Most countries around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions with the aim of containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. How have schools overcome these challenges and delivered education during the confinement period? The purpose of this research was to analyse how primary and secondary schools in Catalonia (Spain) implemented the teaching and learning process during the lockdown, based on 48 semi-structured interviews with school principals from different types of schools, located in urban and rural environments, and from diverse socioeconomic statuses. This article shows that there is a digital divide in students and teachers, emotional accompaniment as a need for online learning, older students are more autonomous and self-regulate better their own learning process, each school used their own strategy because there was no programme prepared for emergency situations, teachers had difficulties in self-regulating their work and communication with families became essential.