New Forest Living Sep - Oct 2020

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How has covid changed education? What positives can we take from this pandemic? Teaching during these difficult times has created a blended learning approach, meaning a school has had to develop a multi-faceted approach to education. Andy Perryer, Digital Learning Adviser for Cognita, reflects on how teachers and pupils have embraced online learning during the pandemic in this piece for the Independent Schools Council. Last week, a teacher at Breaside Prep, one of the Cognita schools just outside London, showed me how her class had taken to using collaborative documents. It sounds ordinary but is anything but. It started with a blank screen. Then a sprout of an idea appeared, followed by one branch and another; images were added, giving life and colour to the initial thinking, and a stream of comment boxes popped over the screen. All within the space of a minute: an explosion of creativity. Online teaching under Covid-19 restrictions has been a hothouse for EdTech in the independent sector. Sometimes painful necessity has seen schools’ digital wizardry advance two+ years in mere weeks, as online tools once viewed as ‘nice to have’ additions become everyday necessities. So the future has arrived early, with lasting implications for what it means to be a teacher. But the story of the last few months is not a chronicle of the wonders of technology – rather the value of good teachers who are flexible, adaptable and committed. Evidence has shown that just giving children digital devices and software leads nowhere. The technology is an engine of education, but it’s the quality of the teacher’s guidance, motivation, feedback and interaction that are the allimportant wheels. Our schools in the UK were able to learn key lockdown lessons early on due to experiences shared by our sister schools in Asia, where the pandemic hit first. Chief among these was that well-being and a sense of security had to be the initial foundation. Pupils had to see their teachers and classmates, albeit virtually, and have time to re-establish feelings of being part of a community - before the impetus for learning was unlocked. There’s no doubt it’s been a trial by fire. Before Covid-19, teachers tended to fall into two camps: those who were comfortable with IT anyway, and those who couldn’t wait to turn off their laptop and get back into the classroom. Either way, the transition to online has prompted an incredible groundswell of teacher collaboration as peers share the challenges they’re feeling in this brave new world - along with ideas, support and handy hacks for overcoming them. Out went normal routines and mindsets as the realisation soon set in that an element of freewheeling agility is what’s needed. For example, as soon as we learned how to set up outward-facing webinars on Microsoft Teams in April, we had live online events up and running for parents from the following week on how to support children through lockdown. Before, this would have likely involved months of planning. We’ve been fortunate at Cognita in that the UK pandemic restrictions came towards the end of our national initiative to refresh how EdTech was being used, introducing mobile technology and wireless screen sharing as standard in the classroom. We were already encouraging teachers to be more mobile around classrooms, making their teaching practice more flexible and intuitive. They could take a snap of a student’s piece of work for instantaneous sharing and peer feedback, and teach from where they were needed rather than be tethered to the corner of the room where the tech used to sit. We showed them how digital tools could transform learning, not just substitute what is done without them. That’s what lockdown brought into sharp focus. As per the opening example of children using collaborative documents, we’ve seen how difficult times have opened eyes to how learning can be enhanced: the limits to collaboration and participation while working on paper in a classroom; the benefits of personalisation and student agency, when students get to choose how and when they study and who they learn with. Feedback has been transformed. Teachers have more options, from the simple text box, to a short piece of audio or a fully interactive video that encourages more depth and variety in responses; if a group of students are experiencing the same issue, they can provide group face-to-face feedback; and most importantly the feedback is on record, something that can be returned to rather than advice in a classroom that can’t always be remembered. The <strong>2020</strong> pandemic won’t be remembered as a blip for education but a step change, the opening up of the box to genuinely blended learning - the best of both online and face-to-face. And that will mean more flexibility and freedom for teaching professionals, no longer rooted in the classroom but able to move between the physical and virtual worlds, marshalling stores of resources and collaboration in ways that provide a more engaging, innovative education experience for our children. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) brings together seven associations and four affiliate associations to represent over 1,300 independent schools. These schools are amongst the best in the world, and educate more than half-a-million children. 6 | www.newforestlivingmag.co.uk
durlston court prep school adapts to lockdown life As with all schools, the summer term at Durlston Court Prep School was a very unusual one... In the early stages of lockdown, all Durlston children from age 2 – 13 years followed a focused home learning programme. For the past 2 years the school had already been providing Chromebooks to all pupils in years 5,6,7 and 8 and using Google Classrooms to support learning, therefore the school were in a strong position to extend this provision. Durlston received many thanks and were commended by parents; “the exciting and fun curriculum was far beyond my expectations, hard work from the teachers has really paid off with regard to the children maintaining an enthusiastic approach to their work”. Families at Durlston also enjoyed getting together ‘virtually’ with weekly Family events which included a virtual theatre trip, a bake-off, a camp out/in and even a weekly disco. Another family commented “we are so lucky to be a part of the Durlston Family, and we feel that now more than ever.” As the school planned for the return of children in June, they underwent a major operation of reviewing procedures and by the end of the summer term 95% of pupils had returned. Headmaster, Richard May commented “the ‘normal’ average class size of 15, certainly helped and we are fortunate that we have enough space to spread out further. We hope that we do not return to a situation of lockdown, but if we do, we are certainly in a position to continue our high quality teaching, keep our community together and to maintain our high standards of education.” The school has worked hard to plan for a full Autumn term return with specialist teachers able to teach across the school they can continue to provide an excellent all-round education including specialist art, music, STEM and sports. The school also recognises that ‘wrap around care’ is vital for many families and have made adjustments so that they can continue to offer a daily minibus service and ‘before school’ and ‘after school’ clubs and activities. Take a look at their virtual tour video at: www.durlstoncourt.co.uk/virtual-tour-video or contact the school to arrange a personalised visit. ADVERTISING FEATURE Embracing Ambition INDEPENDENT CO-EDUCATIONAL DAY AND BOARDING SCHOOL FOR PUPILS FROM 2 - 18 YEARS Where boys and girls fulfil their academic ambitions to achieve their personal best, develop belief in themselves and compassion for those around them To find out more or arrange a visit, please contact admissions@embley.org.uk or call 01794 527371 Embley Park, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 6ZE www.embley.org.uk www.newforestlivingmag.co.uk | 7
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New Forest Living Sep - Oct 2020

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