May 22nd 2020
A half term in review
It is hard to believe that we have completed a full half term of learning at Virtual Moulsford and we wanted to extend our thanks to all staff, parents and boys for their efforts since the school closed in late March. Nobody could have predicted the weeks that followed the Prime Minister’s announcement and it has been a rollercoaster of emotions for us all. However, we feel that despite the extraordinary circumstances, the entire Moulsford community has shown great resilience and quickly adapted, despite enormous upheaval.
We had a week before Easter to trial virtual learning and it proved to be an incredibly useful starting point. I would refer you to Mr Orgill’s blog, which summarises the IT infrastructure that we already had in place at Moulsford. The fact that this way of working is already embedded at Moulsford has made the transition smoother.
Parents, staff and boys then provided some excellent feedback and things were adjusted to provide a way of working that suited as many people as possible as we moved forward. We rewrote the timetable to put core subjects in the morning and non-core or more practical lessons in the afternoons. Giving the boys a full week of Art, Music, Drama, DT and ICT lessons has allowed them to get really creative and the standard of work being received by staff has been excellent.
We introduced more live lessons and drop-ins so that boys could see their teachers at the start of a lesson and receive a full explanation about the work being set. If this hasn’t been possible then pre-recorded videos have been used, and more recently recorded spoken feedback on marked work, so that boys can hear how they have got on in a more personal way. However, that has been balanced by giving the boys (and teachers) more screen breaks, or dividing lessons into manageable chunks and providing ‘catch-up time’ during the school day, with the aim that boys shouldn’t be overloaded after school hours, giving them time to switch off and relax.
The regular full school assemblies, Moulsford TV, Form Time, themed days, competitive challenges and virtual Forest School have all provided opportunities to be part of the Moulsford community, something, which we know the boys miss when they aren’t here.
We know it hasn’t always been easy and so we have offered more one-on-one support for boys who have been struggling academically or pastorally and we have been able to assign personal tutors to give even more help. It has been important for us to have the same levels of expectations as we would have in the classroom, with boys expected to arrive on time and complete work set within the deadline. However, that has had to be balanced with understanding that boys are getting tired, have broadband issues (haven’t we all) or maybe are in need of extra support. It has all been a fine balance and we know we haven’t always got it right.
We have all learned a great deal during this period of lockdown and Virtual Moulsford has evolved and adapted as the time has gone on. However, the new skills that we have all developed and the creativity demonstrated by staff and boys alike will hold us all in good stead for the future challenges of what lies ahead.
There has been much debate lately around education in the media, and schools have been shown in both positive and negative lights. I for one have never been more proud to call myself a teacher during this time, and proud to be a part of the Moulsford community.
