3 minute read
Beyond the classroom
Independent schools are well-placed to return to remote teaching, should anything like the pandemic happen again, says Robert Blewitt
In January 2020, my school had begun to look at levels of computer literacy among sta . ey varied wildly, with some teachers completely across the IT demands we were making of them while others were very open about their struggle.
Our plan was to embark upon a major action plan that would ensure that all sta were at the same high levels.
And then the pandemic hit.
As we all remember only too well, life was halted in its tracks and, as a teacher of 40 years, I experienced a rst I had never anticipated – the forced closure of schools across the country as we battled against the spread of a new disease.
We were forced to cancel our IT knowledge overhaul programme and instead teachers were catapulted into the novel situation of having to
learn how to continue with our pupils’ timetable for learning, but entirely remotely.
Fast forward two years, and all our sta are immeasurably more prepared for any IT challenges thrown their way – thanks, ironically, to the Covid-19 pandemic.
I wish I’d had a crystal ball at that moment. When the inevitability of the shutdown became clear, like many school heads, I lost a lot of sleep worrying about the transition to remote learning and how both the sta and pupils would adapt.
Because our IT department had already been looking at teaching and learning tools just prior to the rst lockdown, when it came I’m very proud to say they swung into action and in the Easter holidays 2020 a full framework for remote teaching was set up. e result has been transformational to school life. While face-to-face teaching is of course always the best way for a child to learn, we now have in place a system that will mean that any pupil who can’t for any reason come into school will be able to learn from home – whether that’s because they have Covid, are isolating, are ill or are su ering from anxiety.
I’ve joked to colleagues that this is the end of snow days for our school – surrounded as it is by the sledding delights of the South Downs – but the message behind this is hugely positive.
A report published in January by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel supported by the UK government, UNICEF and the World Bank, showed that school closures have caused lasting damage to children’s learning and wellbeing. It reported that learning losses are one of the biggest global threats to medium- and long-term recovery from the pandemic, adding
that the e ects of being away from school resonate throughout a child’s educational life.
A hybrid approach is the future. Educationally, that means learning in class whenever it’s possible but having a remote action plan in place for when it’s not. Administratively, it means better time management because teachers and support sta can use Microso Teams when they need to quickly work through a meeting rather than waiting until everyone can be in the same place. Sustainably, I think that’s the right way to go too.
Of course, our pupils – young, adaptable computer natives that they are – have embraced it, accepted it and used it brilliantly. I’m proud of them, and my sta who, cometh the hour, worked their socks o to make sure that our pupils’ education could continue.
Maybe I’ll still allow a bit of sledding on the Downs come the next snow day...
Robert Blewitt is Head of Lewes Old Grammar School in East Sussex
