​​​​​​​It was with a degree of trepidation that many of us sat down for our first online lessons Monday morning. For many teachers (especially those who have been doing the job for a while), walking into a classroom is second nature, but managing the chatter of fifteen pupils and resources online, is somewhat outside of our comfort zones.

We’re a few days into remote learning now, much of the unease has gone and we are starting to find ourselves settling into new routines. As teachers we’re successfully sharing lesson resources, giving feedback on work, talking to pupils about their learning, and helping them solve problems. There’s even some relish to be found in the potential challenge of upskilling further to do this even better: to be more efficient and to find more innovative and interactive ways of getting pupils working together online.

So, what have we learnt this week?

We have learnt that Bethany pupils are independent learners who demonstrate, even when they are not in school, excellent learning habits; we have learnt that we can deliver learning remotely and efficiently; we have learnt that we all (pupils included!) have a huge amount of resilience to learn new skills and apply them so quickly – and we have learnt the power of team work and coming together as a community.

None of us know what is to come over the coming weeks. I am sure that the path won’t always be smooth, but if we can keep working together, we can continue to learn and flourish.

Here are just some images of how our teachers and pupils are adapting to remote learning…

Our teachers have swapped their classrooms for some more unique workspaces.

This is what tutor times now look like.

Pupils sharing art pieces and receiving feedback via Teams.

In order for us to continue the development of our remote learning offer, please can you take a few minutes to complete our Remote Learning Questionnaire.