PANELLISTS – INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS, INNOVATION & RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC
as well as academic outcomes. For parents making education choices in the UK,
information on academic quality is readily available through a range of official state and independent school inspection reports, league tables, resources like Relocate Global’s Guide to International Schools and Education and Education Experts Directory, and The Good Schools Guide. Yet in some markets, getting that information is
harder for relocating families, said Ashwin Assomull. “There are word-of-mouth recommendations and visits, but often nothing tangible to see how one school compares to another.” Here, the services of international education and schools consultants, alongside online events like the Great International Education & Schools’ Fair, come into their own for relocating families.
Ashwin Assomull, Partner at Global Education Practice, L.E.K. Consulting
Jonathan Taylor, Principal, International School Zurich North (Cognita)
HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC IMPACTED FACTORS IN SCHOOL CHOICE DECISION MAKING? While issues like approaches to pastoral care, location and a school’s financial resilience remain important for parents – and link into academic quality – parents in a post-Covid-19 world are assessing other aspects of international schools. “Parents are increasingly interested in our approach
to managing health and safety,” said Jonathan Taylor. “It is now very much around operational safety and nimble planning,” as well as managing uncertainty. Parents are looking to schools to communicate the
Jitin Sethi, Partner at Global Education Practice, L.E.K. Consulting
David Willows, Director of Admissions and Advancement, The International School of Brussels.
health and safety protocols they have in place. They want to know if schools are doing enough to ensure the spread of coronavirus is limited in the school environment when schools are open and how learning can continue during lockdowns. Many of the 3,000 parents surveyed by L.E.K. Consulting in summer 2020 are also evaluating the quality of online and remote learning in international schools; increasingly critical competencies for schools and teaching staff because of the pandemic.
“ IF SCHOOLS DEMAND ALL STUDENTS USE DEVICES TO ACCESS LEARNING, HOW DO WE ENSURE ALL STUDENTS HAVE EQUITY IN THIS – NOT JUST THOSE IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY?”
JONATHAN TAYLOR, PRINCIPAL, INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ZURICH NORTH (COGNITA)
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MANAGING UNCERTAINTY “When coronavirus first arrived, it was the uncertainty about how it was going to play out,” said Jonathan Taylor. “The challenge in February and March was not knowing what came next. From my school’s perspective, we have been making digital literacy key since I started 18 months ago in post. Stage 1 was about getting students learning in some capacity, remaining connected and a focus on wellbeing and physical exercise. This is an area Cognita excels. The Cognita Home Games brought children around the world together. “Stage 2 was refining that and continuing to manage
wellbeing and connectivity. Now Stage 3 is this, as well as equity. If schools demand all students use devices to access learning, how do we ensure all students have equity in this – not just those in our school community – and access to that sort of learning, the right devices and Wi-Fi?” When it comes to uncertainty, it is usually possible to
look to the past for how to respond, said David Willows. However, until now there has been no playbook for school leadership in a pandemic. “There were no historical trends for us to model and reassure us. This was one of the challenges we were facing in those early days. “We are now back in this situation in a second lockdown and a second period of distance learning. We
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