As with many areas of life, COVID seems to have forced a rethink about how things are structured. Not only have offices started to question the need for everyone to be in the same room at a certain time of the day but education has also had to reflect on how it supports the development of children.
We are currently ticking into week 11 of lockdown and have seen our online provision grow and grow. This puts us in a position to be able to reflect on the positives but also the problems that online learning has created.
Social skills: This is often the hidden part of education. Children learn so many skills from simply being in the school envioronment: How do you many friends? How do you deal with people who challenge you? How do you cope with a setback? How do you celebrate success? How do you ask for help?
Academic progress: Learning online has served a purpose but we don't feel that it replaces real life, human centered learning. The ability of a teacher to intervene, encourage, give thinking time or that all important praise is possible via online but has more impact when in the real classroom.
A change of scenery
Putting all the eggs in one basket has never thought to be a good way forward in life and reflecting on the above we believe that a hybrid model of education not only is the way forward but could also have a significant positive and sustained impact on the development of children as we emerge from this tumultuous period.
