Eleanor Bradley, MD Registry and Public Benefit at Nominet says:
“Covid-19 has undoubtedly shone a light on the importance of digital skills, with the pandemic catalysing a digital transformation in the world of work. This is evident in the many organisations embracing technological innovations in order to maintain business as usual via digital channels. “In light of this, it is positive that the number of students studying STEM subjects at A-Level has increased this year, as part of a longer-term trend. STEM A-level entries in the UK now account for 64% of all courses taken, an increase of 8% over the last five years, according to NTT Data UK. In particular, computing has seen a significant uptake of 131% during this period. “This is an encouraging step in the right direction towards ensuring young people are able to develop the digital skills necessary to fuel our future talent pipeline – vital if we are going to continue to fill the growing number of job opportunities we have in the digital sphere. “However, the job is far from done, and this should not stop us from encouraging more young people to take up STEM subjects at school – the UK economy could lose as much as £141.5bn of GDP growth if we don’t narrow the skills gap which has only been made worse by the pandemic. Encouraging young people into STEM subjects at school is a foundational step in ensuring that the future working generation has the necessary skills for – and interest in – the plethora of digital roles available in the world of work. “As the subjects a student picks for their A-Levels also provides an early indication of the career aspirations for the workers of tomorrow it is fantastic to see a rise in the number of girls taking and excelling in STEM subjects. The total number of girls opting to study computing has grown by 21.8% year to year. “This really is vital when we look at the lack of gender diversity within the tech sector, especially with recent data highlighting how 69% of undergraduates studying STEM subjects are male. Diversity matters in our sector because we need a variety of different people, perspectives and ideas at the table if we are going to create inclusive technology that helps everyone. This year’s A-Level results show we are moving in the right direction to achieve this. “Nevertheless, we still need to fight for wider scale social change. We can achieve this by ensuring more parents, teachers, career advisors and tech sector employees contribute to a wider cultural discourse that will encourage even more girls to take up STEM subjects and improve the tech industry for the better.”
Teachers to Get 3.1% Pay Rise – But They Could Earn More with Energy Cuts
Educational bodies and services across the UK recently welcomed news that public sector workers – teachers amongst them – would benefit from a wage increase across the year 2020 – 2021. Teachers, specifically, will receive a 3.1% wage increase year on year, meaning that they will benefit from the Chancellor’s latest boosts more than any other group. This is likely to be a huge boon to those teachers who have needed to adapt to shaky school scheduling amid COVID-19. However, there is the potential for more money to be pumped into our education system. “It’s of course great news that our hard-working teachers and tutors are receiving a large wage increase,” Mark Sait, CEO for SaveMoneyCutCarbon says. “However, there are more than a few additional ways for extra funds to find their way into education.” “Small changes can be made by all schools and colleges to create safer, more efficient energy choices”. “Our team has seen educational bodies waste thousands of pounds unnecessarily on outdated electricity and water systems,” he says. “Energy expenditure per pupil, per school will vary. However, figures suggest that secondary schools are likely spending up to £65 per student in terms of electric, gas and water. This is a figure which can be drastically slashed, providing bodies are willing to make reasonable changes.” SaveMoneyCutCarbon’s main focus lies in helping public bodies save money on unnecessary energy wastage, as well as to offer general energy savings advice to the public. They have extensive experience in consulting with the leisure and education spheres, in one case helping Eton College to reduce electricity rates through simple fixture swaps. “There are many ways that schools could, and should be able to save more money,” Sait explains. “We continue to see examples of schools and their boards using outdated light bulbs and tubes. It is a simple enough switch to use LED lighting, which is just as effective, and which runs at a fraction of the cost of ‘energy-saving’ technology.” One of SaveMoneyCutCarbon’s core missions is to show people, and bodies, how easy it is to save money by only making small changes to their daily routines and general fittings. “It is not difficult for schools to make worthwhile changes to the way they expend energy,” Sait observes. “We understand that school boards are likely to want to keep processes as simple as possible. We completely support this – and with a little research, they will see that changing lighting standards is cost-effective and completely painless.” “Not only that, but it’s also hugely beneficial, and straightforward, to rethink school plumbing on a more efficient basis. Outdated cisterns in schools are wasting vast amounts of water. Coupled with electricity wastage, making a few small changes could release 20% of the money schools spend on energy year on year.” Sait believes that, as this money is reportedly simple enough to release, funds could easily repurpose across staff wages and educational facilities. “Our schools are crying out for as much financial support as possible. Yes – the fact that teachers are getting raises in the year to come is wonderful news – but their employers could be freeing up even more money to put to better use if they look into the facts.” “Crucially, this is our concern – that public bodies, and everyday people, simply assume that saving money on energy means having to make large, awkward changes to their lives and daily running. We are not suggesting that schools ever have to go beyond their means.” “We feel, collectively, that the government – and energy regulators – should give the public sector more choice when it comes to saving money on electricity, gas and water. If nothing else, they should offer these bodies information on how they can make small changes that cut down on emissions and which drive down costs.” “Energy conservation, and the economic benefits, start with clear education and messages. Pay rises will come and go – but by saving money on energy, schools will effectively future-proof themselves against potential spikes in prices for years to come.”
Sir David Carter on the power of collaboration between MATs and LAs
Many multi academy trusts (MATs) have strong existing relationships with their Local Authority (LAs). They work effectively together to deliver a high quality education to all students in their area. But the relationship between MATs and LAs perhaps isn’t always fully utilised and opportunities to collaborate may sometimes be missed. There has historically been an ideological tension between MATs and schools within the maintained sector with some school governing bodies and leaders reluctant to become academies, whilst others have strategically chosen to change their status believing in the benefits to be gained from being part of a formal collaboration. The current climate has offered us a chance to review this. Many trusts have supported maintained schools across the country during the lockdown phase in a way that has not been seen for some time. Now is the time to start exploring the potential for further collaboration as working closely together will be key to tackling the challenges ahead. The role of collaboration in closing the attainment gap School leaders across the country face a challenging few months as they manage the return to school of more staff and children. Educational communities will work together to take responsibility for every child, irrespective of the type of school that they attend, in order to close the performance gap between dis-advantaged children and there peers. Coming together as a community will be critical to building capacity, creating ideas and enabling the simple truths about what works to be communicated across the educational community. A key part of this mission will be re-culturing our schools for September. We know that for some children, often the most vulnerable, the traditional six week summer holiday is challenging. By September it will be almost six months since many children last set foot in their school buildings. The same is true of staff, and schools will be thinking and planning ahead to meet the needs of their workforce as they return to work. Schools will work together and support one another to build a narrative of the experiences of children and their families during lockdown. There will be patterns and trends of experience across the community that will give a clear indication of how life has been since March 2020. By sharing and understanding this information, the whole community can work towards understanding the best way to lead the induction programme in schools that supports students and staff alike. The learning gap is a massive system-wide challenge but we have to remember that a gap already existed on March 20, the last school day for many children. The challenge is to assess the degree to which the gap has widened and then to find a way to set new baselines and work from there. Working together to understand this is important. Children will not be restarting where they left off. For many, there will have been a decline. We need to understand how in primary schools core language and numeracy skills, and in secondary schools the knowledge of exam syllabi that was taught earlier last year, will need reinforcing, and this may be a good place to start. The role of edtech in collaboration Education technology will have a crucial role to play in the way our sector recovers moving forwards. To date, our education system hasn’t been set up for full digital learning because it didn’t need to be. The last few months have uncovered some real barriers to online learning. The lack of sufficient hardware for every child, the connectivity of WiFi and the pedagogical challenges of teaching lessons on a digital platform are just a few of the issues that are making leaders think hard about the immediate future. The technology available has already played a fundamental role in the design of a ‘recovery curriculum’ that goes some way to meeting the needs of every child. EdTech organisations such as Renaissance Learning, who produce programmes such as Accelerated Reader and myON, have enabled thousands of schools across the country to seamlessly access lessons and assessments online. Renaissance offered myON Reader to all schools and pupils for free during the lockdown, providing access to more than 6,000 enhanced digital books to keep the nation reading. Similarly the curriculum, assemblies and enrichment activities available from Oak National Academy have helped schools to set up online learning quickly so they don’t have to ‘invent the wheel’ themselves. Collaboration in the digital space will need to focus on schools, where leaders accept that they do not own the monopoly on great learning for their children. If they have something better than what has been developed elsewhere then great – use it and share it. If however the opposite is true, then we need to accept that others have been ahead of us and that we should welcome and embrace their work and collaborate with them. This cultural change and willingness to embrace innovation from new sources could be the game changer for the way that we consider system wide collaboration in the future. Challenges to be aware of Effective and meaningful collaboration does not come without its challenges. From my experience, it is not unusual to find that many school leaders and governing bodies believe that autonomy from any form of external influence or direction is sacrosanct, and as a result they can become disinterested observers and passive participants in collaboration. This is a tendency we must overcome if we are to succeed together. We must not be limited to our own perceptions of what makes ‘effective practice’. We have to be magpies and steal the best ideas that work, whilst being mindful that what works in one school may not work automatically as well in another. That said, in my experience the action of filtering the practice through the lens of transmission between schools often enhances the original strategy. When collaboration is clear and purposeful and the goals are shared and understood it has the potential to benefit the whole community. The final pitfall
Entrust establishes initiative to provide IT equipment to Birmingham’s disadvantaged
Schools across Birmingham have continued to deliver lessons and other educational activities digitally for pupils who remain learning from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, at the start of the pandemic, there were at least 5,000 disadvantaged young people in the city who did not have the necessary technology to continue with their education. Without suitable access to digital devices, such as laptops, and a robust internet connection, this group were likely to fall behind their peers while they were unable to attend school. Recent government initiatives to provide devices and connectivity for young people have helped bridge this gap, but some pupils sit outside the criteria of eligibility and need further support. Birmingham City Council and local schools are working to address this and separately so is Entrust Support Services (Entrust), part of Capita, which provides education services to schools, academy trusts and local authorities. Entrust has strong relationships across the education technology sector including Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) who they have partnered with to create the Digital Education Partnership (DEP). The DEP project has expanded to include other partners including: Digital Birmingham, the Birmingham e- Learning Foundation (BeLF), and the Titan Partnership. The project is working to provide IT equipment to those children who need them to continue with their education and has distributed 250 so far. The DEP project is working to deliver, maintain and run these devices. They are doing so by enabling schools to repurpose decommissioned devices and where schools aren’t able to recommission devices, the partnership is funding or part-funding new devices and internet connectivity. Additionally, the partnership is providing technical support to schools to deal with any troubleshooting and ensure that the digital systems including security, that are used on the devices, continue to function. The project is ongoing and to ensure demand is met, the DEP continues to seek funds, donations and devices for repurposing and reuse. John Doherty, Chief Executive of Entrust Support Services, said: “I am proud of the work of every member of our team and our partners involved in establishing and running the Digital Education Partnership. This initiative, along with the separate work by Birmingham City Council and local schools, will ensure that young people, from disadvantaged backgrounds in Birmingham, can continue with their education and engage with their teachers, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, until they can return back to school on a full-time basis.” Manjit Shellis, BEP Assistant Director for Wider Learning, said: “Entrust has been an invaluable partner in setting up this. Entrust have not only provided all the technical support for the project but they have made a considerable contribution to creating a vision and direction for it, which in turn has helped to instigate a citywide conversation on the need for digital inclusion. The project is hugely indebted to the generous pro bono support Entrust provides both operationally and strategically.”
Educations and career aspirations hard to reach as result of pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected all aspects of life, from public health to the economy. Students of all ages have had their education and exam timetables disrupted, and there is talk of the deepest recession the UK has seen for 300 years, with the impact of this predicted to hit young people particularly hard. New research commissioned by EngineeringUK has revealed that educational and career aspirations have already been affected by the pandemic, with just over half (52%) of the 15 to 19 year olds asked agreeing or strongly agreeing that going to university would become more difficult and 41% saying the same of becoming an apprentice. 62% of the 11 to 19 year olds asked agreed or strongly agreed that finding a job in the future has become more difficult as a result of the pandemic. The research makes it clear that the pandemic has had a bearing on young people and the careers they’re thinking about choosing in the future. It reveals over 2 in 5 young people reported that the pandemic has made ‘having a job that you can be certain you can keep’ (44%) and ‘availability of jobs’ (41%) more important to them when considering their future career choices. Considerations such as ‘liking what I do’ and ‘being able to progress in my career’ are sadly lower (33% and 26%). For some young people the pandemic also appeared to raise the importance of having a job that enabled them to make a positive societal contribution, with around a third of respondents indicating that the pandemic has made ‘having a positive impact on society’ (36%), ‘helping people with the work they do’ (34%), and ‘ethics and social responsibility’ (33%) more important when considering career choices. Findings from the research, which surveyed over 1,100 11 to 19 year olds, also suggests that some young people felt their career choices have been constrained because of the pandemic. 30% say the careers they could do has changed as a result of the pandemic and 22% say what they wanted to do as a career has changed. Throughout the survey there were often significant gender differences, with girls/young women more likely than boys/young men to say ‘ethics and social responsibility’ (89% vs 80%) and ‘helping people with the work you do’ (89% vs 79%) were important factors when thinking about jobs they want to do in the future. Exams, home learning and thinking about future education or careers has been tough during lockdown so the survey also looked at whether young people searched out information online, spoke to their parents or took part in any careers activity during this time, with the results showing a gender disparity. Girls/young women were more likely to have used the time to research their futures – 60% of girls/young women, compared to 49% of boys/young men had taken part in a careers activity during lockdown. 44% of girls/young women had discussed career options with their parents, compared with 30% of boys/young men and 27% of girls/young women compared to just 19% of boys/young men had searched for careers information online. Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EngineeringUK says: ‘Young people are going to be greatly affected by the pandemic for years to come and they are well aware of it. To hear that children as young as 11 are concerned about their ongoing education and careers is not what anyone wants, but their interest in job security and availability is balanced by an increased desire to benefit people and society. “It is encouraging that the pandemic has resulted in young people being considerably more interested in a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). Young people know about the role that engineers have played in efforts to combat the pandemic – we need to translate this insight into career aspiration. Interest in engineering careers lags behind that in science and technology so we need to emphasise the opportunities, as the country invests in its infrastructure and net zero, and provide young people with every opportunity to hear about and experience the breadth and societal impact of modern engineering. ‘STEM outreach and work experience needs to be targeted to the schools and students that need it most, including those who are underrepresented in the STEM and engineering workforce and those that are most affected by the pandemic. We need to give these young people the opportunities they deserve and, in turn, we need them to ensure the diversity of thought for a thriving future workforce. ‘We ask that organisations that have been resilient to the impact of the pandemic go above and beyond, supporting young people who may join with their future workforce and that of the wider system – from their supply chain to the wider economy. I also encourage the government to be bold, ambitious and experimental in its support for the next generation and to treat diversity as a priority not as a ‘nice to have’. Together, we can do this and, I truly believe, make a real difference to these young people’s futures”. The findings report, Young people and Covid-19: How the pandemic has affected careers experiences and aspirations, is available online at www.engineeringuk.com/ypcovid
COVID-19 Educational online event watched by eager STEM fans
Big Bang Digital 2020 – science, engineering & Covid-19, the one-day educational online event which took place online in mid-July gave an inspirational and uplifting look at the essential role of science and engineering in a pandemic. Young people had the opportunity to listen and chat to world leading scientists, healthcare professionals, engineers, technicians and other students who have and continue to be vital in the fight against the disease and in keeping essential services and supplies available. The event, watched live by almost 28,000 viewers and viewed by up to 50,000 young people including 4,773 British Sign Language viewers across 24 hours, also played host to exclusive videos from Sir David Attenborough which were part of an interactive session by Plastic Oceans UK on how plastic pollution may well have worsened during the pandemic. Young people were also given the opportunity to ask questions to world-renowned scientist and SAGE member Sir Jeremy Farrar live on air in the Ask the Experts session. Many also joined the GSK workshop to find out more about their work in finding a vaccine. The day also saw a lot of fun with BBC’s Gastronaut Stefan Gates who produced the colours of the rainbow in a science show called Explosion of colour. Viewers also tuned into a session where TV & Radio Science Presenter, Podcaster & YouTuber Greg Foot, who hosted the day, talked to a red panda. The red panda was the on-screen avatar used by an intelligence agent for security reasons as he explained what you should be doing to keep yourself safe and secure online. When polled on the day almost 80% of young viewers said they were inspired to consider a future career in science, technology or engineering, a higher proportion than young people surveyed generally. No doubt so they can be the scientists and engineers of tomorrow, who help prevent future pandemics. It also discovered that 63% of viewers think that people will respect the environment more as a result of seeing the detrimental impact humans can have. Beth Elgood, Director of Communications at EngineeringUK, which organised the digital event, said: “The Big Bang Digital event was a huge success – this was not only evident by the numbers of engaged young people tuning in but also the positive comments we received. To hear that 80% of viewers would consider a future career in science, technology or engineering is so encouraging. We’re really proud that The Big Bang Digital has inspired them and hope it’s long lasting. “We know from research by the British Science Association that almost nine in ten young people do not think scientists (89%) or politicians (92%) are talking to them when discussing COVID-19*, so it was great that the Big Bang Digital was able to give young people insight into the important roles engineers and scientists play in a pandemic, as well as the opportunity for them to ask these experts first-hand any questions they have about the pandemic – an opportunity that otherwise wouldn’t be possible for many.” When asked what they thought about the event, the young viewers made comments, including: “Very informative and enjoyable. Interactive features and the live chat were very useful. Thank you for putting together this event!” “I like how kids can understand Covid-19 by using this website, and you can learn more and meet people who are working here and now.” “I like it because you can hear about all the NHS workers and their stories, and the other important people during the pandemic. I love how you can ask questions to the people on here with a live chat.” “It helped me picture what my parents are going through.” “I’m finding it really interesting and am learning a lot. It’s really good how it’s been related to the times and allows you to hear all the amazing questions and answers, and how we can help in the future, as well as how our lives will be changed.” “This event was a great opportunity for young people to discover more about this pandemic that seems so out of reach.” “Big Bang Digital inspires others to become awesome engineers and to create something new to show the next generation of technology and creativity.” “Big Bang Digital can help you find a good career as I saw the different types of engineering and this is useful for the people who would like to start this career.” During the event viewers were invited to participate in the Meet The Future You Quiz, a careers quiz designed to your skills and passions could lead to an exciting job in the future. 4,900 viewers completed the quiz on the day of the event and an additional 1,369 have done so since. There have also been an impressive 4,194 views of the content since it was made available on demand. The Big Bang Digital 2020 – science, engineering & Covid-19 full stream, as well as individual sessions showcasing the incredible contribution of scientists, healthcare professionals, engineers, technicians and students in responding to the pandemic, is now available to view on demand at www.digitalbigbang.co.uk.
EDT Launches Virtual STEM Education Programmes on TCS iON Digital Learning Platform
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, has supported the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), its long-term STEM skills partner, launch virtual educational programmes for school and college students, through its TCS iON™ Digital Learning Platform. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, experiences of work, technical skills trainings, and EDT programmes have become inaccessible for many students. To address this gap, EDT has adapted its summer programmes to become virtual by leveraging the TCS iON platform. EDT is working with 20 UK universities and 300 corporate partners to deliver the programmes. This summer will see the launch of four virtual programmes, including university taster days, experiences of work and activities, to help students interested in STEM subjects gain meaningful experiences and accreditation through Industrial Cadets. EDT and TCS have worked with universities and corporate partners to create virtual university taster courses on the TCS iON Digital Learning Platform, enabling participants to complete them at their own pace. On completion, students are awarded a Silver Industrial Cadet certification. The TCS iON platform is also extending the reach of TCS’ long established Digital Explorers programme, conducted in partnership with EDT, that aims to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in STEM. While the in-person programme typically saw around 700 participants, the first virtual event already has 9,000 registrations so far. It will include Industrial Cadets virtual work experience and experience days throughout the summer in England and into the autumn term in Scotland. Upon completion, students will receive a Challenger Industrial Cadet certification. “TCS iON is partnering with education institutions across the world to help them navigate the current challenges, and also transition into a digital era where teaching and learning do not have physical boundaries,” said Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head, TCS iON. “We are delighted to once again work with EDT on programmes that inspire interest in STEM education and careers among students in UK. Virtual delivery democratises access, allowing us to reach more students than ever before.” “Experiences of work and connections with industry are critical in providing students the chance to make their own choices for their future and we are delighted to be able to offer these opportunities to young people interested in STEM subjects in a new way,” said Julie Feest, CEO, EDT. “By leveraging TCS iON platform, we are reaching students in new ways and offering them really exciting insights into the world of work. We hope that our virtual programmes will help us broaden our impact across hard to reach areas and focus on disadvantaged young people to answer the issues of widening social divide, equipping them with invaluable skills, introducing them to new people and ultimately making them more employable. I’m excited to see what the future holds for this new way of providing our programmes, and how it can benefit young people to open their eyes to what could be possible for them and their future.” The TCS iON Digital Learning Platform is used by more than 5 million learners worldwide. It enables corporates, institutes and industry mentors to collaborate on various programmes to teach and inspire the tech leaders of the future. Find out more about TCS iON: https://learning.tcsionhub.uk/iDH/uk/home Find out more about the virtual programmes and register: https://membersarea.etrust.org.uk/content/digital-explorers-june-2020
The Missing Months – exciting lessons from lockdown.
For many schools, the missing months from Easter to the summer holidays will be a mystery in terms of what our children learned, certainly until they can run assessments in autumn. The ‘unknown’ can breed fear and certainly our news cycles focus on the negative aspects of shutdown. And yet when you speak to some senior leaders their attitude is positive – enthused even. “I feel quite excited in a funny kind of way because I think there’s many things we can move forward with, I feel we can really get some good gains here – what I describe as accelerators.” – James Greenwood, headteacher, Manor Leas Junior This optimism is supported by data gathered by online teaching and learning resource Learning by Questions (LbQ) who received over 32 million pupil responses during this period and their sister site LbQ@Home which was free for parents and carers also had more than 120,000 users. Whilst not all children will have used the resource, the numbers are significant enough across the UK to give insights into these missing months and some of the key trends in learning that teachers are excited about. 1. The landscape shifted from revision to mastery. In the first few weeks of school shutdowns, teachers stuck to their schemes of learning. Understandably, these were abandoned fairly quickly. The consensus was not to try to move children’s learning on from afar and in a highly anxious climate, but to consolidate previous learning and practise. The data reflects that given the time and space to go deeper, teachers were able to cover more than ‘surface’ content. They could develop those deeper cognitive skills that are the cornerstones of mastery. Shifting focus from revision and preparation for exams including SATs before lockdown to a more even balance between practice and mastery may raise questions about what learning is achievable in the current academic timeframe – and how much of it ends up being more superficial than educators would like? It is also interesting to note that teachers feel that they can still develop mastery skills from a distance using online resources. The top 3 Question Sets for English pre lockdown were: Revision of Yr5/6 Grammar and Terminology Revision of Yr 1 – 6 Grammar & Terminology Year 6 National Curriculum Test Practice (SATs): Set 1 English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling After lockdown, the Question Sets selected by teachers were less ‘assessment based’: Revision of compound and complex sentences. The difference between plural and possessive s. Use relative clauses. What we learn from this information is that remote learning does not preclude mastery learning and can, in fact, allow time and space perhaps for deeper investigation and understanding than the current academic structure and accountability assessments may not allow for. 2. The landscape is less mathematics orientated and English is on the rise. Perhaps the most seismic shift we have seen has been in subject area. Before lockdown mathematics dominated the learning landscape. 62% of our Question Set usage for KS2 was in mathematics and only 31% English, 7% science – a fairly new addition to the LbQ resource library. But this changed. Mathematics and English are now much closer in popularity with teachers setting work. In fact English (47%) now beats mathematics (41%). The number of times an English Question Set was chosen has jettisoned from 7,757 (1st Jan – 22nd Mar 2020) to 19,064 (23rd Mar – 12th Jun 2020). Within the subject area, focus has also moved. Pre lockdown, over half of the top ten English Question Sets were grammar objectives. This has now changed, and Punctuation leads the charge. Reasons for this may be a paucity in trusted and proven resources for English, that more teachers are discovering LbQ English resources or that KS2 teachers believe their learners need greater support in this area. 3. The landscape has shifted from distinct subject areas to a more cross curricular approach. Whilst grammar, spelling and punctuation retained its dominance as the most practised area of the English syllabus (58%), reading has undergone a change. Fiction has always been popular and perhaps it is no surprise than during lockdown the country has leaned into comedy and fables for brevity. On the LbQ platform “Daft Dog” and “Larry and Dribbles” have been firm favourites amongst the KS2 audience and stories that deal specifically with the Covid crisis have been introduced to help children process some of what is happening around them. “Education should be about learning now. Our experience of the world is cross-curricular. Good cross-curricular or pedagogy should be relevant. Relevance involves the teachers increasing interaction with the world of their children.” – Jonathan Barnes, author of ‘Cross Curricular Learning 3 – 14’ Another strong case for cross-curricular success during lockdown has been in the genre of historical non-fiction. Selected 9% of the time by teachers before the lockdown, this has now shot up to 23%. The genre has now been selected over 2,000 times and titles such as ‘Britain in the Blitz’ have been popular reads. Offering non-fiction reading broadens learners’ exposure and interests into other areas of the curriculum and the introduction of texts for well being may also signpost a move towards increased blurring subject areas eg: English and PSHE, science and geography. Distinct subject areas are possibly even more outdated and inefficient ways of sharing learning than they were before lockdown. 4 Parents support a cross curricular dynamic at home but push for more science. The same cross-curricular approach could be seen on the LbQ@Home site built for parents, home users and teachers who perhaps did not have access to LbQ itself. Fiction remained popular at 14% and comedy high in the rankings. Non-fiction history matched that at 14% and interestingly non-fiction science also reached parity at 13%. Whereas teachers had not increased their interest in science (relegated to 10 or 11% of the usage), the subject took on great popularity within the home. Not only within English non-fiction Question Sets such as the one on Tim Peake, but also
Pupils at West Yorkshire academy produce video to ease coronavirus fears
Ahead of pupils returning to school in September, key worker pupils from West Yorkshire academy Thornhill Junior and Infant School have produced a short video for their fellow classmates explaining what measures have been introduced to ensure their safety. Taking the pupils and parents on a journey of what a new school day will look like, the video explains how the school layout has changed, where washing and hand sanitiser facilities will be made available and the requirements that will be expected from all children. Incorporating a catchy song written by pupils and staff which stresses the sentiment of ‘working together as one community’, the five-minute clip has been produced to alleviate any worries that pupils may have about returning to school. Michael Rowland, Headteacher of the school said: “The last few months has shown the resilience of our community at Thornhill J & I and our willingness to adapt and move forward. “I’m very much looking forward to seeing our pupils return in September and I hope that the pupils who have remained in school have shown that pupil safety is of the highest importance to us and that we will be supporting each child in the transition back to the classroom.” To watch this video in full please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI66JlGNhm0&feature=youtu.be Thornhill Junior and Infant School operates as part of Focus Trust – a charitable multi-academy trust which is based in the North West of England with a vision of providing an engaging and challenging learning environment where the children are happy.