With schools beginning to re-open for most pupils post-lockdown, educators are having to get creative to meet social distancing safety measures and class sizes.

The maximum of each class, at present, should be fifteen – meaning some classes are split in half to accommodate. At some of the smaller primary schools around the country, this is not feasible – there are not enough teachers to accommodate the smaller class size. So, what do schools do?

Well, at the schools GLUU are working with, we are encouraging a ‘blended learning’ approach combining face-to-face and online teaching. With the children at Eaton Primary School only attending school for half a day, it is vital that their education is continued whilst they are at home. Building upon our home-learning implementation strategy, we are trialling an approach where children are taught the ‘core’ subjects within the classroom setting and ‘foundation’ subjects through a live-lesson whilst they are at home. Initial reactions are positive!

Another trial currently taking place within our schools adds to the live vs recorded lesson debate popular among education twitter communities. Key Stage 2 teachers are finding that Maths lessons are most effective when recorded as children can re-watch at their own pace and pause if needed. However, with younger children, a live lesson holds their attention for longer regardless of the subject. The fact that there is not one proven methodology only enhances a rich debate – a debate we are keen to add our experiences to.

Andy Pritchard
Twitter: @EdTechMrP

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