Tents Could Be Used to Support Return To School After Lockdown

Social distancing could be maintained with a concept already trialled successfully in Denmark

**Above: proposed pop-up classrooms including hand washing facilities (© Darc Studio)**

London-based architecture studio, Curl la Tourelle Head Architecture (CLTH) has released a new concept to help mitigate restricted circulation routes within schools and maintain the necessary social distancing among pupils and staff when schools reopen. This follows the latest announcement from the UK government on its plans to allow primary schools in England to reopen to select year groups from June.

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      string(5732) "As a trainee teacher, I often needed a bit of extra cash to pay for my rock climbing habit. Fortunately, I was training at the height of London Challenge so my schools’ pockets were rather deeper than they are at the moment. That meant I could opt to sacrifice a few days’ holiday and teach some lessons over the break in return for an extra payment. A few days of these payments easily funded a drive up to the Lake District and a pitch for my tent, with a few pounds left over for a pint or two of Wainwright Ale at the Old Dungeon Ghyll pub.How much things have changed in the nearly 15 years since then. The funding gates have snapped shut, London Challenge is a distant memory, and that’s before even mentioning the mass closures that have come with the covid pandemic.What doesn’t seem to have changed, is teacher’s willingness to go into schools over the summer holidays, and many schools are counting on this willingness as part of their strategy for helping pupils bounce back from the lockdown. Nearly two-thirds of teachers told TeacherTapp that they would be willing to work as part of summer schools in the upcoming break.It’s therefore no surprise that last week, the charity Teach First submitted evidence to the Education Select Committee advocating summer schools as a means of providing “intensive catch up”. Chief Executive Russell Hobby said:“Fully resourcing summer schools, particularly in the most disadvantaged communities, will be essential to getting the support to the children who need it most…. Summer schools are one way to provide the foundations to re-engage pupils with ongoing school life, re-establishing routines so that when schools fully resume young people can hit the ground running with learning.”However schools planning summer activities should not expect a quick fix. Whilst there is evidence to suggest that summer provision can yield 2-4 months of additional progress, some studies show limited academic impact and effectiveness seems to depend on how they are delivered. If summer schools are intended to help the most disadvantaged pupils, there can also be considerable difficulties ensuring the right students turn up. That’s why Stuart Lock, Chief Executive of Advantage Schools, a MAT in Bedford argues that:“This is not the first time summer provision has been on the agenda and money was thrown at this in the past. The problem was that as well as being expensive, firstly, the most needy did not turn up and secondly, it didn’t work for those that did. That’s why it was scrapped… Overall I therefore think it is a bad bet and I can’t see it working”Like Stuart, I certainly recall that when I used to return home from a class during the holidays, I was infinitely less tired than after a normal school day because the pupils who had sat in front of me were rarely the most challenging.So what should schools do if they want to try and help their pupils bounce back during summer 2020? Well, the Centre for Education and Youth has today published a new report to support school leaders who are grappling with exactly that question. As well as calling on the government to properly fund any national roll out, it makes three recommendations to schools.In the report we set out some of the ways this summer will differ from ‘normal’ summers and why this will require a different approach to usual when balancing academic and social-emotional content. Thus, today’s report builds on last months’ report “Supporting Vulnerable Young People through Covid-19”.We also argue that although any provision should be open to all, it is important to work with other services to reach out to the most vulnerable pupils, as Janice Allen, a Head Teacher in Rochdale explains:“An important consideration is making sure that any academic catch up doesn’t feel like a punishment by unfairly targeting more disadvantaged pupils. The message can’t be… ‘you are disadvantaged so we want you to give up your holidays and work on your English and Maths’ That’s why working with partners is so important, and why it has to be part of the universal offer. We can then use our knowledge of our pupils, alongside existing relationships to encourage pupils to participate.”Finally, we argue that pupils transitioning between phases of schooling risk being particularly disadvantaged by school closures. Though the government’s latest announcement on school reopening may mean some pupils are able to return to school before the summer holiday, this is unlikely to be the case for all of them and normal transition support will not be easy to implement. We therefore argue that schools should particularly prioritise provision for pupils transitioning out of the Early Years, into secondary schools and into Post-16 education.Thinking back to that summer 2007 as I cycled through the parks to teach my classes in North West London is like looking back at a very distant continent as it slips behind the horizon.Reflecting on the classes I taught, I’m pretty sure my students enjoyed them and I’d like to hope they learned valuable lessons. However there’s no doubt that I could have taught them more effectively if I had guidance on how to make the most of that bonus time. Hopefully today’s report will provide that and mean that any schools going above and beyond by teaching their pupils this summer can maximise the impact of their efforts.About The AuthorLoic Menzies (@LoicMnzs) is Chief Executive of The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY). He has worked in education research, evaluation"
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Blogs

Can Summer Schools Help Disadvantaged Pupils Bounce Back from Covid?

11 May 2020

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      string(5789) "Renaissance quiz improves skills and confidenceSponsored ArticleOnline learning has played a key role in education for many years. The majority of schools have used technology to deliver parts of the curriculum, raise standards and often to support children and young people who need extra help above and beyond that provided during school hours. This year is different. With Covid, online learning was no longer just an option, it became an essential part of how we teach our children.Lockdown gave education technology providers a chance to reflect on how they deliver content and whether it meets the needs of children and teachers when they are operating at a distance.  Renaissance has a wide base with over 6,500 schools and 1.6million pupils in the UK using its products. The company has been workingclosely with teachers during lockdown. They ran knowledge-sharing webinarswhere teachers compared notes on what was working well and conducted a surveyto gather a clearer picture of learning during lockdown.  Theorganisation conducted online research with primary and secondary school seniorleaders and subject leaders across the UK and Ireland between 5th – 23rd June. Renaissance asked almost six hundred (598) senior school leaders, department heads and teachers about their experience of teaching during this period of blended learning.  More than half (56%) were head teachers. Respondents were asked about the issues they expected to deal with when schools reopened, plus the teaching methods and types of resources that were showing the greatest impact on pupil progress.The researchhas revealed that consistent communications (31%) and supporting the mentalhealth and wellbeing of pupils (23%) are the biggest challenges to teachingduring the phased return.Come September it is likely to be that most children will attend school full time while others continue learning remotely. Teachers need to give thought to how they ensure that all learners get the same level of communication and feedback regardless of where they are.  Assessing student skillsMany children have been impacted by disruptions to their education and the effects on their home circumstances and may need help to return to the classroom and school routines. Some children who are classed as ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ may not be able to attend school while others may move to a blend of school attendance and home tuition.  Some schoolshave provided full time tuition during lockdown with excellent rates ofattendance but this has not been true across the board. Thegovernment has announced a Covid-19 catch up fund, and a number oforganisations have expressed concerns about learning inconsistencies duringlockdown. Some children have struggled to access technology during schoolclosures and others have found it hard to focus on school work while at home.Accordingto Renaissance’s research, when it comes to successful learning, over a thirdof teachers and school leaders (34%) believe that the input from parents hasthe biggest impact. This is followed by a quarter (25%) who say feedback fromteachers, and 16% who believe the ability to set tailored work, makes thelargest difference to learning achievement during lockdown.Increased confidence in using thetechnology Whileschool closures have caused many problems, teachers have used the time toimprove their skills. The Renaissance research shows that nearly two-thirds(65%) of teachers and senior leaders say they are more confident using edtechcompared to pre-Coronavirus.  MargaretAllen, Curriculum and Education Specialist at Renaissance, said: ‘We have beenso impressed by how quickly pupils, teachers, and schools have adapted to theseexceptional times. No technology can replace the role of a teacher in aclassroom but it can help teachers to enhance the educational experience fortheir pupils, and effectively and consistently track their progress.’ This isgood news as three-quarters of those surveyed (75%) believe online remote orblended learning will play a continued role in education after lockdown ends.How schools deliver online learning will therefore continue to be a keyconsideration. Renaissance’sresearch showed that during remote learning the online tool that teachers citedas the most effective was quiz-style formats with instant feedback (24%). Thecompany is well known for developing products rooted in research and with astrong evidence base from education professionals, psychometricians and datascientists. They also offer first rate support and professional developmentwhich increase teacher confidence. Flagshipproducts such as Accelerated Reader and Star Reading help teachers to track,monitor and improve their students’ reading both at home and in school. Many teachers will want to assess student progress at the beginning of the academic year when schools return and Renaissance’s formative assessment solutions provide teachers with invaluable data to track pupil development and guide future learning. Similarly, Focus Skills™ for literacy and maths are being made freely available to schools to provide a roadmap for closing learning gaps and can be used to support individual, group or class instruction.‘Ourtools are designed to help teachers stay on top of their pupils’ performance,and encourage their love of learning, wherever they’re doing it,’ said MargaretAllen. ‘Education technology can transform pupils’ outcomes now more than ever,and we’re committed to supporting schools to make the process as easy"
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Applications and Software

Teachers Prepare To Address Learning Loss As Schools Return This September

12 Aug 2020

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      string(5239) "The pre-recorded lessons were posted with resources on both Satchel One and Google Classroom Podcast. Some staff were reluctant to at first but this has become a key feature of the school’s provision. Now the school is in the enviable position of having a bank of lessons that can be used both in school and remotely for the years to come. The school conducted over 100 online lessons per week for all year groups. This included large Google live stream events for whole year groups, smaller class size Google Meets for individual classes and small group seminars for Sixth Form classes. Some of the live streams were very popular with most having over 200 students participating.Next time round The senior leadership team has planned for four different levels of lockdown.:Level one: at the time of writing, some  15 to 20 young people per year group are at home with symptoms or have siblings suspected of having Covid or members of the family who are shielding. Pupils are added to and removed from this virtual classroom area on a daily basis as and when they report potential symptoms or return to schoolLevel two: if a whole class or year group is out,  teachers would be working face to face with those classes in school and then switching to online learning for the classes working from home.  Satchel One lets them set up individual classrooms for each year group and staff representatives are tasked with uploading work.  Level three: if there is a partial lockdown, or perhaps a rota system with year 7 in on a Monday and Thursday and year 10 on a Wednesday and Friday etc.   The timetable would continue but at a distance using GoogleMeet for lessons and Satchel One for tasks .  Teachers may find themselves teaching  classes face to face for part of the day and other classes via Google Meet or Google Live with tasks set for each subject on Satchel One so everyone has a record of what pupils should be working on. Level four: full lockdown then staff would focus on online learning using the techniques and technology from last lockdown but extending a refining  these approaches Lessons learnt The summer term provided a steep learning curve but staff learned what worked and what needed improvement.  ‘Differentiation was not fully realised last time round,’ said Kavanagh. ‘We had lots of Google Meets and Live Lessons but we often taught the same thing to everyone in the class. Next time round we will split classes and teach the same topic but at different levels, such as foundation, medium and high.’There will be more emphasis on assessment too, using Google Classroom toset up templates. Last time round it was experimental with a few departments usingquizzes for low stakes testing. It will be far more extensive this year and inanother lockdown they will be making more use of Google Classroom and lookingat ways to develop short written responses and to upload extended writing tasks.Howe and Kavanagh have come to appreciate the full extent of the Satchel One offering through lockdown and the return to school. The Seating app helps track pupil contact and clear  seating plans mean that if a child is off sick the school will know exactly which pupils have been sitting in proximity. If children are sent home, the Content app provides access to Collins’ online textbooks for English, maths and science so staff can be sure that all children will have access to the same materials.Staff have also come to appreciate some of the other features. A teacher can set a batch of homework tasks on a topic and schedule them so they appear on set dates for pupils.  They can also access tasks set by other teachers around the country and select or adapt them and this has proved to be a great timesaver.Hints and tips It’s     important not to rush into integrating new tech. Try to see what’s best     for your pupils and staff before investing time and money. Build on what     staff, pupils and parents are comfortable with. Texting is a good start     with the messenger feedback app plus mass emailings to get information out     to parents Make sure     there is a named point of contact that everyone in the school can go to     for support.  Try to let     staff use one tool and get comfortable with it, before introducing another     tool that enhances it. For example, at the start of distance     learning, we just used Satchel One to set home learning tasks, then they started     using Google Classroom, then Screencastify, and then, finally, live     lessonsEstablish an online central support area for     staff with help sheets and videos to remind them  what to do and to share best practice     from other departments  Most people     have access to a camera so think about photographing work. That way you     can set work in art and practical subjects      Many phones have a notes     app or similar that acts like a scanner so pupils can handwrite their     work, photograph it and send it to a teacher and it will be high enough     resolution for marking"
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Blended Learning

Lockdown Lessons: North West. School Achieves 90% Pupil Engagement

2 Oct 2020

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      string(206) "Jane Burton of Trafalgar Infants School in Twickenham relates how the choice of a set of digital tools allowed her to build a strategy of digital creativity for the school’s young pupils"
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      string(5733) "return to school next term.Our pupils begin using their USO login to access resources and information both at school and at home from the start of their Reception year and this was a real plus for us at the start of lockdown as it meant we already had an established platform for them to access safely and has enabled us to build on our home learning offer as we have evolved based on the changing needs of our familiesBenefitsCross-curricular learning has always been at the heart of our educational strategy with its opportunities to ‘join up learning’ so that children can apply skills across different areas. This is particularly important at early years and infant levels: for very young pupils, it’s essential that learning makes sense in order to develop their understanding.We focus lessons around a specific topic or theme to give learning this overarching narrative. Children work towards a large, ongoing project which they love as it gives their school days purpose and direction.Adding technology to this approach makes it even easier to support, embed and enhance the children’s learning. j2e is aligned to the National Curriculum and designed to cross subject areas, meaning our teaching is always aligned to fulfil government requirements as well as supporting lifelong learning – cross-curricular learning helps pupils view education as more than just syllabus content.Children find the resource intuitive and easy to use, allowing them to take ownership of their learning and feel proud of the work they create. j2e5’s variation of text, graphics, sounds, videos and animation provides pupils with SEND a learning experience that is practical, differentiated and adapted to their individual needs.It’s our duty as educators to find ways for children to use screen-time productively. Activities such as animation and coding fit the bill perfectly. Equipping children with digital creativity must become a top priority for schools; the World Economic Forum last year estimated that 50% of companies expect AI (Artificial Intelligence) to reduce their workforce in the next three years, and listed problem solving, critical thinking and creativity as the top three skills that children need to be taught for future success.Indeed, the future workforce requires both programmers and creative content developers which is why an education that combines technology and imagination is so important.Edtech develops more than just digital skills – it helps young people succeed in all areas of life. Creating an animation takes time, patience and attention to detail. It is a huge undertaking to develop a smooth and seamless animation; the animator needs to work slowly and methodically, without skipping a single step in the process. Since pupils may have to go back and start again it builds resilience and a growth mindset – they discover if you want to create something great, failure is a necessary part of the learning process!Films and animationsCreative endeavours such as producing their own short films mean children can express themselves and feel proud of their achievements, increasing their confidence. Wellbeing and mindfulness is a big focus at Trafalgar – we believe that early emphasis on positive mental health creates a strong foundation for the future, which will help our pupils overcome the future challenges life throws at them.“Teachers love seeing the children so enthused about their learning and taking the lead on their own projects. j2e also reduces administrative tasks for educators – it’s easy to set and mark work as it is all stored on the cloud-based j2launch platform. The support staff for pupils with SEND find it invaluable – they know all the information and supporting material they need is stored on the cloud system, rather than on numerous files and pieces of paper around school and home.Parents are reassured as they know their children are learning in a secure, safe online environment. The USO (Unified Sign-On) to log in is the same as for the e-school, so it has been easy to integrate into existing teaching and home learning practices. The fact that photos can be uploaded straight onto the j2e Launch means parents remain informed about what children are learning at school and can easily view examples of their work.The tools were also instrumental in helping pupils create the animations for our two Promethean Grant winning . The Grant aims to give UK schools the opportunity to win edtech equipment through creating videos showing Promethean how teachers and pupils can benefit from one of their products. In 2017,Our pupils created a short film about how our music curriculum could be improved by a Promethean ActivPanel – an interactive display for the front of the classroom. In 2018 we decided to enter again, this year creating a short film which highlighted the frustrations of the old interactive whiteboard and projected a vision of how an ideal board would look in the future.The children were responsible for acting, filming and editing the movie, which was based on an animation created by a Year 1 pupil using j2e with flashing stars and a rocket zooming through space to the moon. This was transferred into a backdrop for the green screen and used in a scene where pupils in space used a new style interactive panel. We were overjoyed to win a second ActivPanel which is used in the ICT suite – apps can now be used in front of the class and children’s work on their iPads is mirrored on the interactive board.”Jane Burton, the school’s IT, Computing and Online safety lead and IT"
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Digital Learning

Very Young Children Can Be Creative Digital Learners!

29 May 2020