Learning at home
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West Sussex is back to home education following a rise in Covid numbers, but this new way of learning does not come easy to teachers, parents or pupils and there are a range of challenges as everyone adjusts to this new way of life for the second time.
One of the biggest challenges is providing children with laptops to complete the online work set by their teachers and enable them to attend online classes.
A spokesman for West Sussex County Council said: “We are enormously grateful to our schools for reacting so quickly to the national lockdown by providing packages of home learning for their families not in school while also continuing to provide face-to-face tuition for priority groups.
“We are awaiting further information on the government’s laptop scheme, which is being run centrally by the DfE and schools and academies will be invited to order them for their disadvantaged pupils. Since September, schools have been able to order additional laptops directly from the DfE for disadvantaged children who were self-isolating.
“Last year we received an allocation of 1,655 laptops/ tablets for distribution to those children classified as disadvantaged. All of these were distributed via schools and social workers in the summer term and they went to a wide range of schools and academies across the county, including special schools. We also received an allocation of 287 laptops for disadvantaged year 10 students in our maintained schools, including specials and alternative provision.”
Since the start of the 2020/21 academic year the DfE
has allowed schools to order laptops directly rather than through the local authority, to ensure they get to those in greatest need as effectively as possible.”
It was announced via the DfE last week that further laptops will become available.
In figures released by the DfE we are able to see how many devices have been delivered or dispatched to academy trusts or directly to schools within a trust for 2020 to 2021 academic year.
The data shows 395 laptops and tablets were delivered to local authority schools in West Sussex so far in the 2020 to 2021 academic year.
Schools have been providing a range of content for children online.
Crawley-based mum Leeann Dunlevy said the provision varies wildly and she worries her children, who attend St Wilfrid’s secondary school in Southgate, are missing out on interaction with their teachers as the school is not providing live online classes.
Leeann said: “My research is not exactly extensive but it has just been talking to other parents and friends across West Sussex, in Haywards Heath for example, and
finding out what their schools are providing for pupils.
“The work the school has been sending through to be completed online is great but they are having to teach themselves. Therefore my 12-year-old is now having to teach herself new material and if there are any questions for the teacher they have to email and wait for a response.
“Some other schools in West Sussex are providing live interaction with teacher.”
Dawn Denyer, assistant headteacher at St Wilfrid’s, said: “We are mindful that there are very many other constraints on families,
parents working from home and access to sufficient devices and sufficient wi-fi bandwidth being just some of the reasons. By offering asynchronous work it means that students are able to complete the work at a time that is convenient for them; thus offering some flexibility for those families who are juggling supporting their children alongside working from home.
“The DfE expect that work provided for students will include frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher or through high quality curriculum resources or videos. Videos do not have to be recorded by school staff but could include resources such as those provided by Oak National Academy.
“In addition to this our teachers add additional voice support into teaching resources to explain concepts that they would normally supplement in class. Staff are available to support students via email or teams. Form tutors and class teachers are closely monitoring work completed by the students, giving students feedback on submitted work and offering additional support and
guidance where required.
“This method of delivery also allows us to staff the supervision of key worker and vulnerable students who are working in school, as well as ensure that provision will continue if a member of staff is absent through sickness.”
Psychologists who undertook a study into the home learning experience of families during school closures in the spring 2020 have published their guidance to schools planning home learning in response to the 2021 national lockdown.
Following in-depth online interviews with parents and children in July and August 2020, Alison Lacey and Dr Kathryn Lester from the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex have identified four key areas for schools to focus home learning support during this newperiodofhomeschooling.
The study concluded the priorities should be contact, creative home learning content and community. Psychologists said being connected to teachers and peers was key to child wellbeing during school closures. They also found great variability in school home learning provision
during the 2020 lockdown.
Alison Lacey, a doctoral researcher in developmental psychology at the University of Sussex, said: “What this study has highlighted is that the lack of guidance and support for schools during the first period of school closures in 2020 led to huge variability in provision. During these interviews we identified some key areas for schools to consider that could improve the experience for children and parents.
“The voices of young children have largely gone unheard in the political debate around Covid-19. It is essential that schools are supported by policy makers to implement consistent home learning provision that meets children’s social and emotional needs as well as the academic learning needs of the children in their care.”
Overall, the psychologists found providing a sense of community through regular live online connection with teachers and peers was most highly valued by families. Conversely, the study found children who didn’t have regular opportunities to engage with their teachers and peers reported feeling isolated and lonely.
The voices of young children have largely gone unheard in the political Covid debate ALISON LACEY Researcher at University of Sussex