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Thinking about school re-opening, a thread.
1. March 8th is a ‘look to reopen’ date, not ‘it’s happening’. It is so helpful for school leaders to have some idea of timescales though. It’s gives us and parents some indication of when. And that is at least a relief.
1. March 8th is a ‘look to reopen’ date, not ‘it’s happening’. It is so helpful for school leaders to have some idea of timescales though. It’s gives us and parents some indication of when. And that is at least a relief.
2. The reopening is in my mind tied intrinsically to the outcome of the ofqual grade consultation. If this date slips (it may...) then it will become more challenging to facilitate the process need to award grades fairly. I am hoping that schools receive ofqual updates next week.
3. Having clarity on gcse grades and reopening date will allow schools to develop some provisional plans for what (in a secondary school) a return looks like. Remember that Easter hols could be two weeks after the return dates for some schools.
4. What is likely (to me anyway) is a 10 week block that gives schools time to assess and moderate before grades are submitted. This is of course very challenging. It is so important that as best we can pupils get the right grades to move onto the right courses. Time is tight.
5. For pupils in other years (7-10 in my context) the challenge is to keep going. We have gone from ‘live lessons are the best’ to ‘screen fatigue!!’ in the space of two and a half weeks. There is a real sense of mission fatigue amongst parents, teachers and pupils.
6. We should expect schools to now review their offers to avoid the burnout for parents and pupils. As I have said before, what matters most is that all pupils are ‘ok’ when they set foot back in our school buildings. Leaders know how to close gaps that appear. It’s what we do.
7. The ‘catch-up’ we hear so much about it long term. When pupils are back we can make sure they are happy in their school context, and there will be assessment (in some form..) so schools know what to do. Throwing money and pressure at schools isn’t always the best thing to do.
8. What schools, pupils and parents need is time. And normal, consistent and well delivered teaching. And that is what they will all get across the land I am sure. I appreciate the concern over most learning time - but let’s not make 1000’s of children feel they are behind.
9. All schools can keep doing is reviewing their provision, respond to community need, support parents and be a beacon of stability for the community they serve. We can’t wait to see the pupils of @stmonicas again - and we will welcome them all with open arms!
