Friday 05 February 2021
The education profession has in recent weeks raised the bar of what can be delivered remotely across States-run schools, with its programme of distance learning ensuring all students have access to high-quality provision.
And the offer rolled out across our schools has been widely praised by a national union, with Wayne Bates from Teachers' Union NASUWT saying publicly earlier this week that Guernsey was leading the way in distance learning.
Education as a sector did not settle for offering the same distance learning package it delivered in the first lockdown, but instead further developed its offering to raise expectations and standards to ensure the island's learners are not missing out. This has included the provision of more than 700 devices to learners (approx. 10% of all students in the fully States-funded system) to allow them to access their learning at home and the provision of Wi-Fi access devices to support more than 150 families whose children need access to the internet at home in order to learn.
All parents were issued with a guidance document laying out exactly what they can expect, and school staff have been on hand to respond to any concerns they may have had. This all reflects the hard work of teachers and support staff to getting a varied, blended and remote digital learning offer up and running. Parents are also encouraged to raise any concerns with their children's teachers or school in the first instance, as they are always keen to help.
Laurie Baker, Strategic Education Advisor to the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, who fulfils many of the responsibilities of a Director of Education, said:
"We know that the vast majority of our island's learners are currently accessing the varied and blended digital learning programme that our staff have worked so hard to enable. The entire education workforce has been unbelievably committed, flexible and responsive in helping us get everything online and running smoothly. Of course, school closure to all has meant that we've had to work quickly to support the learning of so many children at home. However within days, we were receiving praise from our union colleagues for the work all of our teachers and support staff have been doing. There have already been some wonderful stories of staff going above and beyond to deliver lessons in different ways that best fit the needs of their learners. With about 7,000 students attending States-run schools, from wide-ranging backgrounds and abilities, it was essential that our distance learning programme met everyone's needs and ensured no one was left out. This has been achieved and it is something everyone working in our profession can feel rightly proud of."
