During the last few years of disrupted schooling, the importance of students’ mental and emotional wellbeing has been a concern for most educational institutions. Capitalising on the integration of technology in hybrid learning, a teacher in the United States checks in with his students’ wellbeing at the start of his class by asking them to select emojis on a Google Form that match their emotional state. This allows the teacher to gauge the overall mood of the classroom before beginning his lesson, and it informs how he runs the class.

In China, while most primary school students sleep on their desks or do their homework during nap time, one primary school has garnered praise for allowing students to build tents to sleep in. The “sleep lying down project” has received praise for teaching students about sleep health and how to be independent in managing their own space and time. 

As we continue to grapple with the consequences of schooling in the pandemic, it is important to continue supporting students’ mental and emotional wellbeing through fostering trusting interpersonal relationships and programmes that support their holistic development.