VIEWS & OPINION


Minimising disruption to learning through online schooling Comment by JACQUELINE DANIELL, CEO of Wey Education


We are currently all operating in truly unprecedented times; with the increased spread of COVID-19 across the UK, the government took the decision to announce a nationwide lockdown from 23 March. As part of this, schools have been closed since 20 March, with the exception of the children of key workers. While our daily habits have changed – implementing social distancing measures and only leaving the house for absolute necessities – one thing remains the same: our duty of care to ensure children are able to continue learning to aid their development and prepare them for adult life. As a result of the recent situation and the need to implement


learning at a distance, the Regulatory News Service estimates that the demand for online learning has increased by 25%. The race to provide this online learning in recent weeks has seen schools very quickly implement new systems or leverage their existing technology platforms and infrastructure to cater for online learning, in response to learners now being based at home for the foreseeable future. Live, interactive online teaching and learning has been practiced


and available in the UK since 2003/4 when it was first developed to offer a solution for young people in need of an alternative provision. From 2005, our online school began to support many thousands of families who elected to have their children educated other than at the local school. For the last 15 years we have provided a complete school experience on the internet. Wey Education delivers high quality teaching and learning to any student in any location at any time if they have access to a device connected to the internet.


InterHigh InterHigh School was originally founded on providing a flexible and accessible British curriculum education, welcoming thousands of young people from all over the world to our school. Today InterHigh has a Primary School, Secondary School and Sixth Form College, and supports learners at all stages and levels. Pupils find everything they would expect from a traditional school with the additional bonus of a specialised and powerful learning platform, bringing school to the student in a way that suits them – which is especially convenient considering the current situation of keeping children at home. The lessons are timetabled and delivered in live, interactive


classrooms by a professionally qualified teacher. Students have access to the cloud-based lesson library containing the full curriculum, course resources, activities and digital recordings at any time – ensuring they can continue their studies in a flexible manner that suits any routine. The nature of InterHigh’s teaching environment means that


disruptive or distracting behaviour are non-existent – pupils can concentrate on their learning without lesson interruption and are able to interact with their teachers and classmates in an infinite number of scenarios. During a lesson, teachers can organise pupils into small work groups, whole class discussions, one to one feedback, virtual exploration, or master class type lectures according to a particular topic or activity. There has been absolutely no disruption to children’s learning through InterHigh due to its virtual nature, regardless of the situation of COVID-19 and the need to isolate. We also ensure that parents can be involved in monitoring their


child’s progress. Parents are given their own access to the school portal which provides constant information about their son or daughter’s attendance, engagement, progress, feedback and assignments. This is then supplemented by regular more formal feedback from teachers and faculty heads. Pupils not only follow academic courses but also have the opportunity to join vocational and enrichment courses, preparing


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them for the next stage in their education, college, university or work Beyond lesson time, students have access to a variety of special interest courses, clubs and societies and can socialise with peers in the virtual common room or via our very own secure school social media platform – this solidifies the young person’s sense of belonging, love of learning, camaraderie, and friendship groups despite the physical distancing measures they currently must adhere to. Actress Bella Ramsey, who starred in the HBO hit series Game of


Thrones as Lady Lyanna Mormont, joined InterHigh to ensure she can focus on her career as well as study, and said: “InterHigh is, in my opinion, one of the best things the internet can be used for. It’s great. I love it and recommend it to everyone.”


Academy21 Academy21 offers flexible, cost-effective and academically focused provision for young, vulnerable learners who cannot or will not attend school due to various reasons. We provide a national service to all pupils in need of alternative education provision across England and Wales. Transferring best classroom teaching practice to an online learning


environment underpins our approach to delivering academic success for the young, vulnerable learners we support. We currently deliver learning in over 100 different Local Authority areas each year, supporting a diverse range of needs including anxiety disorders, challenging behaviour, medical needs, teenage mothers and young people in care, and school refusers. This is especially useful for those vulnerable learners – either at home or in the school environment – who benefit from a structured, yet flexible way to continue their learning. Pupils enrolled with Academy21 can learn from any location with a


broadband connection and computer. This is usually from a home, school, PRU, AP setting or other learning centre. Learners remain on roll locally with all attendance and progress data provided 24/7 to the designated school or LA officer via our online reporting systems. Our broad and balanced curriculum for Years 5-13 is underpinned


by innovative pedagogy and teaching practice excellence. Key factors include being able to learn from anywhere, tailored timetables and differentiated content, subject specialist teacher-led classes, engaging lessons, homework activities and an online lesson archive as well as tutorial sessions to reinforce learning.


Supporting you Much of the work around adapting traditional classroom teaching and learning, introducing effective safeguarding, providing engaging content and delivering an academically focused curriculum to thousands of young people every year is already there for mainstream settings to leverage. With no immediate end to this pandemic in sight, parents and


educators need to put processes in place as soon as possible to ensure the situation does not impact more negatively on our future generation. As one of the expert organisations in online teaching and learning, with over 15 years of experience, we stand ready to share our knowledge and skills to support all students, their families and their schools, including the most vulnerable, with much needed advice and guidance throughout the trying times that lie ahead.


www.interhigh.co.uk www.academy21.co.uk


April 2020 E-learning Supplement


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