Lots of aspects of reading have changed, though some enduring aspects have stayed the same. When teachers better understand those differences, they are in pole position to help their pupils become confident readers in our digital age. In every era of reading, new innovations change not just reading, but our very society. With the advent of mobile technology and the Internet, we are quickly chasing the story of reading through dizzyingly fast turns. 

A natural response to such drastic changes in how we live our lives is one of fear. It is a noble tradition. The great philosopher Socrates greatly feared how books would be a detriment to the power of both memory and speech. Today, respected professor of education, Professor Maryanne Woolf, has written sensitively about worries that attend our new digital reading habits:

 “What concerns me as a scientist is whether expert readers like us, after multiple hours (and years) of daily screen reading, are subtly changing the allocation of attention to key processes when reading longer, more complex texts.” 

We should ask: are our current worries about the act of reading being replaced by a diluted diet of speedy scrolling warranted? 

The limits of digital reading?

The most recent available evidence would indicate that reading from paper books would offer more learning benefits to pupils than its digital counterparts (though this is only really evident under timed conditions and when reading fiction texts). There is also some evidence that there is less interaction with shared reading with parents and caregivers when reading on an e-book compared to paper books. 

Perhaps then our pupils better associate paper-based reading with learning, whereas tablets can prompt a playfulness in their mind? It could be that scrolling, switching and multitasking on our devices, inhibits our attention, to echo Woolf’s concerns? Crucially, however, this evidence on the limits of reading on technological devices doesn’t mean they’ll disappear from view any time soon. Our pupils will continue to mediate most of their reading on their devices. 

So, should we chuck out the laptops? No! We cannot turn back the clock – so better training pupils in how to read better in a digital space is our best bet. We can start by ensuring digital reading maximises learning. These question prompts can help us:

• Are our pupils sustaining their attention when they read? How do we know?

• How effortful is our pupils’ reading on technological devices? Are they skimming and skipping – and actually only reading at a surface level?

• How do we ensure our pupils are active, strategic readers, regardless of the mode of what they read?

Confident reading during a digital revolution

If you consider the impact of the Coronovirus shutdown, it makes it obvious how vital training our pupils to navigate digital reading with skill and confidence is essential. Indeed, focusing on the platform and the device can be a distraction. Whether it is a phone or a laptop, or an e-reader, pupils need explicit training and supporting to undertake digital reading successfully. 

For example, websites offer a tremendous wealth of rich knowledge, but, crucially, we need to help them skilfully mediate it on a laptop or phone. In his recent researched Home talk, Professor Dan Willingham shared how we can help pupils think critically about internet sources. 

There are likely going to be benefits gained by the boom in audiobook sales and podcast downloads for adults, but we need to help our pupils navigate these different media and sources of knowledge too. Currently, countless thousands of pupils are learning online. We shouldn’t assume they’ll scroll, click and comprehend well all at the same time. 

Like most learning, pupils need lots of explicit guidance. Just because they can navigate TikTok, it doesn’t mean that they can read complex online texts effectively. We should consider teaching them reaching strategies, such as skimming and scanning, as well as getting them to record key vocabulary as they read, and summarise their understanding as they go – such as using the Cornell Note-taking System. 

The Education Endowment Foundation has just released a rapid review on remote learning. The evidence suggests that “peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes”. My youngest boy currently talks to his best friend online as they both read David Walliams latest book. It is motivating him and using technology to connect up readers can motivate and drive learning.

We should consider the following then for our pupils: 

• How do we help our pupils to discuss their reading and share what they have read? 

• How can we help them question, clarify, predict and summarise their digital reading?

• What tech can we exploit to share our reading, write about reading and connect up teachers with their pupils and their peers? 

Alex Quigley is the author of ‘Closing the Reading Gap’, available on the Routledge website: bit.ly/2wRRD3T. You can find him on Twitter as @huntingenglish and at his website: www.theconfidentteacher.com. 

The list seems endless: the free school meal vouchers fiasco, COVID-19 safety precautions, members of staff becoming ill and unable to attend work, rotas, rotas, rotas, trying to keep track of the latest updates and ensuring our children / families are safe and finally… ONLINE LEARNING! Plus the unfamiliar nature of recording clips of ourselves setting tasks, and responding to parent queries all hours of the day. 

We are used to going a hundred miles an hour in the workplace, instead we have ground to a sudden halt and most of us are stuck on the laptop, day in day out and my god I miss my classroom so very much! I miss interacting with the children, seeing them complete their learning, helping edit and improve their writing and celebrating when they have persevered in Maths – eventually achieving the correct answer. Actual teaching. 

I have been aware of some schools that have gone down the route of judging the content of the lessons that are being sent home to parents. This is causing direct anxiety to their teachers. What I would like to say to those leadership teams who have allowed this to happen: We are in the middle of a global pandemic with some members of staff experiencing family members that are ill or have sadly passed away, and you are analysing the standard of online learning? Teachers are normally very efficient in triple checking what they have sent out, and I can completely understand a quick once over, to check for typos – but judging the content? This shouldn’t be allowed to happen, and it makes me really quite cross that it has. 

Anyway, moving on…

Our roles at the moment have completely altered and we are providing support to parents who are struggling to encourage their children to learn. We are also ensuring that those key workers who are working all hours of the day and night are safe, well and that they are coping with the new norm and added pressures.

I have been so proud of the children’s efforts and how well many of the parents have responded to this temporary measure of learning from home. It is not an easy task. Especially when one or both parents are working from home. I think it is safe to say lots of us are all having a little tipple in the evening, just to keep ourselves remotely sane. To those who did a dry April, hats off to you! I’ve been going on many long walks to ensure I get that much needed headspace, and because I know I am a deep-thinker, it helps to clear my mind. I know many others have been coping in different ways – baking banana bread, tidying bookshelves, daily fitness regimes, rigid timetables, Tik Tok videos and countless Zoom quizzes.

What I have found tricky with ‘slowing’ down and everything changing all at once is that we didn’t get the time to adjust our thinking. The government instructed that we close the schools and so preparation began. There was speculation about the schools closing, but until it actually happened, I was carrying on as normal. I watched that news conference with my headteacher and we both just stared at each other as if to say “Wow, it is actually happening” with which my head said “Right, we’d better get to work then!” No-one has had time to fully switch off as we have all worked through the Easter holidays and I would say this online learning is very much more intense than classroom learning – I think we can all agree there. 

What I have loved is that educators have been so supportive towards one another, during this tough time, and really are checking to see if everyone is as okay as they say they are. We need as much compassion as humanely possible at the moment, because I think in our own ways, we are all struggling. 

Stay upbeat and keep smiling – this won’t last forever! 

Juggling home working and trying to support children’s learning means there is a fine line between coping and feeling overwhelmed. Anxiety can come along in waves when you are least expecting it.

Every child, depending on their age, will also be trying to cope with their new reality with no timelines or certainty on the horizon. Some will be able to verbalise this, while others may become angry, irritable or withdrawn. They will certainly pick up on your concerns and behaviours. 

Why do we feel anxious? 

This may be due to:

• Changes in your routines
• Lack of control over choices
• Fear about the wellbeing of others
• Uncertainty about the future (and the present!)

At the moment we have all of these things going on. 

One way of thinking about this is seeing ourselves as a ‘bucket’ with a finite capacity for coping. Varying elements in our lives fill up the bucket, and it can fill at different rates.

If our bucket becomes too full and overflows, we then feel overwhelmed. 

In normal circumstances we would find ways of coping by reducing the level in the bucket which could be achieved, for example, by taking exercise, meeting friends, or talking to others. At the moment there is a lot flowing in but less choice of how we empty the bucket! By understanding your own anxieties, you can help your children as well as yourself.

What helps if you feel anxious?

• F = Focus on what’s in your control 

                  You can’t control everything, but you can control what is going on in your home and with your children.

• A = Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings

                  Allow yourself to recognise when you feel anxious.

• C = Come back into your body

                  Stand up or press feet to the floor; or place your hands on a chair.

                  Take some slow and deep breaths.

• E = Engage in what you’re doing

                  Be present. Look at what is in front of you such as your hands?

By being more relaxed with your children, and your children sensing this, they will also be less anxious too.

Tops tips:

• Be kind to yourself – For most of us we are learning a new ‘normal’. We are trying to work and be at home all at the same time in really strange circumstances.
• Start by mapping out the day – Be realistic in what you can achieve and start by being kind to yourself.  You may need to plan your work and your children’s time. Unless you are a teacher – you are not a teacher! 
• Try not to over-organise your day but have some structure – If you don’t achieve everything you will just feel you have failed. Let your children put the plan together. 
• Take the opportunities for informal learning with your children while watching a film, making a meal, gardening, doing chores.
• Build in achievable rewards – These can be a mix of small ones (more easily achievable) and bigger ones that can be gained.Let your children help with chores every day (this also provides structure) and provide them with a menu of activities, so they can decide how many rewards they get when they engage in this.
• Avoid talking about Covid19, watching the news and checking on your phone in front of your children all the time. Don’t start catastrophising as this can easily spiral your feelings out of control. Focus on what you can control.
• Connect with family and friends – Can you arrange a virtual play date?
• Try to reduce arguments by holding regular family meetings especially if you have teens in the house. Create times and ways to discuss worries with your children. Sometimes it can be easier talking about worries when you are not directly doing so.
• Set time each day to do fun stuff together. 
• Create regular times for exercise – It will help with sleep and mood too.

As an aside, call me a cynic but I am old enough to remember the push for all children to have access to a ‘learning platform’ and email. This was something that was a requirement for all schools around 2010. It strikes me that had this not been quietly disposed of because schools hated the idea, we would have been in a far better place to deal with school closures. We would have already had a ready-made solution, but I digress. Some ‘light’ reading here: https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1485/1/becta_2010_useoflearningplatforms_report.pdf.

At my school, as soon as closure looked likely at some point, we started to put our contingency plans into action. We had all of the elements in place, we were already a big user of social media and we had dipped our toe into the waters of Google Drive as staff. 

Our home learning plans were rolled out in a number of stages.

Stage one – Those children who were self-isolating before the school closures: We launched a Google document with links to online activities that we had access to. TT Rockstars, purple mash, BBC Bitesize etc. This was available to all children who were not able to be at school for that time. We had always planned to release some of the stage two materials for these children, but the fateful news came via the daily BorisCast and that, as they say, was that.

Stage two – Prior to closure, all children were given log in reminders for the services we use in school (PurpleMash/TTrockstars/Numbots). We gave them the access details for our Google Drive accounts that the children use in school on our chromebooks. They were also given a poly pocket containing three reading books, some grammar revision booklets we use in school, and some paper worksheet activities. We recognised that some parents do not have access to computers, or struggle to do so. We continue to offer a printing service for those families who need paper copies.

Stage three – Prior to closure, teachers populated a shared Drive on our school Google system. They added links and activities for their year group and classes focussing on English, Maths and other topics. This is updated regularly and new items are added via a weekly update letter from the teachers. On PurpleMash the teachers set a number of 2Dos activities. This slightly scattergun approach was deliberate to give those who wanted more plenty to do, but also to cater to others who wanted less of a range of activities to choose from.

Stage four – Lockdown:  

We released the Shared drive to parents via Facebook and our parents email system. Facebook has become our main form of communication with parents as it allows us to be agile and share resources quickly. We are able to signpost parents to resources such as Joe Wicks, BBC Bitesize and our Patron of reading. More than this, it has become a focus for the school community with teachers sharing stories each night, sing-along Sundays and the odd live session. We made the decision that we would not live stream lessons, but host live sessions where children of all ages and parents could join in with maths games, crafts and some kitchen science. 

It is far from perfect, but it is the best we have for now.  We are continuing to draw together the best resources out there. Some children will soak it up and relish the challenge of home learning, others not so much. At the end of the day, pupils are resilient.  They will bounce back. Our priority is and will always be their health and safety first above everything. If we can provide a hub that supports the families and the children then that is what we do. 

Parental engagement at this time is crucial in being able to support those parents who now need access to FSM vouchers, who need signposting to other services and also being there to support the most vulnerable children, through phone calls to home and dropping off emergency food parcels to those who most need it.

Whatever happens from now on, the online learning genie is out of the bottle. Prepare for endless online learning platforms springing up and fighting for the ££. I do not have an issue with this as long as it is for the benefit of the pupils and not just a money-making vehicle, which is why in my opinion it failed the first time round. It has to work well and be accessible for parents. 

We have now written a policy for future school closure scenarios. We will mothball our home learning drives once this is all over ready to be reactivated should the need arise.

As they say: “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail!” There is no reason for schools to be found wanting in the future.

Stay safe and Ciaobelissima! Have a cappachoochoo on me! (#trainguy reference)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a useful way of planning our re-opening.

Physiological needs 

When we re-open, we need to make sure that young people are warm, clothed and fed. We know that some children will not have had these basic needs met during lock-down.

Safety 

Covid has made us all, rightly, feel unsafe. After weeks of social distancing, how are we going to ask young people to sit in desks 50cm away from each other? How will we manage the dinner queues? The playground? The corridors? If we don’t address these issues we will create cognitive dissonance, disobedience and stress.

Stress is our response to a threat so we need to make schools covid safe by observing distance and hyper-cleanliness. If we don’t, the psychological research shows we will only deepen stress and trauma and increase mental distress all of which prevent learning as our brains are in flight, flight or freeze. Furthermore, we need to make schools emotionally safe. Some children and staff will be bereaved. Some will have been abused. Some will have gone hungry. Some will have seen domestic violence. Kubler-Ross’s model of anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, denial will be part of the emotional temperature for most in the school. 

Gabor Mate’s work on childhood stress shows clearly that young people pick stress up from their parents and their environment and that this not only causes them mental stress, but changes their brain structure and function permanently. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study conclusively shows that the more adverse experiences experienced in childhood the poorer the outcomes for adult life are.

Belonging

Maslow said we all need belonging and this is supported by attachment theory, Human Givens research and Vygotsky. We learn and heal from trauma and stress socially, with people we feel safe with.

When my children return to school, when I return to work, the first thing we will all want to do is connect with each other. To tell our stories, to share our losses, to seek support, to see who we are now. We need to create spaces in schools to tell these stories and to validate them. Some schools have a counsellor, but this has to be a cultural shift for everyone. Smaller classes, fewer teachers per child in secondary school, a mixture of contact and online learning might be some ways we could ease students back safely and rebuild their sense of connectedness whilst supporting their emotional needs.

Self-esteem

Viktor Frankl wrote that humans need to make meaning of their experiences, so the curriculum has to make space for this. Bessel Van Der Kolk’s work with trauma clearly shows the benefit of movement, voice and bodywork as a way to process suffering.  The long, side-lined creative subjects are historically how humans have made sense of their worlds, from cave paintings to hymns, from dance to pottery and poetry. We need to give students time to create and recreate their experiences to rebuild their self-esteem.

Self-actualisation

Carl Rogers argued that in order to self-actualise we need empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. Students have for so long been funnelled into exams and schools know how this adversely affected mental health.  

Now is our time to ask questions about values and meaning; to redesign the curriculum around what really matters when faced with life, illness, poverty and death. We can no longer tell students GCSEs and A levels are everything, when they have seen this year, that they are clearly not.

Schools like the United World Colleges, The Green School, The Blue School, Brockwood Park, and initiatives like The World Peace Game have been hovering on the fringes of education and might now be moved more to centre stage. It was over a decade ago that Sir Ken Robinson so eloquently argued that we need a new paradigm, and now is our chance. As Brene Brown says, we need to dare greatly, and have the courage to transform what schools mean.

The cloud-based system enables remote safeguarding, ensuring that reporting, access and analysis can continue as schools across the UK close in response to COVID-19. The software has a market value of £600/year for a secondary school, and £350/year for a primary school, but it is being offered free of charge in a bid to transform the student safeguarding space moving forwards.

Impero Back:drop enables teachers and safeguarding staff to access a history for each student, including pastoral, child protection, behavioural concerns, or mental health needs, as well as first aid incidents, medical requirements and a log of medicine administration. The system highlights patterns and connects external agencies for a single comprehensive view that enables early interventions and can flag warning signs of serious concerns including suspected home abuse or suicide risk.

Impero has created options within the software to support reporting specifically related to the current outbreak of COVID-19. This update will allow schools to see at a glance whether a student has suspected symptoms, and to track the health of the student body as a whole.

Justin Reilly, former teacher and CEO of Impero says: “Across the country, more than half of schools are still using paper-based filing cabinet reporting systems. Having spent most of my career as a teacher or school advisor, I know how difficult and time-consuming these systems make it to access records, identify trends over time and intervene where necessary. For schools which rely on paper-based systems, in situations where they have to work remotely – as is now the case with COVID-19 – carrying out this activity becomes impossible. Safeguarding must not stop, just because of the pandemic.”

“Schools must be able to access records in cases where remote working is necessary”, continues Reilly. “The idea is to make the reporting of safeguarding concerns for schools across the UK as easy as possible. It’s not right that budget constraints mean some schools have inferior processes in place when it comes to student safeguarding. That is why we are launching this self-sign up system, completely free of charge for schools today, tomorrow and indefinitely.”

While schools remain closed the remote capabilities of the software will ensure that pupil records are kept up to date. Teachers carrying out safeguarding processes, such as home visits to children with child protection concerns can maintain reports in real-time so that no information gaps exist when schools return to normal.

Impero Back:drop is designed to be straightforward to use and quick to implement, so that schools can begin reporting almost immediately. The onboarding process is simple: schools create an account, and then import student and staff data using a CSV file. Depending on the amount of data being uploaded, most schools can be ready to go within half an hour.

The software is managed using an intuitive web interface, and Impero is also making knowledge base articles available on their customer portal so that teachers and safeguarding teams can quickly get to grips with the software.

Impero Back:drop is available for free and schools can sign-up from today on the Impero website.

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In these unusual times edtech has become a vital tool for students to access learning materials, collaborate with their peers and link in with teachers from any location. The GCSEPod service is bespoke to the needs of each individual school, from MIS integration through to exam board filtering. Any school or college taking out a subscription to GCSEPod will have additional time added on to their subscription to cover the length of the school closure period.

Supporting Year 10s

For Year 10s who are at a pivotal stage in their learning and GCSE preparation, the 3-5-minute revision videos are a fun way to maintain their progress. With a huge amount of content needed in preparation for next years exams, using this time productively is critical. GCSEPod provides a Netflix-style layout so students can create a playlist of videos for any areas they need to improve which teachers can add to as needed, helping to motivate those who are struggling to engage with traditional textbooks. The pods further allow students to re-watch and test their knowledge in order to deepen their subject comprehension.

Aiding teachers

We can all agree the dedication of teachers has been inspiring; from assisting pupils via digital learning platforms to planning new home-friendly lessons and offering mental wellbeing support. As such we should assist them as much as possible to make their workloads more efficient and effective. For instance, the ‘Check and Challenge’ feature in GCSEPod helps students that may be falling behind slightly since it allows them to self-assess and have additional learning video pods assigned to them; all without the need for a teacher to be at their side.

In the UK we might also look to schools in countries such as China who have been implementing distance learning for several months now. Carol Camargo, Director of Studies at Nord Anglia International School Shanghai Pudong, closed early on in the coronavirus pandemic and harnessed GCSEPod to deliver some continuity:

“Students find the system easy to use and as senior leaders we can be sure that they have quality and consistency in the work set. We are able to monitor how engaged the students are as well as the assignments set by teachers, therefore we are able to quality assure remotely. 

“Overall, it has given us a consistent platform to use with our examination groups that students have been able to access using whichever device they had with them when abroad. As we have been providing e-learning for seven weeks now, we have had to expand the work we set our students, however, GCSEPod is still the platform we use to start the learning for each week in most subjects.”

Even if the classroom is now virtual, there is no reason why pupils cannot continue to receive a first-class education.

GCSEPod is a multi-award-winning digital publisher of in-depth curriculum knowledge for over 27 GCSE subjects. Any school or college purchasing GCSEPod for the first time, or renewing their subscription, from the 1st March 2020 will be eligible for our ‘free closure period guarantee’.

Bloomsbury Publishing has also extended the free trial period for academic institutions including universities, libraries and independent schools until the end of May 2020 to continue to support the educational community across the globe.

The National Theatre Collection provides high-quality recordings of 24 world-class productions, with a further six anticipated in April, drawing from 10 years of NT Live broadcasts and never before released productions from the National Theatre’s Archive.

Alice King-Farlow, Director of Learning at the National Theatre said, “Given the unprecedented challenges we are all currently facing across the globe, we want to ensure that pupils, teachers and academic institutions are supported during this time and can continue to have access to a range of learning resources during the school closure period. The National Theatre Collection is an invaluable resource and with thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, we are able to open up access to pupils and teachers across the UK and ensure young people will be able to continue to explore world-class productions and all aspects of theatre-making”.

Celebrating the best of contemporary British theatre, the titles support learning across the primary and secondary curriculum and include: 

• Shakespeare set texts including Macbeth, Othello, Twelfth Night and King Lear (Donmar Warehouse) in vibrant modern stagings
• Novels brought to life in exciting literary adaptations such as Frankenstein, Treasure Island, Peter Pan and Jane Eyre
• A range of theatrical styles and genres from Greek tragedies including Medea and Antigone to 20^th century classics such as The Cherry Orchard, The Deep Blue Sea and Yerma (Young Vic)
• Examples of extraordinary design and theatrecraft in productions ranging from One Man, Two Guvnors to Les Blancs
• Adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and The Winter’s Tale created specially for younger audiences and suitable for primary schools

Recordings are accompanied by learning resources to explore the craft behind the best of British theatre including rehearsal insights and short videos. The easy-to-use platform includes helpful features such as scene-by-scene selections and synopses, theme and key word searches.

Jenny Ridout, Global Head of Academic Publishing at Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. said, “Bloomsbury is working hard to ensure that all UK state schools and their students can access the National Theatre Collection via our Drama Online platform, wherever they are studying, during this exceptionally challenging time. As we all work together through this unique situation, Bloomsbury Digital Resources would like to help the library and educational community in any way we can.  As a result, our various digital resources are now available to academic and educational institutions on request until the end of May, at no cost or obligation.”

Teachers can sign up now to National Theatre Collection on Bloomsbury’s Drama Online Platform via www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntcollection.

Additional digital learning resources

The National Theatre has additional learning resources for pupils and teachers to access for free online including:

• National Theatre Talks – a collection of conversations recorded live from National Theatre stages
• New Views online playwriting course – forming part of the annual New Views playwriting competition for 14-19 year-olds, this freely accessible programme by playwright Jemma Kennedy covers topics including narrative, dialogue and stagecraft with video, audio and excerpts from plays
• Downloadable resource packs for anyone interested in discovering more about productions staged by the National Theatre
• Video collections exploring how theatre is made
• NT YouTube channel including videos related to shows, backstage ‘how we made it’ videos and recordings of NT Talks
• Digital Exhibitions with Google Arts and Culture exploring Costume, Shakespeare and the Architectural History of the NT

The National Theatre Collection is supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Fondation Hoffmann, Sidney E. Frank Foundation, The Cranshaw Corporation for Mrs. Robert I. MacDonald and The Attwood Education Foundation.

All parents know that teenagers and children need routine. But with all of us in the UK now having to stay at home, many children will naturally be feeling uncertain and unsure about the future, especially if they are not able to see their friends or are frustrated about being stuck indoors.

It is vital that parents are helped to acquire the skills and knowledge that will enable them to support older children and teenagers during these difficult times. To meet this need, the online sessions will provide reflective and practical approaches in resilience and wellbeing to support positive changes in children’s thinking and behaviour. Parents will also learn how to build vital skills to help their children boost their mental wellbeing during this uncertain time.

Each hour-long session will be hosted by Lucy Bailey – Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder of Bounce Forward. Lucy has over the last twelve years focused on education and has been instrumental in embedding resilience curricular in schools and services across the UK.

The sessions will take place on Friday 3^rd and Monday 6^th April from 10am to 11am and sign-up is available here.

Session Topics

Session 1: Introduction to resilient parenting

Session 2: How to remain optimistic during uncertain times

Session 3: Developing mental muscle

Session 4: Compassionate communication

Session 5: Mindsets and energy

Session 6: Parenting to strengths

Lucy Bailey, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder, “The coronavirus is throwing routine out the window. We’re all learning to navigate this new world – and

Having children at home for an indefinite period can add to what seems an impossible challenge. And we all know that teenagers in particular can be a challenge at the best of times. But there is a way to strengthen our resolve and even enjoy the trials that life throws at us. Resilience is the secret weapon that can help us overcome challenges, keep perspective, and bounce forward.”

Lord David Triesman, Trustee of Bounce Forward, “As a parent myself, I know that this is a particularly difficult time for parents and that many are worried about the impact that school closures and social isolation could have on the wellbeing of not only their children but the whole family. But it’s how we react that matters most. As a society, we need to build vital skills and develop the critical factors which make someone resilient and help them thrive during this period.”

As an education industry, we’re in a time of upheaval. Teachers and students everywhere are learning new skills every day to overcome the challenges of online learning, paused curriculums and inequalities of resources.

Some schools are fundamentally changing the way they deliver their curriculum to their students and some are trying to figure out how to continue to run their current timetable, while others are also adjusting timetables, possibly without the notion of bell times, and no easy means to communicate the continual change to students.

Innovating your standard curriculum delivery

Creating a mix of self-guided learning and teacher touchpoints

For some schools, trying to implement a full timetable for students may not work. In these situations, a flexible timetable that assumes self-guided learning may be more appropriate. To strike a balance between this learning while trying to maintain some engagement and relationship between teacher and students, consider timetabling each class a ‘meeting time’ with their teacher where they all get online together. This could be used for sharing important messages or announcements, exchanging personal news, or even a little fun.

Assess their current timetable and allocate each year the appropriate amount of ‘face-to-face’ access with their teacher. This could, for example, be achieved by condensing the current timetable by running a percentage of their normal classes as online lessons, rather than all of them. The rest of the timetable can be blocked assuming self-guided application of each student’s allocated lessons. This would open up for more teacher planning and availability for one-on-ones or small group tutorials, or other activities that may apply. 

In this model, extra support to help some students learn self-directed learning and discipline may be required (we know it won’t work for everyone).

Extracurricular activities

In the absence of other activities provided at school, you may have limited resources for certain programs or courses to offer extracurricular options online. Alternatively, some of your teachers may be willing or able to provide an online version of their activity. Some ideas may be; learning a skill together like graphic design, playing online games like scrabble, creating a dance together (maybe you could perform it once school reopens) and much more. 

To best allocate these, consider them like subject or sport preferences to help you build lines for access. Whether they’re delivered in a live classroom simulation or through self-guided learning, treating them as finite resources will help create equity amongst your students.

Alternatively, you could rethink how you offer extracurricular, adjusting them to be allocated according to roll call or homegroup, years or houses. Meeting and practice of the activity can then take place at an already timetabled activity like an assembly. 

Moving parent-teacher interviews online

With less time between students and teachers and more time with parents involved in their learning, parent-teacher interviews are more important than ever. In the absence of parent-teacher evenings, schedule parent-teacher interviews online through zoom, google meet or whatever video conference software you’re inevitably already using. 

Due to the changing working conditions, like people working from home, you have added flexibility to do this and can cater more easily to the needs of both teachers and parents. We’ve got some best-practice ideas for how you can do this in Edval Interviews at the bottom of this article. 

Adjusting your current timetable for remote learning

If you’re still looking to deliver a full timetable for your students to adhere to remotely, it is unlikely your current in-person timetable can be easily implemented. Ultimately, as providers of education first and foremost, the focus should be kept on delivering quality pedagogy using online platforms. This can be quite a challenge!

As you assess adjustments to your current timetable, consider the implications of making significant timetabling changes. These would have to be communicated to the entire school community, and feedback potentially sought from students and teachers. 

If your executive team has decided that an adjusted timetable is in the best interests of your school community, we’ve got a few suggestions for adapting your timetable to reduce some of the remote timetable teething issues. 

Increasing double periods for a two-fold benefit

While we often steer away from double periods in many cases, when you’re outside of your normal environment it can be a blessing. Increasing double periods has two particular benefits to help your ‘remote school’.

Lessen the communication load

It’s much more difficult to indicate a period’s end without the school bell (a lesson some of you may have already learned). When we’re navigating the newness of the remote environment for our students and teachers you cannot always rely on people keeping their own time. In the same way, a change every hour is too much to ask your admin staff to try to communicate with each teacher. With an increase in double periods, you create fewer changes of lesson during the day – reducing the amount of change communication needed.

Improve lesson sequencing (and reduce student mental tiredness)

We’re all feeling a bit more stressed and tired as a result of all the change and uncertainty brought about by COVID-19. This means students are likely doubly so overwhelmed and struggling to adjust to all the changes. 

Increased doubles means fewer changes of topic per day and more time for teachers and students to explore topics and learn new things. More time in the lesson helps to account for inevitable tech problems and other remote errors that often happen along the way. 

Restructure ‘bell times’

In keeping with the concept of combining more periods into doubles to improve communication, restructuring your virtual ‘bell times’ can also help in a similar way. Depending on your particular needs, the timetable can serve to change the period on the hour, institute a later or earlier start to account for changes in routines or even give more time between classes so teachers have enough time to prep their remote classrooms. This can also include changes to the recess and lunchtime break times; for example, more (but shorter) breaks across the day, rather than in big chunks.

Eliminate ‘room requirements’

With most teachers and students working from home, parameters around rooming are no more. Now that your timetable is only constrained by the teachers, the option exists to re-process lines and allow for more classes to run at the same time. 

Re-processing your lines and creating a more condensed version of your timetable helps to take the load off your teachers, potentially opening up more time for them to work on their changing work requirements or fulfill their now different family responsibilities. 

Your timetable is a vehicle for delivering quality education, a concept that may seem somewhat unattainable in these unprecedented times. We know that as educators you have drive, intelligence and passion to still deliver the best possible experience you can online – and that a good ‘remote’ timetable can help enable that.