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Learning from an island in lockdown by Tracy Morgan In the beginning there was a school. A school in an island community working hard to provide the best outcomes for its pupils. Then Covid-19 struck. At first, seemingly something that was happening on the other side of the world, we saw it creeping towards us like an unknown eerie shadow, not knowing when it would arrive or the impact that it would have. With a population of around 146,000 and one relatively small general hospital, reliant on ferries for transport and tourism rich, there developed a sense of unease about how this virus would affect all our lives. How would this affect our island and school communities? Would it devastate us or would the strip of water that separates us from the mainland be our saviour? Suddenly schools were announced to be closing and educational leadership took on a whole new meaning. Suddenly outcomes, pupil progress and curriculum development took a back seat in favour of safety, health and mental well-being. Suddenly everything as we knew it changed.
our approach has been to support the well-being and mental health of our school community. Our aim has been for our children and their families to spend time talking, playing and engaging in learning activities that support our skills-based curriculum. Through this approach, our children have accessed core English and mathematics learning, but additionally a wealth of foundation subjects such as design & technology, music, art, PSHE and geography.
Within the initial stages of the school closure, there was the scramble to work out how, as a leadership team, we would provide care for the children of critical keyworkers without knowing who would be on this list. The list, when it arrived, encompassed so many and we had to manage the rush of parents trying get places for their children to remain in school. Once this was arranged, there was no time to breathe as we moved into looking at how we would also provide learning for our children who would remain at home.
We have not put pressure on families to complete tasks, but asked them do what is right for their family. We are conscious that during this time, many families have been faced with untold challenges that greatly differ from home to home. Our teachers have provided tasks that are not only web-based but also practical too - allowing all children to access learning. We have communicated with families via our teacher-parent messaging app and website, in which we have shared resources, hosted lived story sessions and recorded teachers demonstrating activities. More importantly, we have celebrated learning by showing photographs of children cooking, gardening, sewing, exercising, fundraising and supporting vulnerable neighbours. Teachers have been working hard to respond to emails and messages from parents and children, provide childcare and make phone calls to check in with pupils; not just the vulnerable groups but all of our families. All whilst working from home or supporting children in our keyworker provision. All whilst knowing that the virus has changed the lives of people within our school community.
With little guidance to go on, schools locally have taken vastly different approaches to providing home learning opportunities. From the start of lock down,
We have been overwhelmed with positive messages from our parents in appreciation of the support and approach we have taken. It has meant so much to our
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