There is a little bit of me that is slightly alarmed by the prospect of eight weeks of summer holiday after fifteen weeks of lockdown and remote learning. I think I am concerned about how our children, who haven’t been in school since March, are going to manage several more weeks of less structured, socially distanced life. Inevitably, at some point, ‘I’m bored’ will fill the air.

There is, however, plenty of research that shows that boredom has its place. If we continually fill our children’s time with activity, they never learn to think for themselves, to come up with their own solutions. Finding things out for yourself rather than being told, is very good for resilience and confidence. Sometimes I have shied away from asking my offspring to help with chores – surely they could be devoting their young minds to higher things. Studies would suggest though, that doing mind numbing activities – emptying the dishwasher, putting out the washing, tidying up …, allows some rest for the brain, and into these moments, come good ideas. Being bored makes one connect with one’s surroundings. If you are happily engaged, you take your environment for granted. Boredom leads you to look around you and note where you are, and interact with what you find there.

If our job as parents is to make our children independent of us, then allowing them to be bored on a fairly regular basis, is a good place to start.

This weekend, I’m hoping to head back to my favourite cafe and sit outside enjoying a coffee and watching the world go by. On Sunday afternoon, I’ll be in school along with other teachers for the IB results. Whatever you are doing, please continue to stay safe. Next week we will be writing to you about some of our plans for the start of next term. In the meantime, I wish you a good weekend.

Allison Hadwin – Depty Head (Chaplain & Pastoral)