With the country in lockdown, schools throughout the UK have closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Although the health of students and their families takes precedence, children and teenagers must still receive an education during these unstable times.
Kingsley Academy has opted for a ‘virtual school simulation’ where students must still follow the school timetable during the appropriate hours by logging onto google classroom at the correct time. Once there, their teacher will record their attendance and assign a task they must complete by the end of the lesson. Throughout the lesson, the teacher will be online, available to answer any of the students’ questions and enquiries.
The headteacher, Mr Cahill, stated ‘We want to keep the school structure in place and keep a sense of normalcy for our students while giving them high-quality learning during their time away.’ He emphasised the importance of students not treating this as a holiday and for them to continue working hard to prepare for the future, however uncertain it may be.
Different schools have taken different approaches to this. Many schools have not given their students a timetable to strictly adhere to, instead opting for a more flexible system of providing a bundle of tasks to be completed daily or weekly. A few schools have given their students a nutrition table so they can keep track of and monitor their health.
Although the situation is serious, schools across the country have managed to do the best they can to prepare for the trying weeks ahead.
Neharika Limbu
