they have no underlying health conditions? No – they are very likely to only suffer very mild symptoms, though there are some concerns regarding some children having rare sudden respiratory symptoms. But what about the impact on those who will need to continue to be isolated at home? Can children have the virus without showing symptoms? Yes. Can they therefore be spreaders of C-19? Yes they can, and because we have not been doing effective testing, contact tracing and isolation, this could be problematic. If the government’s testing and contract tracing system, run by Deloitte’s and supported by the national app is up and running by early June, will this make it safer? Probably, but there is great cynicism in the world of Public Health that this approach is desirable. As stated above, the tried and tested model of this all being run by the Directors of Public Health and their teams in each geography, supported by local GPs is deemed to be much more effective. Local knowledge and guidance would, I believe, give local teachers much more confidence with more readily available advice where needed. Should staff be wearing face masks? There is varying advice on this. Our local authority currently says no, but Prof Trish Greenhalgh from Oxford University advises that they should, on the basis that face masks reduce the spread of C19 and can perhaps offer some protection for the wearer also.

 

What are the risks of not opening the schools? Well, we know that 10% of all children in the UK (and this is not dependent on social class, so kids at private schools are at just as much risk) are likely to be suffering from 4 Adverse Childhood Experiences. The impact of this kind of trauma on them can be absolutely huge in the long term and schools and key relationships with teachers/TAs can be significantly protective factors. Schools also play a very important role in tackling food poverty and ensuring many children get 2 or even 3 good meals. So Steve Chalke is right that not opening schools could appear like a middle-class luxury. But will putting kids who need security and love, into an alien situation with facemarks, social distancing and a very different kind of day to usual, actually compound the sense of trauma? We don’t know yet, but we will need to watch this carefully, if and when the schools do go back. Perhaps headteachers could prioritise those children most at risk, over the 4 and 5 year olds, who it will be very hard to keep socially distanced. What I will say though, is that headteachers are not the ‘bad guys’ here. I don’t know one headteacher who doesn’t want anything except the best for the children in their school and genuinely wants to be able to have them back.

 

Without effective or sufficient testing and contact tracing, we do put ourselves at risk of an early second peak. This is a risk – are we prepared to take it in the face of what we know about the rise in domestic violence, childhood trauma and growing mental health issues? Will 6 weeks back at school before the summer really be worth it? Should we mitigate the risk by not opening and ensure that we are more sure of the necessary processes being in place first? The decision ultimately belongs with each head teacher with support from their governing body, as to whether or not to open on June 1st. It is dependent on what is practicable in their given location and with the staff and facilities they have at their disposal. The government guidance is difficult to implement in many settings. So let us be kind to each other. Let’s be honest about where we are and just how complex this is. For those who want to dip their toe in and give it a go, we must ensure that guidance is followed as closely as possible, especially hand washing, cleaning of surfaces and physical distancing, where practical. For those who decide to wait, fair enough. But whatever happens, let us be determined to build an education system that is fit for the future. Let us rebuild education based on love and kindness and let’s be brave enough to redesign the curriculum around the needs of humanity and the ecology.

 

So, in summary:

 

  • These are my own opinions
  • Is it safe for children and teachers to go back to school? Possibly, but without satisfactory testing, contact tracing and isolation in place and with growing evidence that this will not be adequate by June 1st and with an inaccurate R number due to an incomplete list of symptoms for testing people, there is a risk to the wider public that we could enter an early second peak. It would be prudent for the government to seriously reconsider their centralised approach to this, when empowering local government and public health teams to lead this process will be far more effective. It may be safe for children to begin to return to school (I think), but maybe not for wider society.
  • At what point then, would it be safe for schools to reopen? Perhaps once we are more sure that the protective public health systems we need to be fully operational are in place and running effectively. But we do need to return to school soon, so we need to find a way through – that way is unlikely to come through centralised command and control but will rather require a participatory and inclusive approach. So the answer is maybe but maybe not quite yet – better to get it right than to risk getting it horribly wrong by rushing it.
  • If schools choose to reopen, due to the concerns about issues like trauma, mental health and hunger, what are the issues they need to consider? The current government advice on social distancing is impractical and schools may need to look for community partners, who may be willing to help with other local premises (e.g. churches, mosques and local halls) to enable this to be possible. They will also need to ensure good hand washing, cleaning of surfaces and consider what they want to do about face masks AND we need to re-emphasise this advice to the wider public. Schools will also need to think about how they staff the recommended ‘bubbles’ and whether or not they will need community DBS-checked volunteers to help out. On top of this they will need to consider who they initially prioritise how they support the emotional and mental health of our children, young people and staff in a very different kind of setting. And they will need to remain inclusive of those children and young-people who cannot return to school due to having underlying health conditions themselves or in their households.
  • Whatever happens, let’s ensure a more participatory and inclusive conversation about the path ahead of us. Schools need to be involved in the process.
  • Let us also have a wider conversation about the kind of education system we need for the future. Lots of good thinking on this already across the UK and some podcasts coming soon.

 

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Black Swans and Poverty

Tweet Here is a copy of the speech I recently gave at Morecambe Food Bank when Heidi Allen MP and Frank Field MP came to be with us and to listen to the community here in Morecambe Bay about our experiences of poverty. There were some incredibly moving testimonies from community commissioners of the poverty [Continue Reading …]

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Narcissus and the Narrow Path

Tweet Narcissus – The Ego Image of Ourselves Do you know the story of Narcissus? Such a tragedy of a young man, who looked into a pool of water, seeing his image for the first time and found it so mesmerisingly beautiful that he could never bear to look away and died looking at his [Continue Reading …]

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