Is a Smartphone Free Childhood the answer to our nation’s smartphone addiction? I’d say no.
By Mark Saxby – Positive Social When two Surrey mums made it big with their campaign to stop children and smartphones mixing, the UK’s media got very excited about it. Not that it was a new idea. One of my friends had already agreed a smartphone-free arrangement among a group ofparents in their Scottish primary school. They had all decided they would hold off giving their children devices. Wonderful. Inspired, I tried the same thing in my daughter’s primary school. The Year 5 dads were all in a WhatsApp group. I suggested us all holding off on smartphones until our children went to secondary school. I was largely met by silence except for one dad who said he and his wife had already given their nine-year-old boy his brother’s old smartphone and they were confident he’d be sensible. There lies the problem – while some parents, like the Surrey mums and my Scottish friend, recognise their children shouldn’t be on social media at such a young age, many other parentseither just don’t understand the dangers or have the capacity in their lives to even consider them. Some children will have smartphones and others won’t. And then the well-meaning parents will face immense pressure to buckle. As one mum said: “My son will be a social pariah if he doesn’t have a phone.” I’m not saying that the campaign for a Smartphone Free Childhood is a waste of time. For starters, it’s helped many parents see there is another way. And the more children without a smartphone, the better. But I believe the answer is in education, not a ban. The majority of time spent on phones by young people is spent using social media. Our charity, Positive Social, has run sessions with thousands of young people in classrooms across the country. We don’t tell the students to come off social media. Instead, we help them understand that social media is addictive; that misuse could damage their now and their future; and that they can enjoy life more if they spend less time on their phones. Ultimately, we give them the permission to make a choice – to have a different relationship with social media and their phones. And they make amazing commitments to change. They say they’ll: • Leave WhatsApp groups where they’re bullying other children. • Delete the Instagram app because it’s making them sad. • Spend more time with their parents because they’re more important. • Leave TikTok because it’s washing their mind. • Stop taking their phone to bed with them. We find that young people don’t want to be on social media as much as they are. They’ve just been allowed by their parents to spend time on their phones without boundaries. Many of them confess they just don’t feel good when spending an excessive amount of time on social media. Some schools we visit report a drop in social media issues. Other schools run our free follow-up Social Ambassadors programme so social media stays on the agenda. Of course, there are some children who won’t follow through on their commitments. Or they’ll forget about them. Or they just won’t be able to resist the pull of social media. After all, doctors liken our addiction to it as that suffered by crack cocaine users. But the childrenwill never forget our sessions – or that there’s a different way of looking at social media. Will they ever go smartphone free? I doubt it. If us adults can’t manage it, then why should we expect our children to. But it’s definitely time to empower our children to choose a different type of relationship with social media and their phones. Mark Saxby is one of the founders of the Positive Social charity, a national organisation which runs interactive classroom sessions in primary and secondary schools. You can find out more at https://positivesocial.org.uk/
Taskmaster star Alex Horne to host the Tes Schools Awards 2024
The biggest event in the education calendar is back, the Tes School Awards 2024, with the creator and co-host of BAFTA and National Comedy Award-winning hit TV show, Taskmaster, Alex Horne, and he’s bringing his six-piece band, ‘The Horne Section’ with him. Dubbed ‘the Oscars of Education’, the Tes Schools Awards celebrates excellence across the UK’s education sector, bringing together both State and Independent schools in one glamorous evening event in London. This year looks set to be the finest year yet, with a high level of entrants across all 21 categories. The panel of independent judges, made up of leaders from across the world of education, have already remarked that the quality and calibre of nominations at this stage is making their job a tough one. Alex Horne said, “As a former child who was taught by at least some excellent teachers, it’s an honour and a contractual obligation to be hosting this year’s Tes Schools Awards. I’ll have my band with me and they all ‘studied jazz’ at university so there are enormous gaps in their education that will hopefully be filled one day, and maybe this will be that day.” Time is running out to get secured Earlybird tickets. This year the Tes Schools Awards take place on Friday 21st June 2024 at the Grosvenor Hotel, Park Lane, London, and will be attended by many of the nominated teachers from across the UK. READ MORE QA EDUCATION NEWS: 8 ways to set an effective school budget Attendees will also get to watch an excerpt of the Lion King performed by the Disney Theatrical Group. Come celebrate the best in education with us and Alex Horne, The Horne Section, and the Disney Theatrical Group. Earlybird tickets for the event are available here. To find out more about the Tes Schools Awards, please visit Tes Schools Awards | Tes
Barnardo’s Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies: The PATH to Success
The PATHS® Programme for Schools (UK/NI Version) The PATHS® Programme for Schools (UK/NI Version) promotes the positive mental health and well-being of children in pre-schools and primary schools across the UK. With its roots in the US, it’s now taking the UK by storm! Since 2008, the programme has grown from being in just 6 schools in Northern Ireland, to now being delivered in almost 500 (497) schools and pre-schools across in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. Barnardo’s team of specialist SEL coaches support settings over a 4-year period to implement high-quality evidence based social emotional learning. Through specialist training and ongoing coaching support, schools and pre-schools are well supported to deliver the programme with fidelity. Key to the success and sustainability of the programme is embedding a whole-school approach to SEL; and our coaching team support schools to do just that! From supporting classroom delivery to generating cross-curricular links; from training school staff to training parents & playground supervisors; and from supporting with SEL themes outside of the classroom (e.g. assembly, playground games etc) and within core policies – we have you covered to fully place the PATHS® Programme at the heart of your school. With positive outcomes not only for behaviour, attention & concentration, and social emotional competencies, but also improvements in the wider school ethos and environment – it’s easy to see why teachers, parents and pupils all love the PATHS® Programme. This year, 18 schools and 6 pre-schools across the UK have also achieved ‘SEL Worldwide Model School Status’ – an award which recognises the high-quality whole-school implementation of the programme, and their commitment to embed the programme in all aspects of the school day – and beyond!. In total, 93 establishments have received this accolade through Barnardo’s and SEL Worldwide. “We applied to take part in the PATHS® Programme because we felt that it offered a more structured whole -school approach, especially towards dealing with emotions and anger management strategies. We wanted a programme that offered a common language and approach for everyone to use with the children i.e. teachers, non-teaching staff, lunch time supervisors etc. We also felt that the PATHS® initiative gave every child the vocabulary and opportunities to express their feelings and provided them with clear strategies to use when they were upset.” (In School Coordinator, N Ireland School) “The PATHS® Programme through Barnardo’s has brought so much to our school, and we cannot now imagine life without its principles firmly embedded into our everyday practice. Our children love the familiarity of the programme’s approach and it is an absolute joy to see them not only applying the strategies themselves, but also teaching them to their families at home.” (Head Teacher, St Helens School) “Through the programme we have been able to empower our youngest learners to develop these key skills including social problem solving, self-control, emotional understanding, peer relations and self-esteem which will hopefully enable them to make positive choices in their future lives.” (Setting Manager, Pembrokeshire Pre-School)
Rebuilding RAAC schools with energy efficiency in mind
With most school buildings having a typical lifespan of about 80 years, opportunities to build schools with a responsible design from the outset – rather than retrofitting – are few and far between. The Government’s recent announcement that 119 schools in England need to be rebuilt due to the reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) crisis presents us with one of these rare opportunities. While retrofitting is a brilliant solution for the vast majority of schools, there’s no substitute for buildings that have been designed with energy efficiency firmly in mind. It’s no secret that schools across the country are facing rocketing energy bills. Figures from the Department for Education show that, in England, local authority-maintained schools spent 61% more on energy in the year 2022-23 than the previous year. And the quality of school building stock is also poor when it comes to energy performance, with one fifth of all school buildings in England possessing an Energy Performance Certificate of E, F or G – the lowest ratings it’s possible to achieve. Little wonder, then, that net-zero consultancy The Carbon Trust has estimated that UK schools could reduce their energy costs by around £44m each year. While there’s a whole host of interior upgrades that can be made, from installing more efficient LED lighting and heating and ventilation systems, the shell of school buildings themselves should be made to work as hard as possible. READ MORE: QA EDUCATION NEWS At Project Solar, we believe it would be a glaring oversight, for example, if renewable energy sources were not an integral part of all 119 school rebuilds. Solar panels are such an obvious and logical place to start when it comes to reducing dependence on grid electricity. Research from property consultancy Barker suggests that schools can generate approximately 25% of their electricity from on-site solar PV systemsalone. Evidence shows that where schools have already installed solar panels, they’re quickly reaping the benefits, both financially and environmentally. Hammersmith Academy in Shepherds Bush, for example, installed over 400 solar panels last summer and is on track to cut its electricity bills by 20% in the first year post-installation. At the same time, the Academy is saving 32 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere, which is the equivalent to approximately 1,500 trees being planted. And solar panels are not just a money-saving measure for schools, but potentially a money-making one too. Exporting renewable energy that they haven’t used back to the grid could generate a steady income stream for schools. So, I would urge us not to be short-sighted when rebuilding our schools, and to recognise the long-term benefits that renewables adoption can bring. The recent announcement of new funding pots could help those 119 RAAC schools to finance that, as well as opening up retrofitting opportunities for existing school buildings. Last week the Government announced £530 million of funding for low carbon heating and energy savings for schools, hospital and other public buildings. Tapping into funding via the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme should be high on the priority list for all schools. By getting it right with these 119 RAAC rebuilds, we can have 119 examples of best practise when it comes to energy efficiency that future school rebuilds can be modelled on. Ultimately the transition to net-zero will require the entire school real estate portfolio in the UK to upgrade, but the RAAC rebuilds are a great place to really build momentum on the isolated pockets of schools dotted around the country that already have solar panels. By Simon Peat – CEO of Project Solar, the UK’s largest solar panel installer
The Future Of Digital GCSE Exams In Our Schools
Last autumn, England’s largest examination board for GCSE exams, AQA, revealed its intention for pupils to sit their GCSE exams partly digitally in at least one major subject by 2030. By Adam Speight, acting Assistant Headteacher and content creator for Access Education. The announcement, intended to ‘allow young people to use their digital skills’, set the wheels in motion for a series of developments which leave little doubt that digital assessment will become a key part of our education system. Just a few months ago, AQA subsequently launched a free digital maths test to help teachers work out why some students are struggling with the subject. Aimed at Key Stage 3 students and those preparing for a maths GCSE resit, the on-screen test reacts to the answers a student gives, powered by ‘adaptive technology’. Similar tests, which assess and help improve students’ knowledge through instantaneous, automated feedback, are already being used in schools up and down the country. They provide early insight into the impact of widespread digital test adoption – and, crucially, what lessons can be learnt from the results. Data-driven insights Earlier this year, data from over 80,000 GCSE students, who collectively answered over 6 million questions through digital assessments, formed the basis of GCSEPod’s Knowledge and Confidence Gap Analysis Report 2023/24. It helped to pinpoint the exact areas where students currently struggle across a range of subjects, including Maths, English and Science. Recalling and correctly applying formulae (66.7% incorrect attempts) and dividing fractions (62.9% incorrect attempts) were revealed as the areas of foundational knowledge students struggled with in Maths, following news that pass rates have fallen for GCSE maths resits this year. Meanwhile, in English Language, students have faced difficulty understanding how to use apostrophes and quotation marks (69.1% incorrect attempts), with basic punctuation an area of low confidence nationwide. In Combined Science, the commonality of errors relating to equations and data could mean that inadequate understanding of mathematical skills and process may be affecting both confidence and attainment. Overcoming areas of difficulty Through understanding where students’ knowledge is lacking and misconceptions are frequent, teachers can focus their efforts in these areas, implementing easy solutions such as recapping lessons or undertaking targeted revision sessions. While many teachers gain this understanding through traditional pen and paper marking methods, digital tests can help predict what areas a cohort will struggle with before they do, based on the vast amount of data from the year before. Digital tests also help to alleviate teacher workload here – a clear advantage when teaching commitments and administrative tasks often leave very little time for lesson planning. And, as the teacher recruitment and retention crisis shows no signs of subsiding and increasing numbers of schools have to use non-specialist teachers, digital tests can assist in alleviating shortcomings in teacher knowledge. Structured feedback helps provide both learners and teachers with additional support. It can be a challenge to pry digitally-savvy students away from their phones, but digital tests are also an effective way of helping to ‘meet students where they are’, not to mention more inclusive. They help those who can type faster than they can write, while alleviating the need to worry about how your writing looks. For those, like myself, who are dyslexic, this is particularly helpful. From the classroom to the exam hall Though digital exams remain a vision of the near future, it’s clear there is an appetite building. A 2022 TeacherTapp survey of nearly 4000 secondary teachers, found that 75% of teachers believed that on-screen assessment would be a good thing, if challenges such as access to technology are addressed effectively. With such concerns valid, a clear way forward is to focus on incorporating digital tests into everyday learning now, familiarising students with best practice and introducing the correct infrastructure into classrooms. Digital exams will likely never fully replace traditional written examination, with a hybrid approach keeping in place the benefits of both. The positive impact of this is being seen in our schools already and with technology only advancing, it’s an exciting area to watch. To find out more about GCSEPod’s Knowledge Gap report, visit https://www.theaccessgroup.com/en-gb/education/resources/where-in-england-has-the-biggest-gcse-knowledge-gap/
Competition regulator to investigate UK’s largest education software firm ESS
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating whether ESS has broken the law by taking action to prevent schools from switching to a new management information system provider. Management information systems are important databases used to handle student information, such as attendance and safeguarding, and most UK schools are required to have these databases in place. Education Software Solutions Ltd (ESS) is the largest provider of these systems in the UK, with approximately a 50% share of the market in England, and even higher in Wales and Northern Ireland. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has received complaints from a number of ESS’s customers suggesting the firm is making it difficult for them to switch to a new provider. These schools reported they had been warned by ESS that they would not be able to share a copy of their database with a new provider, as doing so would breach ESS’s intellectual property rights. The CMA understands that sharing database back-up copies is a longstanding and widespread practice used in the sector for data transfer of this kind and, without it, the CMA is concerned that schools’ ability to move to a new provider would be severely hampered. While some means of switching are permitted by the company, they are reportedly complex, time consuming and error prone. Moreover, schools and competitors reported that ESS had objected to the alternative solutions put forward to enable the extraction of their data. The CMA will be investigating ESS to determine whether or not the law has been breached. As part of this, the CMA will consider whether it needs to impose interim measures to prevent harm from occurring while it carries out its investigation. If the allegations against ESS are found to be true, such behaviour could be a breach competition law. Juliette Enser, Interim Executive Director of Competition Enforcement, said: “We’re concerned about the complaints we’ve received regarding ESS’s alleged behaviour. As such, we’ll be investigating their conduct with urgency to get to the bottom of the matter. “Management information systems are an integral part of protecting schools’ data, reducing costs, and safeguarding students. It’s essential that schools are able to pick the most appropriate system for their needs – and change providers with ease when their contract is up.” In 2022, ESS offered the CMA commitments following a review to determine whether the company was using its dominant position in the market to push schools into accepting new 3-year contracts, where previously they had run for just one year. The binding commitments enabled eligible schools to exit early from their 3-year contract, and the CMA continues to monitor ESS’s compliance with these commitments. The CMA’s new concerns in relation to ESS’s conduct focus on a different possible abuse of dominance and are therefore the subject of a separate investigation. A spokesperson for ESS, said: “We are extremely surprised at this sudden announcement by the CMA, which overlooks the fact that there are legitimate methods of migrating data from SIMS to the systems provided by our competitors. Guidance on these methods has long been available and we have made multiple communications to competitors, customers (and their support providers) explaining this. “That some competitors have chosen to ignore these methods and have instead created a “workaround” that accesses our core code, is the only abuse in this situation. “It simply cannot be correct that the only way to sustain a competitive market is for one organisation to be forced to allow its competitors open access to its core intellectual property, which it has invested large amounts of time and money in developing.“
Why are schools prime targets for ransomware?
By Dakota Murphey Cyber security threats have been a hot topic among professionals across a range of sectors in recent years, and education is no different. While Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check scams have created recent problems for teaching job seekers, it’s not uncommon to find heads of schools, colleges and universities caught in the proverbial crossfires of a nefarious cyber incident, system breach, or situation that could compromise student data integrity. The rise of ransomware in the education sector Given how digitised many education facilities have become in recent years, understanding the potential cyber risks with classroom or top-level system technology is vital. One of the most deadly and fast-rising types of cybercrime is ransomware, which is affecting education institutions in the UK like never before. On the surface, it may seem puzzling why malicious actors would target schools, but a closer examination reveals several compelling reasons behind this evolving cyber security method. A recent report revealed that ransomware attacks increased by 87% in the UK and 37% globally in the first half of 2023. This highly sophisticated form of malware (malicious software) can, at best, be a disruptive nuisance, but at worst, can lock down critical systems and extort funds from education providers. With many schools needing to find the best way possible to set an effective limited budget, they can ill afford to face yet another financial ‘shot in the arm’ at times when costs are high. What’s more, education providers are bound by heavy regulations that mandate safe and strict cyber security infrastructure in place to safeguard student and stakeholder data. If a ransomware (or indeed, any other) incident were to compromise this vital data, the education facility could suffer further financial or reputational damage. Therefore, it’s fair to say that headteachers and decision-makers should pay close attention to the evolving threat of ransomware. To do that, it’s prudent to examine why it has proliferated to such a degree in education settings and what head teachers can do to prevent it from escalating and becoming an issue in their facilities. Why are schools targeted by ransomware attackers? Insufficient Cyber Security Resources Many schools do not have a stable security infrastructure, nor do they have access to the resources necessary to maintain a robust cyber posture. With budgets increasingly stretched, education facilities must allocate funds to the most essential equipment to maintain the safety of students and teachers, from security gates and alarms to CCTV. Often, this leaves little to no room for enterprise-grade digital security measures like encryption software, cyber security training, and endpoint threat detection solutions. Unfortunately, this lack of practical and proactive cyber awareness makes schools easy targets, allowing ransomware operators the ability to infiltrate school systems with greater ease. Additionally, staff are less able to easily detect nefarious activity across their networks meaning that insider threats are less overt, and attackers can move laterally across an estate more easily. Failing to maintain a continuous learning environment Schools, colleges, and universities are heavily reliant on their IT systems to facilitate teaching, learning and administration, among other processes. Online learning platforms, virtual classrooms, student databases, faculty emails, admin and grading systems and more all rely on an interconnected school system. Furthermore, creating a seamless, uninterrupted educational experience for students requires a steady data flow between computers and other devices on a school network. Schools must meet the Department for Education’s Digital Accessibility Standards to ensure all digital resources, content, and services are accessible. However, this is made much more difficult if the underlying system is vulnerable. If they are unable to access the information and systems they need, this could disrupt the education experience. Ransomware operators recognise the dependency that students and teachers alike have on digital infrastructure and can block or encrypt access to critical systems until a ransom is paid, thus bringing education to a de facto standstill. Faced with prolonged disruption due to ransomware, many institutions may feel compelled to pay ransom demands. Holding valuable, sensitive data Schools and education facilities store a huge amount of personally identifiable information (PII) and data in cloud-based digital repositories. The nature of this data is highly sensitive, including names, addresses, contact details, medical and academic records, all of which can be leveraged against a school or individual for illegal or unethical blackmail tactics. Stolen data can also be used as bargaining chips for attackers who may threaten to publicly release or sell it on the dark web unless ransom demands are met. The potential consequences of such data breaches can be severe for schools as well as individuals whose information is compromised. Schools are also bound by General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which can impose fines if data is not upheld with integrity and a breach occurs. How to mitigate the damage from ransomware and other cybercrime While the evolving threat of ransomware is evidently serious, it is not impossible to overcome. It does mean that schools will have to make key and budget-conscious decisions on safeguarding data and information in light of the complex and changing cyber threat landscape. Basic threat prevention and data security measures include enforcing strong password policies for students and teachers, ensuring that all logins are unique and meet minimum criteria, and backing these measures up with multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible. Recent stats from Microsoft say that MFA reduces the risk of successful cyber attacks by blocking over 99.9% of account compromises. Systems and software must be regularly patched and updated to protect them from known vulnerabilities and weak spots, robust backups and recovery solutions must be deployed, and email security must be enhanced to minimise the potential for phishing and malware entry. Fundamentally, however, as all education providers know, the most important facet is understanding the what, the where, and the how. Fostering a culture of greater cyber awareness is pivotal in helping schools overcome almost any security issue including ransomware. Encourage open communication and clear reporting procedures, promote safe computing practices and adherence to clear
Schools could unlock £36million in electric vehicle infrastructure grants
A specialist EV solutions provider is encouraging schools, nurseries and colleges across the UK to make the most of Government grants available to them, that will support the plan and delivery of their chargepoint infrastructures, in a bid to help make educational institutions across the country greener. Expert renewable energy and EV solutions provider, The E-Merge Group, specialises in the planning, installation and maintenance of EV infrastructures, and the team is calling on educational institutions across the UK to boost chargepoint facilities for staff and visitors by leaning on the support of Government-based, education sector-specific grants. These include the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, which was announced recently and could provide up to 75 percent of the cost to buy and install chargepoints. Likewise, the Government’s Plan for Drivers initiative incorporates grants for schools, cash for councils and new proposals to boost chargepoint numbers to improve the country’s EV infrastructure. With more drivers making the switch and fully electric vehicles accounting for more than 16 percent of the new UK car market*, the funding, combined with a certified installation partner, will help the UK reach its climate change commitments, while charting the fairest path to net zero. What’s more, over the next 12 months, the E-Merge Group team is committing to educating and upskilling pupils across the UK by holding and sponsoring talks in schools and colleges on the importance of renewable energy and the power of implementing sustainable solutions in everyday life. Charlotte Ward, Co-Founder of E-Merge Group, which works with businesses to roll out bespoke renewable solution packages, comments: “By helping to unlock Government funding and grants, we’re dedicated to supporting schools and local authorities across the UK to build a greener, more sustainable nation. “The funding is available for state-funded schools, colleges, nurseries and academies to boost the chargepoint facilities. To unlock a portion of the £36 million on offer, schools must work with their local authorities to access their indicative funding, following a three step process. “Organisations within the education sector are perfectly positioned to support the establishment of a nationwide charging network that’s accessible post-5pm and on weekends, thanks to the typical hours within which they operate, meaning schools, nurseries, colleges and the like can contribute significantly to helping the UK establish a more robust EV infrastructure. “The E-Merge Group team is dedicated to helping businesses unlock their renewable energy and EV potential, guiding them in making the most of Government support and providing the most technologically-advanced solutions to help make their sustainability objectives become a reality, all the while helping them enhance their bottom line.” More information about E-Merge Group and its services can be found at: emerge-renewables.com.
How to turn the page on lingering learning gaps
Schools have found creative ways to deliver catch up teaching says Louise Pink, former school leader and Customer Optimisation Manager at SIMS from ParentPay Group. The conversation in school corridors and staff rooms may have moved on from the experience of teaching through a global pandemic four years on. But in classrooms, the legacy remains. Some of the more recent data available comes from a survey of 500 school leaders, who were asked about the status of teaching and learning in their schools as part of the Generation Catch-Up Report. The result was almost universal agreement that pupils’ learning is yet to recover from the disruption of Covid. A staggering 96% felt that learning gaps were continuing to have an impact on pupil achievement – and nearly two thirds (61%) described the impact as major. One in 10 schools reported learning loss of between one and two years, which is why work continues in many schools to close the gaps. Who is most affected? Primary school leaders were most concerned about their Year 4s. These are the children who were in Year 3 at the time of the survey. In secondary schools, the picture was more mixed. Year 10s were highlighted as the year group most affected by learning gaps. These were the students in Year 9 at the time of the survey and preparing for GCSEs. Some of the issues raised by senior leaders include Year 7s starting school with low literacy levels. In older year groups, they raised the point that students were feeling unprepared for their exams. The ripples of Covid appear to have left no child untouched. However, there have been positive developments in recent years too. Despite being under intense pressure, school leaders and teachers have been taking action to close learning gaps and help children get back on track. Taking action on literacy Additional training and CPD opportunities provided to teachers help to ensure catch-up programmes for literacy, reading and writing get results. In St Thomas More Catholic Primary, the English lead was working towards the National Professional Qualification in Leading Literacy (NPQLL) when the report was published. There’s been a drive to incorporate reading and writing activities across subject areas too, which is helping children build literacy skills more quickly, as Donna Faley, headteacher, explains. “We have embedded writing across the curriculum which gives children opportunities to write at length in subjects like geography, history and RE. Producing longer, high quality writing has really helped with children’s writing stamina.” Beacon Academy had identified children who were three or four years behind on reading age. “We looked at our assessment data and identified the weakest pupils in history and geography and spotted they also had the lowest scores in reading tests,” says Peter Hall, the school’s assistant headteacher. “This enabled us to focus on those who needed the most support and monitor the interventions we put in place for them.” The school also employed reading intervention tutors to find out exactly where students’ stumbling blocks are on a one-to-one basis as each child had different difficulties. This has helped to address reading gaps. Supporting whole cohorts The size of pandemic related learning loss has called for a much broader approach in many schools. In primary schools, key skills have been identified that entire classes need help with. Adapting lesson plans to embed the development of these skills in day-to-day lessons has helped to tackle the shortfall at scale. Senior leaders in secondary schools reported students in the younger year groups had lost confidence working on their own. Many schools have therefore concentrated their efforts on providing more individual attention. “Teachers are adapting tasks into shorter chunks to help children learn more independently, and they are allocating more time in the lesson to explain new concepts,” says Ieuan Price, director of digital learning at St Illtyd’s Catholic High School. Freeing up time for teachers Finding time in the school day to deliver good quality catch-up provision has been a challenge for many schools. Encouraging attendance at after school catch-up clubs hasn’t always been easy, so online tuition sessions have offered an effective alternative to supplement in-school learning. Some secondary schools have made better use of the time available in the school day to offer focused catch-up in core subjects too, providing additional support to those students who need it. “Using tutor time for additional maths tuition has had a positive impact, and students really appreciate a teacher caring about them and taking time to focus on their progress,” adds Peter Hall from Beacon Academy. The ingenuity and resourcefulness showcased by schools throughout the pandemic to continue to deliver teaching and learning is still apparent today. And it will influence education for generations to come. READ MORE QA EDUCATION FEATURES