Primary and secondary schools had little time to plan when the government announced that lockdown was to resume, schools were to close and remote learning once again, was to become the main way of delivering lessons.
Chris Hillidge, director of STEM at The Challenge Academy Trust, which runs schools and colleges in Warrington, said it was challenging: ‘The short notice of the school closure led to real problems in the distribution of hundreds of devices that we are loaning out. It also meant teachers had to quickly switch to online, which they have done admirably.
‘Luckily, we were ahead of the game because I’d already introduced Google classroom in 2019 across the school. The first lockdown accelerated our use of online resources and remote capabilities. Since September we have seen some amazing innovative practice from teachers of all subjects. Necessity is the mother of invention!’
Adrienne Tough, Head of Computing, E-Safety and Digital Learning, at the Bolder Academy, Isleworth, London said their teachers were prepared for the switch: ‘I don't think the reintroduction was a particular surprise to us. We have a strong set-up from previous experiences and lots of support from the Senior Learning Team, such as a day of department time to prepare resources and upskill; to hold meetings and set up laptop distribution etc. I think we were in a good position and the school community is trying to remain positive.’
Martyn Soulsby from the Leadership team at North Lakes Primary School, Penrith also echoed those sentiments: ‘We were well-placed to deliver remote learning with our Frog Learn platform which was highly successful during the first lockdown with 90% engagement from pupils. Parents were clear about our school offer during isolation and confident in how to use it.’
Keep it simple
For Adrienne, the key is simplicity, with few websites and therefore passwords: 'All of our content is delivered through Microsoft Teams and EdPuzzle, with just one login and one website they need to be familiar with.
‘If support is needed - there's one generic email ‘work@...’ for all pupils and parents to email if they need support. The home-learning page of our website is updated daily. This means key messages aren't lost among waves of previous content or instructions.’
As much care, if not more, goes into designing online content said Adrienne: ‘There's a need for a rigorous online academic curriculum. The delivery of live or pre-recorded video lessons has been supported through a carefully planned timetable, allowing staff the time to prepare and resource lessons, and time after the lesson to answer questions or queries.'
Challenges and the digital divide
The huge challenges faced by staff are mainly around the provision of the kit, connectivity, and the level of the digital skills of all concerned. Chris put it succinctly: ‘Lack of technology has, by far, been the biggest challenge. Our school is an area of considerable socio-economic deprivation and many students simply do not have a laptop or suitable device at home. Many students don’t have access to the internet outside school, and the libraries are all closed where many of them could previously access free wifi.
‘The staff and children were on a steep learning curve from March and very quickly gained the necessary skills to access basic provision for periods when they are not in school.
‘However, as teachers have become more proficient and provided better quality content, we have seen an increasing divide, especially with younger students, whose parents don’t have the necessary skills to support their children to access learning online.’
The matter of the digital divide is a source of considerable frustration for Martyn in Penrith too: ‘Tech at home is a real issue and it has been difficult to source due to government procurement which has caused huge delays to our existing orders, which were placed in the summer holidays.
‘We are having to ask charities for funding, put in bids which we know will come back refused - how are we meant to maintain infrastructure in school? We do, but one day it will grind to a halt without adequate central funding which isn’t ringfenced to specific providers.’
Broadband in rural areas is also an issue, Martyn said: ‘We are in Cumbria and broadband is variable - it is not possible to provide equality for all when all pupils don’t have the same connectivity or when there are three pupils sharing one device with mum and dad working from home too.’
The government announced its updated strategy to address these issues, including partnering with several mobile network operators to help schools support disadvantaged pupils. It also said those without laptops or space to study are now eligible to attend school. But this has had an inevitable knock-on effect, said Chris: ‘The less stringent definition of key workers has led to a huge increase in the number of students who are still attending school. This has put a massive strain on schools because it’s very challenging for teachers to provide effective remote learning and teach children who are also physically in the building.’
‘During this lockdown, we have rapidly distributed Chromebooks but are finding more families are without wifi access. We had a few DfE provided dongles, but these had a 30GB limit which doesn’t last long on interactive, video led or live lessons - probably around three or four days.’
