Rising to challenge of virtual schooling
WITH school closures and all standardised tests and exams cancelled for Welsh students, headteachers and teachers from across the county borough of Bridgend have been continuing to plan innovative and creative ways for educating and engaging with pupils who are on coronavirus lockdown at home.
Teachers, teaching assistants and support staff are working tirelessly to provide emergency childcare at the six local schools acting as community hubs so that key workers can continue supporting essential services throughout this national crisis.
They are supported by hundreds of catering staff providing eligible children with a freshly made packed lunch each day, and the administrative staff, caretakers and cleaners, without whom these schools could not operate.
For those schools which are currently closed, there are no shortage of examples of staff quickly adapting from their usual face-to-face teaching in the classroom to delivering lessons and learning as an online, virtual experience instead.
Perhaps even more heartwarming is the evidence that their pupils’ health and wellbeing remains at the forefront of their minds too, with many teachers recording fun lockdown videos from their own homes to raise a smile among their students and their families.
■ Neil Davies, headteacher at Mynydd Cynffig Primary School, is just one of the county borough’s school leaders who has risen to the challenge of running a virtual school. Contact between himself, the local authority, chair and vice governors, staff, parents and pupils now takes place using email, Class Dojo, Hwb and other online platforms, and with huge success.
Mr Davies said: “Within the space of a couple of days, our teachers from nursery to year six had to set up virtual learning environments for our pupils, something which we haven’t really explored before as a primary school.
“All of our pupils have been given individual passwords to access the Hwb and have undertaken schoolwork using this system, both at home and at school.
“A number of teachers have set up activities using Google Classroom via Hwb so that they can track work being done effectively. Other platforms such as Class Dojo have also been extremely useful when setting and receiving work as well as a source of communication between home and school.
“We also use online programs such as MyMaths, TT Rock Stars and Purple Mash which pupils are familiar with. Teachers have also identified a range of resources online which parents may use with their children.”
■ Julie Morgan, headteacher at Cwmfelin Primary School, said staff and children have been creative. Many have made artwork to decorate the Dragon’s Heart Hospital at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and one of her Year Four pupils – Reegan Davies – was so inspired by the fundraising efforts for the NHS by Captain Tom Moore, that she led the campaign #makeacardfortom and appeared on BBC Breakfast.
“Prior to school closure, staff worked swiftly to ensure everyone involved – pupils, teachers and support staff – all had access to the Welsh Government’s Hwb, which includes Google Classroom, an online teaching and learning platform,” headteacher Julie Morgan said. “Log-in details were sent home to parents in learning packs. This has been used effectively so far with a good level of participation. Fortunately for us, most children have their own devices and internet access, but our teaching staff are contacting families if participation in online learning appears limited.
“Teachers will work tirelessly, as they always do, to ensure that children catch up on what they need to know, when things eventually return to a form of normality.”
■ Christopher Jones, headteacher at Llangynwyd Primary School said: “We set up online learning through Hwb and Seesaw and staff are regularly checking in with pupils. Where children are not engaging online, we are telephoning them to ensure they are OK. We are checking in with parents weekly, some more often, and trying to reassure them that they haven’t got to run their homes like a school.
“We are trying to keep morale up and reassure children and their families that we are still there for them.”
■ Jackie Phillips, headteacher at Saint Mary’s and Saint Patrick’s RC Primary in Maesteg, said that a video produced by staff to inspire children has been viewed thousands of times.
Councillor Charles Smith, cabinet member for education and regeneration, said: “What clearly shines through is everyone’s response to helping others during this crisis, whether that is relocating to the emergency childcare hub, injecting humour through online challenges or videos, or helping pupils to get to grips with a whole new world of virtual learning, which only serves to reflect their professionalism and dedication.”