VIEWS From the pen of... Philippa Wraithmell Are you ready for


remote learning 2.0? This month PHILIPPA WRAITHMELL, author of “The Digital Ecosystem: How to create a sustainable digital strategy for your school”, discusses the need for continuing to dive into digital.


Remote learning, a phrase that came into our lives in 2020, is one that for many brings back memories of stress and the overload of screens and apps which had never been heard of before. Returning to school this September was a joy - supporting students face-to-face and building normality as we now know it, back into the lives of young people. We are working on skills for life, communication and community support and patching up the holes in our curriculums, building foundations. As we head back to normal, some may have decided to place devices back on shelves, with little consideration and reflection for the immense increase in meaningful skills which have been learnt, created and absorbed during this period. A knee jerk reaction to being locked down and screen schooled has been to remove devices from the classroom, to focus, as some may say, on other things.


But who are we letting down by doubling down on analogue? Whatever happened to little and often? Building our teacher’s skills doesn’t have to be as time-consuming. Supporting students to develop digital skills which are meaningfully blended into their curriculum, can and will enhance their future potential within this digitally evolving world. EdTech companies have spent the last 12 months making the changes we asked for. How many schools have kept up, embedded and enhanced curriculums, not just for ‘if’, but for ‘when’, building skills for the future, not just for Covid? We live in uncertain times, with variants on the rise, can we say we are prepared for school closure. How many of our schools will confidently say, we’ve built upon foundations, we’re stronger, we’re prepared? We should be.


So how do we continue support without overloading? Start with why


What’s your school's vision, what's in your school’s development plan, how can we support our community, how can we build on our previous successes from remote learning? What went well? Reach out to your teachers and find out what helped and supported them best. Build on the foundations now, who supports who? How do students seek help, how do teachers find a shoulder to lean on, how can parents develop their digital skills? Share learning resources from the wealth online.


If you were unable to develop a digital portfolio for your students learning before, think about this now. It builds connections between your school and home. That shared vision for ways every stakeholder can support children’s progress is vital. If/when we have to learn from home again the communication has been developed - Seesaw, Showbie, Google all have versions of online classrooms. Find what works for your school.


Build-in professional development linked to digital skills. When you have decided on platforms and apps, look at the potential professional development, align it to continuously support your staff, make it an expectation. Microsoft Educator, Google Certified, Apple Teacher. Champions, Pioneers, Gurus in your school's ecosystem. There will always be different priorities in schools, but if/when we have to push schools online, with the proper support to your school's ecosystem, you are in the driving seat and you know that everyone in your community is going in the same direction.


‘The Digital Ecosystem’ by Philippa Wraithmell is priced at just £15 and available from


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Ecosystem-sustainable-digital- strategy/dp/1913622851/


January 2022 BRITISH EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION (BESA)


When expulsion is a good thing


In her regular column for Education Today this month, JULIA GARVEY, Deputy Director General at school suppliers’ association BESA, outlines the organisation’s Code of Practice.


I am very pleased to announce that last year we had to expel two companies from BESA membership. This may sound a strange thing to say, perhaps you would expect us to keep this sort of news quiet. But instead, I am happy to announce it in print. I’m pleased because to me it demonstrates the value and significance of the BESA Code of Practice as a tool for ensuring that schools can select suppliers they can trust.


In both cases, in fact in all cases of expulsion, the decision to remove a company will be based upon evidence that they have broken our Code of Practice. The Code of Practice is the set of values by which all BESA members agree to abide when they join. The Code covers five areas and sets out the levels of expected behaviour from suppliers in all their dealings with schools: • Quality and standards • Integrity


• Transparency and openness • Safeguarding and data security • Discriminatory conduct


The Code of Practice is self-selecting. Companies that don’t agree to abide by the Code either don’t apply to become BESA members or will not be accepted into membership because they will not pass our due diligence process.


Once accepted into membership, companies are permitted to display the BESA logo on their marketing communications and website. The BESA logo acts as your symbol of quality assurance – look for the logo whenever you choose a new supplier. So why then champion the fact that two companies failed to live up to these high standards? Because I believe that it demonstrates our commitment to maintaining these standards. Don’t get me wrong, we do not expel companies easily and it is always with a heavy heart. But when we receive complaints relating to a potential breach then we take the allegations seriously and follow a rigorous investigation process that serves to hold members to account. Sometimes complaints are found to be unwarranted, but if the complaint is upheld, and our governance board has the final decision on this, then the company will be asked to leave membership.


This process serves to protect the reputation of BESA and the rest of our members and for that reason it is vitally important that we do play an active part in ensuring the Code of Practice is adhered to. Thankfully, despite my earlier statement, it is very rare for companies to be expelled from membership. It has been a number of years since the last time this happened, but we do regularly refuse membership on these grounds.


I’m sharing this story with you now as a reminder of the value of working with BESA member companies. If you see a supplier is using the BESA logo you can be certain they have been vetted by us to ensure they are a viable going concern, and that they will be ethical in their dealings with you. In our experience, these are attributes that can really make a difference to schools.


Full details of the BESA Code of Practice can be viewed on our website https://www.besa.org.uk/code-of-practice/ along with a list of BESA members in our supplier directory https://www.besa.org.uk/supplier-directory/ – this is a great place to start when checking whether an existing supplier is a BESA member, or when looking for a new supplier.


Julia Garvey Deputy Director General, BESA www.education-today.co.uk 13


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