Kennet kindles pupils enthusiasm
KENNET School pupils are kickstarting their learning through Amazon Kindles.
Kennet has invested in the devices to close learning gaps following the coronavirus pandemic and Thatcham and District Rotary Club donated £1,187 to support the school’s strategy.
Classrooms were swapped for front rooms during the initial lockdown, but Kennet rose to the challenge and continued its full curriculum.
The next hurdle focused on enhancing wellbeing, academic intervention for core subjects and instilling confidence in pupils to rekindle their learning.
To ensure there are no barriers to access learning over the coming year, Kennet’s senior leaders decided to utilise technology for the Year 11 cohort – regardless of their financial and home setup – and bought a Kindle Fire for each pupil.
Thatcham Rotary Club was keen to support the initiative and donated the cost of 30 devices, around 10 per cent of the overall cost.
President John Gleeson said: “The donation was made possible by our club having been able to access and acquire a Rotary District 1090 Grant of £585 which
we then made up to £1,187 from our Charity Project Account in order to cover the cost of the 30 devices.”
Year 11 are now practising an extended tutor session daily, using their Kindle Fires to work through a platform called Century – software that uses learning science, artificial intelligence and neuroscience to create adaptive learning pathways.
The software identifies knowl
edge gaps and pushes relevant micro-lessons to individual pupils, enabling them to have a better understanding of topics.
Kennet headteacher Gemma Piper said: “Seeing our Year 11s engaged in these devices is incredibly rewarding.
“Thanks to the support from Thatcham and District Rotary Club, every single Year 11 pupil has their own device and the opportunity to use the latest technology to support their revision.”