Spring 1 2021 Teaching and Learning Newsletter

Teaching, Learning
and Research
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1. Online Learning CPD at the Brunts
Academy
2. Feedback is the breakfast of
champions
3. Online learning and the return to
face-to-face teaching
4. Book Review: How to teach English
5. Book Review into Action
6. Rosenshine’s Principles in Action
7. NQT Pathway
8. Change
9. Empathy Accentuated
10. Engaging Children with rewards
during lockdown
11. Remote teaching: Apps and Links
Teaching in a Post-Covid World
We’ve seen in the news about the impact that
prolonged school closures have had on
children’s progress, especially with our most
disadvantaged groups.
As schools prepare for reopening in March, it is
important to consider ways in which we can
reduce and perhaps bridge the gaps linked to
lost learning.
In this issue, we look at the successes and
challenges of online teaching and begin to
unpick lessons learned and how this may
influence our teaching when we return to
face-to-face teaching.

Online Learning CPD
The Brunts Academy
Over the course of January, staff from across the Brunts Academy have delivered
CPD sessions on new and innovative strategies for online teaching and learning.
Matt Hire re-introduced staff to Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction and how this
could inform online lessons, as well as outlining ways to establish online routines
and expectations. Matt’s session focussed on the importance of the following:
• Reviewing Material - which creates a helpful to start live lessons by
activating prior knowledge linked to the topic in hand.
• Questioning and Checking for Understanding – by using a range of
technologies to question. Hands up feature, direct questioning using audio,
forms and whiteboard apps that allow students’ responses to be seen.
• Sequencing concepts; modelling; scaffolding - through explaining new
content and concepts, making the steps small enough for students to follow.
• Stages of Practice – by guiding students in the initial stages of practice so
you can avoid misconceptions in learning early.
Tom McDermott hosted a session on ‘Learning
remotely – checking learning and giving feedback’,
using Microsoft Forms. Tom provided a detailed step
by step guide on how to develop a Microsoft Forms
Quiz and Teams Assessment, providing opportunities
for students to have quality feedback on their work
and to allow teachers to address misconceptions, gaps
in knowledge Emily Lister and delivered develop a skills. session on the use of collaborative learning
using break-out rooms on Teams. Emily highlighted the importance of
breakout rooms with helping to develop group discussions, peer
marking, creating group presentations and differentiated tasks.
Some suggested takeaways were:
• Warn the students that you will be monitoring all of their group
work, conversations and chat
• If students mics don’t work encourage use of the chat function
instead
• AVOID hang up button
• Allow for a bit of “handholding time” getting students to the right
group/files etc – start small and build up to bigger tasks with it.
Hally Lockwood shared the successes she has had with sharing documents on Teams. By using an exam
question/statement/discussion and a word document, the teacher adds the tasks to the top of the
document. Then they create a table and add each student’s name alphabetically to the table. Once this
document has been created, the teacher shares the document as an attachment in the chat during a live
lesson. The teacher then asks the students to click the three dots and press ‘edit in teams’. They click
the same as students and share the screen with them. Finally the teacher asks the students to type their
response in their box and highlight the task they have completed.

Feedback is the breakfast of
champions
The Brunts Academy
It was lovely to see so many staff sharing their experiences with online teaching on Twitter, as a
result of the Brunts CPD session.

Online Learning and the return
to face-to-face teaching
By Joe Morrin
Doug Lemov’s ‘Teaching in the Online Classroom’ is a fantastic book which provides a variety of
reassuring strategies to try with online learning, especially given the fact that teachers from across
the globe have had to rapidly adapt to online teaching as a result of the pandemic. Nothing in our
teacher training prepared us for this eventuality and as a result, many staff and students have had to
rapidly upskill themselves with digital literacy.
Doug’s book begins by highlighting the challenges faced by many students with the ‘new normal’. For
example, glitchy or no internet; having to share a mobile device or having no device at all; working in
a hallway as opposed to the classroom; multi-tasking and looking after siblings; screen fatigue and
isolation. This helps us to appreciate that these are challenging times for the students as well as for
teachers.
Doug breaks the book down into different sections which some of you may already use in your current
teaching practice. These are:
• Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning
• Dissolve the Screen
• Culture of Attention and Engagement
• Pause Points
• Accountability Loops and Checking for Understanding
• Procedures and Routines
• Classroom Tech
@Doug_Lemov
I had the privilege of participating with the #EduBookClub to discuss Doug Lemov’s ‘Teaching in the
Online Classroom. It was reassuring to hear different practitioners’ from across the UK, and beyond,
discussing ways their teaching had changed in response to Doug Lemov’s book and the opportunities
that had been presented by online teaching.
Here are a few things that have influenced my practice as a result of reflecting on the book and online
lesson delivery.
• Online Etiquette- as we would be explicit with classroom behaviour, the same rules apply to online
lessons and we still must reinforce these expectations
• Keep lessons simple and effective- it was found that traditional PowerPoint lessons were
overwhelming, especially with students who may have been late or have had connectivity issues
during the lesson. Through work with the Humanities department, we had designed digital
worksheets with the lesson material displayed, which works with both synchronous and
asynchronous lesson lessons. Here the students can see the learning journey and students are made
aware of the content being delivered, which can remedy some of the technical issues. This
approach has also supported the pacing and consolidation of new learning. These are submitted as
a snapshot on Teams or after the lesson through the Teams assignments tab.
• The structure of the lessons should have pause points which are early and often to allow students
to take time away from the screen, reduce their cognitive load and to consolidate each stage of
the learning.

Online Learning and the return
to face-to-face teaching
By Joe Morrin
• Balance of synchronous and asynchronous – with A level classes students prefer the content to be
recorded so they can control their own pace. During the timetabled lessons we review the
learning/key points in readiness for independent practice. This has been useful for students who
have been isolating and allows sufficient time to develop detailed responses.
• Engagement can be achieved through questioning and multiple short activities with plenty of
opportunities for consolidation. For some students, they like to have the lesson material before the
live lesson to allow for them to prepare and reduce anxieties, especially with the vulnerable
groups. Moreover, I have found that a balance of screen and non-screen activities help to increase
this level of engagement.
• Connection – for some students feeling isolated – the classroom can often be a sense of escapism.
Maintaining the normality and the usual idiosyncrasies linked to the classroom, like the countdown
and being upbeat, brings that personal approach. Probing for understanding, acknowledgement and
praise on and off the screen and using exemplary work goes a long way to recognise the students’
work and reinforced that connection.
A return to face to face teaching and future of education
Like me, every practitioner will have had different experiences with online learning and this may have
been informed by practice, evidence, or research. There will be successes and failures but what is
important is the ability to share these ideas openly and freely. Coming back into the school will be a big
change for staff and students and it’s important to collaboratively work with others to consolidate and
discuss the priorities for change.
As mentioned earlier, it is worth noting that many teachers were not trained in online learning before
lockdown and, throughout the lockdown, students and staff have upskilled themselves and this has
reduced future barriers, opening up opportunities for training and development to improve technical
fluency.
The blended learning approach of in-person lessons and distance learning will become a key focus for a
post-pandemic pedagogy. Blended learning will provide flexibility, accessibility and allow staff to track
and improve student engagement and make quick gains. This will be essential in helping to address lost
learning associated with persistent absenteeism. Moreover, there will be a shift from crucial to critical
knowledge to ensure maximum gains are made in the short space of time.
Assessment will take a different course as well and will be detached from the physical location of the
school and will instead rely upon pragmatism, for example, considering multiple pieces of work and
using this as a measure of student success, rather than their scores from a single exam. There have been
discussions about a shift to online assessments in the future and we need to upskill our teachers and
students for this eventuality. The online platform provides strong opportunities for self-marking quizzes
and multiple assessment evidence. For example, Seneca, Sam Learning and the use of Microsoft forms
and Teams assignments. This has the potential to provide greater accessibility and diagnostic feedback,
especially with the more vulnerable groups and help drive improvements in teaching and learning.
Finally, it is important to re-establish those connections with students and parents so they continue to
be seen and valued and bring about the change needed to support the return to face-to-face teaching.

Book Review: LEGACY How to Teach
English
By Charlie Duckett
@xris32
This year, the English department are focusing their PLD around the text ‘How to Teach English’ by Chris
Curtis. The book is split into ten chapters, each focusing on a different key element of the English
curriculum however, Curtis acknowledges that teachers rarely have time to sit and read so, with this in
mind, he has kept his explanations concise, provided a wealth of practical strategies that can be
implemented immediately and focused on the importance of collaboration and sharing to make a better
work-life balance. Throughout the text, Curtis focuses on the importance of engaging with students
intellectually (leave the gimmicks at the door!) and the need for teachers to reflect on “whether
commonly used practices are as effective as we think” – something that this text certainly makes you do!
On 1 st December, I ran a department meeting focusing on the ideas and strategies discussed in Chapter
1: How to Teach Poetry. Poetry has always been an element of literature that I have studied and taught
with some trepidation but reading this chapter has not only helped me to understand the power of poetry
but also ignited a passion for this form of literature that I thought would never be there! Reading this
chapter has completely shifted my perception of poetry and made me realise poems are simply “a feeling
bottled” and “an emotional journey” and it is this emotional and personal connection which needs to be
at the forefront of students’ exploration, not ‘spot the technique’! Within the meeting, we reflected on
our own experiences and opinions of poetry and how we currently teach this form of literature to our
students. I then highlighted my favourite elements from Chapter 1 and we discussed how we can
implement these approaches into our current curriculum planning and our upcoming teaching of poetry
at GCSE.
Even though this text is called ‘How to Teach English’, any teacher who has to teach writing would find
the chapters on essay writing, analysing texts and teaching accuracy worth a read. Curtis’ knowledge and
understanding of the ‘real’ life of a teacher shines through as well as his absolute passion and enthusiasm
for his subject.

Book Review into Action: How to
Teach English
By Charlie Duckett
Charlie’s work is a good example of the impact of evidence and research-informed practice. As a result
of reading Chris Curtis’ ‘How to Teach English’, Charlie Duckett led a CPD session based on Chapter 1
‘Poetry’ to disseminate the key findings from the book in order to improve poetry within the English
department and to review current provision at Key Stage 3.
Here are some of the highlights from the CPD session.

Rosenshine’s Principles in Action
By Helen Taylor
A number of teachers from across the Trust participated in Tom Sherrington’s webinar earlier this
half term, focussing on how Rosenshine’s principles continue to apply in an online learning
environment. Drawing students into the lesson at the beginning was pivotal to their engagement,
repeatedly using first names and praising students for their contributions. Sherrington reiterated
the need to check for understanding promoting a variety of strategies including cold-calling,
providing a reminder to increase the amount of wait or response time to allow students to process
the information and reply verbally or via the chat facility. Sherrington suggested using multiple
choice questions and whiteboards to increase whole-class responses. When planning the sequencing
of concepts, modelling and scaffolding it was considered good practice to use videos that could be
paused and replayed offering repetition and subsequently consolidation of understanding. Teachers
were encouraged to continue to provide exemplars and success criteria to support students,
identifying what the work might look like when it is completed. Sherrington discussed how
reviewing material order to commit knowledge to the long-term memory could still be achieved
successfully through the use of quizzing, summarising and mapping. Sherrington discussed the
means of participation as the key to its success showcasing the merits of google forms. A blended
semi-synchronous approach to the various stages of practice was considered to be most effective
with a model of live introductions, independent practice and live recap. It was heartening to
discover how proactive Brunts Academy have been in their endeavour to continue to provide
students with high quality learning experiences, effectively adapting their teaching practice since
the beginning of lockdown 1 to incorporate these principles into their virtual classrooms.
A recording of the session is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xrXfvWn6r0&feature=youtu.be
@teacherhead

NQT Pathway
By Helen Taylor
In the current climate it’s more pertinent than ever to control the controllables! In the latest CPD
session our NQTs and trainee teachers considered what’s the same and what is different about
teaching in a virtual world. They used whiteboardfi to record their initial thoughts…
Same
• Meet & Greet
• Bell Task/Starter
• Modelling e.g. example-pairs
• Scaffolding
• Opportunities for
practice/consolidation
• Questioning
• Use of KO
• Plenary
• End & Send
• Homework
Different
• Student engagement
• Behaviour
• Lack of materials at home for
students
• Means of participation
• Accuracy of assessment of
understanding
• Supporting struggling students
• Detail in planning/preparing
lessons
In true collaborative style they spent time supporting each other in identifying innovative solutions to
issues that had arisen in their lessons. Art & Design school direct trainee, Nicolle Watson, utilised her
expertise with youtube to create videos to model techniques that she could signpost students to both
in and out of lessons. On a similar theme, Science teacher, Dan Chesman considered how to best
support students with identified misconceptions through exploring the use of voice recordings within
powerpoint. Primary teacher, Jenna Clark identified children in Y3 with SEN needs struggling to
engage with learning at home, creative ideas included providing a structured timetable for each day
and celebrating the daily successes and achievements with reward stickers that could be issued by
parents. Georgia Archer, Drama teacher offered advice to fellow NQT Charlotte O’Sullivan, English
Teacher, on how to effectively encourage students to read aloud. Strategies included uploading
material as a PDF prior to the lesson to give students time to familiarise themselves with the content
as well as utilising quick paced games and competitions to increase verbal responses and aid
participation. I look forward to hearing the success of these strategies in due course.
@helentaylor0906

Change
By Mica Coleman Jones
The current pandemic has increased confusion, and elevated fear and anxiety for everyone. Inevitably,
this has brought additional challenges for people who ordinarily become unsettled with change. Research
and anecdotal evidence tells us that this is a common experience for autistic people.
For some people, adapting to change comes intuitively and without much emotional cost. For others,
change, however big or small, is another reminder of the unpredictable world that they live in. At The
Beech Academy, we know that sudden and unplanned change, for some of our pupils, can cause emotional
distress and prevent them from being able to engage with learning. However, we also recognise that
change is inevitable and part of natural life; the bus is late, the train is cancelled, we lose the people that
we love, we grow physically and emotionally. If change is inevitable, we cannot prevent it, but we can
prepare for how we respond to it. With this in mind, every effort has been taken to create a remote
education plan which is familiar and predictable, whilst making time to talk about the changes that are
happening around us and providing emotional support to all.
This is not to say that autistic people are resistant to all change. We know from experience that our pupils
are better able to tolerate planned changes when they have been explained and seem logical. During a
recent Science lesson, introducing puberty by exploring feelings towards change and transitions, a pupil
gave examples of changes they found distressing. They said, “I get really mad when I don’t know what the
change is about, but if someone tells me then that’s alright.” Another pupil, in agreement, added, “Change
is confusing. Lockdown has been hard.”
Survey research by Pavlopoulou et al (2020) showed that whilst lockdown may potentially have increased
pressure for some autistic young people, others have benefitted from less social pressure, lesser sensory
challenges, and more time spent on their own interests.
It is therefore not surprising that so many schools have reported challenges transitioning pupils back to
school, especially with the new set of requirements to maintain social distancing. However, there are also
some people who have found comfort in the tighter regulations which organise the school environment.
One pupil in Year 9 said they found the one way system in school helpful, and ‘bubbles’ meant fewer
pupils in shared spaces, resulting in quieter and more manageable break times.
A recent school survey indicated that some pupils felt less anxious at home, and better able to engage
with learning via online lessons. Why is this? What is it about their day-to-day experience of school that
incites greater feelings of uncertainty and anxiety? It is imperative that we seek to answer these questions,
to make the necessary modifications to our approach and the environment in order to secure the emotional
stability and educational progress of the pupils, during the course of the pandemic and beyond.
Nandy (2012) stated, ‘Without the understanding that some children have greater barriers to overcome
and that school is the one place where they can gain the skills, confidence and resilience they will need
to overcome them, we are certain to fail the children who most need help.’
In a recent twilight, exploring Attachment Theory, the staff at The Beech Academy learned about ‘The
Window of Tolerance’. When you are in your Window of Tolerance, you feel like you can deal with
whatever is happening in your life. You might feel stress or pressure, but it doesn’t bother you too much.
This is the ideal place to be, and is the optimal zone for engagement and learning. Ultimately, people do
not learn best when they are stressed or unmotivated.

Change
By Mica Coleman Jones
Increased stress and heightened anxiety, can lead to feelings of panic which may trigger a meltdown or
shutdown. Dr Luke Beardon (2017) describes a meltdown as a state where a person demonstrates
behaviours that appear to be out of context as a reaction to the situation, and may be harmful (to
oneself or others or the environment), and shutdown as a passive reaction. The latter appears to be less
problematic, but the reality is that a person who shuts down spends huge levels of energy trying to avoid
a meltdown and only defers the stress to a later point. This is often referred to as ‘The Coke Bottle
Effect’. At this point you might think about the pupil who appears to be coping fine in school, but
behaviours that are destructive and challenging are reported by people at home. Historically, schools
have wrongfully directed these parents and carers to behaviour management style workshops, instead
of actively embedding the anxiety reducing approaches that would prevent a pupil from this type of
burnout.
One approach that has been used to support pupils to recognise, and respond to, their emotional state,
is Zones of Regulation (or Zones for short). This has been introduced to our Nurture classes, Year 7 and
Year 8, and the feedback so far has been extremely positive.
The Zones of Regulation is an evidence-based practice and forms part of our holistic approach to
positively supporting behaviour in school. It provides staff with a framework to teach pupils the skills
needed for self-regulation and emotional control, leading to greater independence in managing own
emotions and behaviour.

Change
By Mica Coleman Jones
Self-regulation is something that we all continually work on, even when we are not aware of it. Take a
moment to think about the various things you do to regulate yourself when you are feeling tired, frustrated,
anxious, and so on. The ability to self-regulate comes naturally to some, but for others it is a skill that needs
to be taught. When we teach Zones at The Beech Academy, we acknowledge with pupils that it can be
contextually appropriate to feel negative emotions. We all experience trying circumstances each day, but
how we respond to those negative emotions is what matters.
As referenced in the Window of Tolerance diagram, each of the four Zones describes a different category
of emotions:
The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions. A person
may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, explosive behaviour, devastation, or terror when in the Red
Zone.
The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions; however,
one has more control when they are in the Yellow Zone. A person may be experiencing stress, frustration,
anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.
The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused,
content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone. This is the zone where optimal learning occurs.
The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness and down feelings such as when one feels sad,
tired, sick, or bored.
Pupils have each been supported to think about the things they can do for themselves, or with others’ help,
to return to a healthier place when they experience emotions that prevent them from being ‘ready to learn’.
These strategies are referred to as ‘tools’. We also acknowledge that what one person might need when
they are feeling sad may be different from what others would do, and that is what makes this approach
personal to every student.
Traffic light systems and behaviour charts are outdated and poorly evidenced approaches to changing
behaviour. Put ‘behaviour charts’ into Google, and your search results will be flooded with articles such as
‘Tear Down Your Behaviour Chart!’, ‘The Dark Side of Classroom Behaviour Management Charts’, and ‘Hey
Teachers, Please Stop Using Behaviour Charts’. Behaviour charts, and other ‘carrot and stick’ approaches
such as working towards cards, aim to incentivise a pupil to be compliant. However, research shows that
short term compliance does not teach children to identify and understand the emotions that are driving
their behaviour. As a system, it also fails to recognise the external factors which influence behaviour. It is
therefore unsurprising to see repeated behaviours, if the original conditions that allowed the behaviour to
occur in the first place were unjust and unresolved.
Instead of bribing pupils to complete undesirable tasks in exchange for some reward, I challenge teachers
to consider how the learning in itself can become the desirable activity. For instance, our hook lessons for
novel studies are great examples of ‘setting the stage for social-engagement’, which capture the interests
of our pupils and encourages them to become curious learners.
Recognising what can cause anxiety for autistic people and making appropriate adjustments can make a
huge difference to the individual, and is required by law. As professionals, we must endeavour to
understand the autism perspective, and not fall into the trap of making assumptions. For example, pupils
who are intellectually able and conversational are often assumed to be proficient in all areas of life,
including emotional regulation – but this may not be the case.

Novel Change Study at the Beech Academy
By Bev Cooper
By Mica Coleman Jones
Finally, as Beardon (2017) argues, ‘If we accept that it’s autism plus the environment that causes the
anxiety, and we acknowledge that one cannot stop a person being autistic, then logic dictates that if
we want that person’s anxiety to diminish, then we must change the environment.’ As Deborah Wright
describes in ‘Empathy Accentuated’, sudden change and new expectations can destabilise feelings of
safety and security. Changes are inevitable, and simple acts of consideration such as taking the time to
give clear instructions to what has changed, how it has changed, and any action that is required by the
pupil, can be enough to alleviate any anxiety that might otherwise be caused.

Empathy Accentuated
By Deborah Wright
Heart palpitations, sweaty palms, rasping breath: these are just some of the heightened physical emotions
that I have felt during this third lockdown. Mix the heady concoction with emotional responses such as
anger, despair, agitation, abject feelings of inadequacy and undiluted panic and you get some inkling as
to how I felt during most of January.
Now that I have taken my rollercoaster ride of emotions and had time to reflect on my turmoil of feelings
I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the most prevalent, acute and dominant emotion I felt was
ANGER! Yes I had almost debilitating panic attacks; yes I shed tears of sheer frustration and Yes I wanted
to take the less productive choice - caused by this excessive adrenaline - and run for the hills but, and
here’s the thing, my obstinate, bloody-mindedness and lifelong passion for teaching would not let me.
So, what was the cause of this overt anger? Quite simply the answer was - being pushed out of my comfort
zone - regarding my teaching Modus operandi after just shy of 30 years of teaching English in an actual
classroom full of living, breathing students and, instead, having to get my head round teaching Zoom
lessons online.
Psychology professors tell us that anger serves an important purpose. For me, the primary focus of my
anger i.e. what had caused this situation was now largely irrelevant; instead, the secondary focus -
concentrating on the consequences – was far more important. And I did. It was a swift and uphill struggle
but I now feel that I have reached the summit and conquered my largely irrational fears. I now, dare I
say, actually get immense pleasure from preparing lessons and teaching them online; despite missing
terribly actually having the students in the same room as me but, and I can’t emphasise this point enough,
I now have a renewed understanding and accentuated sense of empathy regarding my own students’
plethora of responses when they are faced with a task that they can’t or won’t do. Actually the
conjunctions ‘can’t’ and ‘won’t’ are very closely linked, in my experience, when it comes to students
accessing learning. ‘Can’t’ denotes a lack of skill whilst ‘won’t’ denotes a lack of will and yet, to me,
they are flipsides of the same coin since it much easier NOT to do something that you find difficult, or
nigh on impossible, whilst it is infinitely easier to stir up the will to do something that you are skilled at.
Thus, faced with a task that you find extremely difficult or impossible to commute, it is easier to actually
step back and ignore the task at hand and find distractions to take your mind off how this heinous task is
making you feel. Historically this is what has occurred in many classrooms up and down the land, and
indeed globally, and was even referenced in Shakespeare’s All the World’s a Stage in Jacque’s melancholy
monologue:
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face,
creeping like snail unwillingly to school.
You can’t imagine that Shakespeare is speaking autobiographically here since with his scholarly and
learned ways you can imagine him practically bouncing to school with much excited enthusiasm,
alacrity and aplomb. However, whilst at school, and indeed, as a private tutor as a young man,
Shakespeare must have gleaned that not many of his school boy friends or tutees shared his love for
learning and that many actively despised school. Moreover, many of them would have loathed the
whole process of learning and this would have been for a plethora of reasons but, largely, it would have
been because they found the experience of learning, in often draconian circumstances, really difficult
and, in some cases, downright impossible.

Empathy Accentuated
By Deborah Wright
However, even in these more enlightened times, when we are equipped with encyclopaedic knowledge
of SEN requirements and how to guide and steer students who struggle with new concepts and skills, it
is still sometimes easy to forget exactly how debilitating and frustrating this whole experience can be,
and why individuals oftentimes vent their frustrations and anger with tears, aggression and a complete
reluctance to engage with tasks.
To conclude, the whole experience of this third lockdown - and the prerequisite processes needed to
ensure that my online lessons both run smoothly and are user friendly for my students – have taught me
three invaluable lessons. Foremost, never lose sight of what our students must experience when they
are coping with a completely new area of learning which may trigger a myriad of negative emotions.
Secondly, continue to nurture, feed and develop your own empathy since it is a most invaluable tool
both in and outside the classroom and finally, despite the adage that features a new trick and an old
dog, it is NEVER too late to learn, use and appreciate a new skill.

Engaging children with rewards
during lockdown
By John Richardson
Teaching has changed.
Learning has changed.
School has changed.
Once busy classrooms are now deserted spaces bereft of the spark of pupils grappling with new and
exciting concepts. Lining up before school has become patiently waiting in a Zoom waiting room.
Breaktime is spent alone, rather than socialising on the playground. Sitting surrounded by friends at
lunchtime has been replaced by a meal at home. Crucially, the daily interaction between pupils and
staff is limited to short bursts of live, online learning divided by an electronic device.
So yes, teaching has changed.
However, here at Bramble we are doing everything we can to make the new normal as much like the
‘old’ normal as possible. This has not been easy, but every decision that is made in school has this as a
huge consideration. One such decision revolved around ‘Hot Chocolate Friday’.
‘Hot Chocolate Friday’ is a celebration that takes place every Friday during breaktime. Pupils are
nominated by their class teacher for showing our Core Values during that week. They meet with a
member of SLT to enjoy a hot chocolate and a biscuit and show off some of their work. In its current
format, this is unable to go ahead. An easy decision to wait until school is reopened to all pupils could
have been taken – but that wouldn’t have been the right decision. So we adapted.
We know how much it means to our pupils to be nominated for Hot Chocolate Friday so we had to find a
way to keep this going. We decided that pupils could still be nominated and this would be shared with
each class. But this didn’t feel like enough. We decided to send out a certificate to each nominated
pupil each week. But we still felt we could do more.
If pupils couldn’t be in school for their hot chocolate, we would have to take the hot chocolate to them.
Parcels are made up for each nominated child with everything they need for a hot chocolate
celebration. A recyclable cup, hot chocolate powder, some chocolate buttons, marshmallows, a
chocolate bar, their achievement badge and certificate of achievement. These are delivered to the
nominated pupils each Thursday.
An additional online meeting is created every week and the pupils are invited to join the SLT to show off
their work on a Friday – just as they did before lockdown.
I knew that this would require considerable additional effort for many school staff and would be asking
them to go above and beyond their job description, but I also knew that the children would appreciate it.
What I didn’t realise was just how much they would appreciate it.

Engaging children with rewards
during lockdown
By John Richardson
Any staff who have had the privilege of delivering the hot chocolate parcel have their own story to tell.
Pupils are thrilled and overjoyed when they find out they have been nominated. Reactions vary from a
smile that spreads from one ear to the other, running as fast as possible up and down the street, and
jumping up and down to an uncontrollable squealing that is still audible as the deliverer drives away. This
unbridled joy spreads into the online session on a Friday. Parents and pupils sit together with the child
enjoying their hot chocolate and showing pride in the work they have produced in the previous week. It
genuinely is the highlight of the week for me.
Home schooling can be very difficult and stressful for many families. There is considerable additional
effort required from staff in school to make ‘Virtual Hot Chocolate Friday’ happen, but the pride shown
by the nominated pupils and their parents makes that effort pale into insignificance.
In these strangest of times, keeping some normality (whatever that is these days) can have a huge impact
on those pupils learning remotely, their mental health and achievements.
Never undervalue the impact of a sprinkling of positivity – and chocolate.
Take some time this week to think about what you can do to make a positive difference to our children
and young people while we are working largely remotely.
A small gesture can make a huge difference to the right person at the right time.

Remote Teaching: Apps and Links
Credit to Mr Gordon
@MrAWGordon_

Remote Teaching: Apps and Links
Credit to Mr Gordon
@MrAWGordon_