Agenda item

The Director of Education and Early Help and the Assistant Director, Education Quality and Improvement updated the Panel on developments relating to the national lockdown and implications for Worcestershire settings and schools and the handling of Covid-19 cases and mass testing in settings and schools.

By way of introduction, the Director of Education and Early Help made the following points:

·       Members were reminded that, at the time of the Panel’s last update in November, schools were open to all children.  DfE reporting figures for December showed an attendance rate of 89.5% in Worcestershire schools.

·       The national lockdown from 5 January meant that schools were providing on site education for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers.  This included all children with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

·       Since the lockdown, attendance rates were in the region of 15% across all Worcestershire schools, approximately 1% higher than national figures.

·       Members were informed that the County Council had committed a further £300k to provide additional IT devices for schools.

·       In relation to free school meals, it was confirmed that vouchers would be provided again during February half term and the Easter holidays.  Schools were used to this system and had developed good methods of communication with parents.

·       Ofsted had carried out some virtual visits last term and monitoring inspections of schools most in need of support would be carried out during the spring term.  External exams for the 2020/21 academic year had been suspended.

·       Worcestershire Children First (WCF) and Public Health colleagues continued to work with schools on infection prevention control.

·       Provision for testing in secondary schools was now in place (including in special schools) and testing of primary school staff was now starting.

·       Home to school transport arrangements were working smoothly, albeit with reduced need.

·       The health and wellbeing of the school community, both staff and pupils, remained a focus.

·       Approximately 50% of eligible children were attending Early Years settings with more than 90% of settings remaining open.  Early Years staff were being prioritised for community testing.

The Assistant Director, Education Quality and Improvement provided the Panel with a presentation on remote learning which aimed to supplement the agenda report with real life examples.  The following main points were made:

·       Members were reminded that, with reference to remote learning, no one size fits all and schools would adapt their provision to fit their circumstances.

·       Examples of approaches taken by schools were outlined.  Some secondary schools had chosen initially to deliver all lessons live via Teams following their normal timetable.  However, some were now reviewing this approach, adding a 10 minute break between lessons to allow for movement, refreshment and preparation for the next lesson.

·       Tutor time was felt to be essential as a way of talking to pupils outside of formal lessons.

·       Some schools had chosen to offer pre-recorded lessons and this worked better for families where multiple children were accessing remote learning on one device.

·       Live lessons were not so beneficial for younger children.  Some schools had chosen to set work and follow this up with checks on progress.  Physical resources may also be sent home to support engagement.

·       In summary, there was a range of approaches across the county.

·       Positive feedback from pupils included being able to see the day’s work at the start of the day and an appreciation of 1 to 1 time with the teacher.  However, pupils also reported missing interaction with peers and teachers, feeling more pressure and a reluctance to ask for help, with teachers not always able to pick up on non-verbal clues when a pupil was struggling.

·       Access to lessons was also reported as an issue for some pupils due to the use of inappropriate devices, the number of family members accessing the internet at the same time or the lack of an appropriate learning environment.

·       Schools were also aware that some approaches to remote learning may lead to an increase in screen time and were looking at strategies to reduce this.  There was also a need to educate some parents that remote learning was more than simply providing live lessons.

·       Feedback from staff welcomed the fact that some of the remote provision would now become part of normal practice and it was suggested that there may be no need for ‘snow days’ in the future as learning could continue remotely.

·       Teachers also reported increased workloads in adapting the curriculum, learning to use new technology and setting up a mixed delivery system.  They also missed the social interaction of school life and questioned whether home learning was as effective for younger pupils.

·       The focus was now moving to monitoring and reviewing the quality and impact of remote provision with strategies being introduced to monitor pupil engagement and maximise learning.  Ofsted monitoring visits would focus on the quality of remote provision.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and the following main points were raised:

·       The Panel was reminded that, for the very youngest children, nurseries had remained open.  For the youngest pupils in schools, support had been provided for parents to engage their children including physical resources.  Fewer live lessons were provided for this age group.

·       Members identified the pressure on parents acting as proxy teachers and recognised that this was not easy as parents may also be working at home.  Particular concern was expressed about the experiences of four to seven year olds.

·       In response to a question about whether families were also being helped with access to the internet via, for examples, dongles, it was confirmed that there was a range of help for parents to access the internet and additional data.  Schools could make an application to the DfE or access the County Council’s offer.  A survey of schools had been carried out which showed that one size did not fit all and requirements would differ by age or circumstance.  Members were reminded that pupils may become eligible to attend school if remote learning was not possible for them.

·       A Member asked whether a campaign on local radio asking for donations of old laptops for schools was still necessary.  Members were advised to contact individual schools if they had equipment to donate.

·       A Member wished to highlight the fantastic job that school staff were currently doing and recognised that teachers were under a great deal of stress.  Concern was expressed about the health impact on teachers, particularly headteachers.

·       In response to a question about the number of pupils who were waiting for laptops, the Panel was told that no global figure was available.  However, the County’s 107 maintained schools had been provided with 1500 devices through the DfE scheme.  40 schools had been offered 5 or fewer laptops and 12 had been offered only one device.  It was recognised that a gap in provision remained and officers were currently surveying all schools (maintained and academies) to understand the level of need.  As of the previous day, schools had reported a requirement for 280 devices.

·       A question was asked about how the Council was ensuring that food boxes provided to pupils who were eligible for free school meals were nutritious and value for money.  Members were reminded that the start of this term had seen a sudden overnight lockdown and a small number of schools had moved quickly to access food box provision without detailed checks.  However, issues were quickly identified and addressed.  Most schools used the voucher system which was promoted by Worcestershire Children First.  The responsibility for the provision of quality nutritious food rested with the school’s governing body.

·       Schools understood that it was now possible to quickly implement remote education if needed in response to bad weather and saw this as an opportunity.  Schools would communicate this to parents when an event occurred.

·       It was confirmed that vulnerable children were able to attend school whether in a special school or mainstream provision.

·       It was confirmed that scheduled INSET and other CPD would continue in a planned way with sessions possibly being held remotely.

·       The School Improvement Team would focus on supporting schools to evaluate the effectiveness of remote provision including identifying where there were any gaps in learning.  Although concern was expressed that further time would be needed to ‘catch up’ when pupils were back in school, it was suggested that this would be less than in September 2020 as areas needing development had been identified and were being prioritised and addressed via remote education during this term.

·       A Member informed the Panel that she was currently supporting home learning for her son and was finding this a challenge.  Her experience suggested that remote education was not working for primary school children and there would be huge gaps in learning when children returned to school.  The Director of Education and Early Help acknowledged the challenge for parents.  She suggested that, although parents may not feel they were doing enough, evidence showed that pupils often retained skills but may not demonstrate them at home.  Managing remote relationships was key in helping people to remain positive.  The Panel Member welcomed the recognition of the issue.

·       It was confirmed that the accessibility of broadband was included as part of the survey to understand technology needs in schools.  It was acknowledged that all involved were having to adapt and learn new skills.  It was important to remember that remote education was not only online learning.

·       Concern was expressed about the potential mental health crisis among young people and teachers once the pandemic was over.  The importance of focusing on mental health and well-being was acknowledged, and details of training available to schools in relation to wellbeing and supporting pupils with anxiety were outlined in the agenda report.  In relation to the mental health of teachers, the importance of taking a break at half term was noted.