HEADS TALK
Sector leaders share with us how they dealt with the challenges presented by Covid-19
WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN ACHIEVING A BALANCE BETWEEN BEING ON A COMPUTER AND BEING ACTIVE
ALI KINGE HEADMISTRESS, ARDVRECK SCHOOL
MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Three sons aged 21, 20 and 19
SUBJECTS Spanish, French, Latin, English, Games
When lockdown first started last March, we had just equipped each child with a Chromebook so, in a serendipitous way, we were well placed to cope with the challenges of remote learning.
Our team took advice from friends and colleagues across the world to develop a programme for online learning. This included researching how much screen time is appropriate for our age range of three to 13.
The routine of the day is still important and begins with a moral message and hymn singing; two of our teachers are professional opera singers.
A set of 45-minute, online lessons are followed after lunch with a series of adventures which challenge the children. These have included building dens and firepits, bushcraft, knot tying and even constructing replica roundhouses when we were studying the Celts.
We are an ambitious school and we do academic lessons exceedingly well, but in many ways online learning doesn’t lend itself to our ethos of being outdoors as much as possible, learning from –and within – the natural environment.
We like to give our pupils challenges because, in completing them, they make mistakes and build resilience, which is then brought back into the classroom to tackle mathematical mountains.
We have been successful in achieving a balance between being on a computer and being active, and the children have coped brilliantly.
We have encouraged our parents to take a hands-off approach so that the children are managing the technology themselves and they have consequently developed a lot of independence. They have missed their friends hugely, so we have tried to encourage supervised online clubs – such as Lego, book groups, beginners’ German and yoga.
The whole school community has pulled out all the stops to ensure that the children’s mental health is robust by being creative.
Undertaking adventurous activities and projects outdoors has been key to our success in keeping everyone healthy in body, mind and spirit, whilst also enabling our children to take huge strides forward academically.
ALEX HEMS HEAD, ST GEORGE’S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, EDINBURGH
MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Two girls aged 13 and 15 MAIN SUBJECT English and Latin
Despite the restrictions and hardships, the coronavirus pandemic has made the school come together in a way we have never done before. While it would be better to not have things disrupted, the girls and teachers have grasped the problems and found solutions, something I am immensely proud of.
We have seen a great deal of creativity emerging from this situation, and what particularly became apparent early on was the importance of communication and community.
I was delighted when our Head Girl told me that she wanted to run the Student Council via Teams, and our house captains have been full of excellent ideas that not only bring the community together, but also encourage everyone to have time away
THE PANDEMIC HAS MADE THE SCHOOL COME TOGETHER IN A WAY WE HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE
from their screens as much as possible. The girls are so disparate - we have boarders from thousands of miles away – so it was vital we could continue the school community, even if it was online.
As teachers it has definitely made us reflect on what really matters in a lesson. When you have to move to another environment and you know it doesn’t work to do exactly what
you would in the classroom, you have to think about a variety of things including how to give useful feedback, monitor their progress and manage concentration spans online.
One major project involved an in-depth study of the NHS, from its origins down to the girls planning a hospital menu. It might sound dry but it was brought together wonderfully by the Depute Head (Academic).
We also had to make sure the girls are not working in isolation, both academically and physically. The PE department galvanised the school into a running challenge, with some friendly inter-year rivalry, and last summer our girls and families teamed up with their peers at Merchiston to raise money for the Our Neighbours Community Project in Zimbabwe by walking, running, riding and cycling – virtually – all the way to Bulawayo.
To sum up, what has pleased me most has been a demonstration throughout the school of how the situation has been dealt with through fortitude, resourcefulness, patience and ultimately success.
DOROTHY MACGINTY HEADMISTRESS, KILGRASTON SCHOOL
MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Two sons and a daughter MAIN SUBJECT Biology and PE
It has been harder to be in lockdown in winter than the first time around, I think, because of the weather. For example, the first time we had hundreds of vegetable and flower seeds donated by a parent which we could grow and harvest.
What has been better this time, however, is that everybody is better at using and understanding the technology and how it has an impact not just within school life but in the wider world as well.
As a result, the Upper Sixth have been practising online interviews for university, something we would never have thought of being necessary before the coronavirus pandemic hit. It has worked in a number of ways – for one of our girls applying to do medicine, I organised a surgeon, a GP and a former head of A&E to interview them on Zoom and then give them feedback. There are things to think about such as eye contact and the need to look into the camera, speaking slowly and clearly because a lot can be lost online whereas face-to-face you can pick up on body language.
What has been impressive is the way our pupils have coped. Our young people have developed a different kind of resilience; they are telling us it is tougher this time and that they have had to find new ways to stay calm, to reduce anxiety and things like that whereas it was more natural last time.
Our pastoral support here is very strong, it is one of the things Kilgraston is known for, so we still have our tutors touching base with all of their tutees, checking in with them and making sure they are OK.
Despite these challenges we are still teaching a full timetable and have been able to keep on course with the whole syllabus. In order to create a level of certainty, we have tried to keep parents and pupils informed of what is going on and what changes might take place – that usually means I outline a Plan A and a Plan B, depending on the restrictions in place at the time.
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE DEVELOPED A DIFFERENT
KIND OF RESILIENCE