Lessons learnt from the Coronavirus shutdown

It's no secret that schools have faced unprecedented pressures over the duration of the Coronavirus outbreak. Every kind of organisation in the global economy has been impacted; each one battling its own individual set of problems. But for those working in schools, those problems are exacerbated further still by the responsibility held for millions of children and their future life chances.

In one fell swoop, schools were forced to close “until further notice”, GCSE and A Level exams cancelled, and schools were told to continue to care for vulnerable children and children of keyworkers – even through school holidays. Schools quickly went from teaching in an ordinary learning enviroment, to delivering lessons remotely in a virtual one.

But if this period taught us anything, it is that in today’s digital age there’s no question that school resources need to be available online in order that teachers and pupils can access them from home – which is something that the Government have acknowledged in their advice for school re-opening in September. Whatever the school of the future will look like, we are pretty sure it will include a combination – a hybrid or blend – of both physical and remote learning.

Schools have responded magnificently to this seismic shift, and RM – a company that has worked side-by-side with many schools during this period – has collated some of the more common lessons they have learnt:

1. Technology really can be your friend. Research undertaken by RM before the virus outbreak found that many teachers have been historically reluctant to embrace technology in schools, but the shutdown has made then re-evaluate their assumptions. There are now some amazing resources available – for example the Oak Academy – that when built into a lesson plan, will not only go some way to alleviate teacher workloads, but will also help a subject come alive, freeing teachers up to do what they do best – teach.
   
2. Technology brings added benefits. Working with some of these new online tools means that teachers are now able to collect and give feedback; to harness tools like MS Teams and Google Meet to hold departmental, one to one and SLT meetings; and use the various Forms features to gain feedback from parents – such as when they are planning to send their children back to the classroom – things that can be built upon as teaching starts to return to some form of normality this term.
   
3. Not all technology is the same. Whilst school budgets are always difficult, the more modern a devices is, the faster it will run, and the easier it will be to use. A new Chromebook is a lot cheaper than a more traditional laptop or desktop, yet can be used in very similar ways. Good technology can also save money elsewhere – whether that is making a school run more efficiently, helping teachers manage their workloads better, or helping bring savings elsewhere – such as paper, printing and postage – the costs of all of which can be reduced with a switch to a more digital school.
   
4. The cloud can no longer be ignored. Whilst many schools had started the journey to the cloud long before shutdown, if there is one lasting lesson to come from it, it is that being able to access files remotely has become essential. The addition of free Government funding to support those schools without a Google or Microsoft tenancy, makes this all the more of an essential investment – right now – whilst that money is still available. The cloud provides flexibility – and the simplicity – that a modern school needs – even without the added complication of a global pandemic.
   
5. Know who you can call upon. Whilst many schools have their own support teams, and/or work with small local providers, when you are faced with the sort of challenge that a complete school shutdown throws at you, having an experienced and established partner around, can help. One who has multiple engineers should one fall sick, with a team on and offshore that can work whilst you are asleep, and has strategic partnerships with the likes of Microsoft and Google when it is most needed. As one school commented in the midst of the pandemic – “Having a partner with the breadth and depth of RM has helped me sleep much more soundly at night”.
   
6. Be prepared to lead others at times of adversity. One potentially unexpected finding is that the role of the IT Manager has become much more important within a school. When the shutdown was first announced, everyone looked to this person to come to the rescue, and as the school has learnt to cope with different types of teaching, the IT coordinator is now included in all the critical strategic meetings within the school – if not leading from the front, at least involved in all the key decisions.
   

In terms of a legacy, there is a strong hope that some of the changes that schools have made will be long-lasting. Whilst it is a shame that it takes something so dramatic to bring about change, there has to be some good from this shutdown period. In the words of one school – “we have moved forwards more in 12 weeks than we could have done in 5 years”. Teachers are now using these new platforms to set and receive homework and are encouraging collaboration online – with many excited about how they can incorporate them into the new term. All of this has been possible for a while, but it is now finally dawning on schools that they can truly benefit from embracing technology within their everyday approach.

Simon Carter

Marketing & Propositions Director

RM Education