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SCHOOLS
NEWS ROUND UP
Tylers Green Middle School
The term 'unprecedented times' is one that has
become a common phrase for all of us and the
past months have both posed challenge and
opportunity. As for the Middle School, I would
like to think that we have used our Compass For
Life to guide us through this period and we shall
continue to draw upon this approach to support
us on our journey.
Our staff have described the TGMS team as
being like one family and just like each of you,
they too have experienced the worries, isolation
and loneliness that family members have felt
over the past 2 months. Just like a family, staff
have been there to both support each other and
importantly our efforts as keyworkers.
Each and everyone of our children are
precious individuals, thought about by their
teachers at TGMS and we miss seeing them,
teaching them and talking to them. At the outset,
we truly believed we would be back at school
within a few weeks, but it soon became apparent
that our approach to learning required adapting.
Initially trialling with one Year group, we knew
we had a secure digital education platform to
deliver an effective programme of learning.
What we have developed, over a very short
timescale, is the use of google classroom across
the entire school, to support each of our 256
www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk
Village Voice June/July 2020
pupils with Distance Learning. For children
aged 7-11, we know that they quickly adapt to
new technology and importantly are able to
learn independently. What we had to ensure was
that the platform was safe for pupils and staff,
and gave parents and leadership confidence that
our pupils could work safely online.
What is google classroom?
Google Classroom makes teaching more
productive and meaningful by streamlining
assignments, boosting collaboration, and
fostering communication. Educators can create
classes, distribute assignments, send feedback,
and see everything in one place. Classroom also
seamlessly integrates with other Google tools
like Google Docs and Drive.
The importance of technology, provided
through google and Microsoft, has been
recognised by the Department for Education
and so the DfE have recently announced
additional funding to assist schools in moving to
a remote learning solution during the Covid-19
lockdown. Unfortunately, (or fortunately
depending on how you look at this), TGMS was
ahead of the curve, and so we do not qualify for
any grants.
Our teachers shall continue to develop the
content and ways in which we utilise this
platform to support our pupils whilst they learn
at home. What we all know is that this does not
compensate for having a qualified teacher and
whilst Distance Learning is here for some time,
plans for our 'Recovery Curriculum' are needed
to address the many missed months of learning
by our pupils.
It is an exciting time in June as we are
expecting to welcome back more children,
beginning with our Year 6 pupils. A great deal of
work has gone into ensuring that this is done
safely and we are transforming the school into
one of social distancing with an internal one
way system to facilitate this. With classrooms
having just 8 desks, TGMS does look rather
different. There will not be a sports day, end of
year production or Leavers Assembly. We
believe that the experiences offered to the pupils
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