and children missing school because of covid. last monday, we had 12 staff off for covid—related reasons. you add that, then, to normal absence, that particular day, we had 20 members of staff off. i got to a point in about october where i thought, this is getting really difficult. how much longer can i keep going at this level? how much longer can the staff keep going? working in schools at the moment is incredibly tough. teaching unions are warning that there aren�*t enough supply teachers, as schools across the country struggle to get additional support. for the children, missing teachers and their friends is tough. it'sjust hard to play with people when they're all off, so i just walk around most of the time. we�*ve had four teachers in the past nine days. it�*s been hard, not having our actual teacher in. it is easier to learn with them, because they know what they are doing a lot, because obviously they plan it. hugh monaghan is