I am writing this nearly two months after schools were required to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In that time, Newcastle School for Boys has continued to fulfil its aims by delivering education remotely. The learning curve has been a steep one – for everyone. For public health and a whole host of other reasons, wed all rather not be facing the current situation. But amidst the challenges that the virus has brought schools, there has been a great deal of learning and there are opportunities. Our staff have been nothing short of fantastic. Teachers are professionally trained to deliver learning in classrooms. To redirect these sophisticated skills to be used remotely has required considerable effort, adaptability and retraining much of it on the job. Teachers have been learners alongside their pupils.
Newcastle School for Boys approach to the need to shift to remote teaching and learning has been guided by two principles: sustainability and adaptability. At the time schools were being required to close their doors, levels of uncertainty and anxiety were high amongst everyone. Reassurance and calm if it lay anywhere was in the familiar. As part of our initial response, we chose to deploy online platforms already in use in the School and that were already in use by boys, parents and staff. This wasnt the time to launch new, untested technologies and approaches and to risk losing people. I was attentive to developments in the Far East where the coronavirus was more advanced. If this taught us anything it was that we were facing a marathon not a sprint. Sustainability and stamina were going to be key. Some schools sought to replicate online their entire timetable. We always felt this would be unsustainable and unhealthy for boys and staff. But we also knew that we would need to be responsive to the emerging needs of boys and families as lockdown persisted. Two things emerged quickly. There was a considerable range of needs and expectations amongst boys, families and staff. Secondly, the value and benefit of live interaction amongst teachers and boys. The Easter holidays gave us a period to take stock: to reflect on the first two weeks of remote teaching and to seek feedback from pupils, parents and staff so that we could plan the next stages of our provision. When we returned to school for the start of the summer term, we were able to incorporate this into a new daily structure but one that crucially had enough flexibility to accommodate boys differing needs and rates of working. We were also able to adopt video conferencing technology to allow face-to-face contact for teachers and pupils to support their learning and well-being in a way that was safe and secure. Coronavirus and lockdown are bringing about the long awaited edtech revolution. Several years worth of teachers professional development on how to use technology has been achieved in the past couple of months. During this period, the School has also remained open to the boys of key workers, many of whom are employed by the NHS. This has been another call on our staff that they have risen to magnificently. We have been proud to serve the wider local community in this way. As I write this, we are preparing for the next challenge: to welcome back key year groups mostly younger children – identified by the Government. Our initial priority here is safety and reassurance as well as, of course, ensuring that the boys have the best possible experience that they can in the circumstances.
Much is made of the new normal whenever and whatever that is. I doubt if schools will ever be the same again. They shouldnt be. We must take the lessons learnt and the new skills acquired by pupils and staff in lockdown. We must combine what we have learnt about the use and application of technology in learning with what