remote education

Remote Education

During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, we adapted our provision and made a hugely successful shift to remote education. We are now fully open again, but learnings from lockdown are fully embedded in the school and we remain prepared in the eventuality of future school closures.

Virtual Learning Platform

Every week, children were set tasks on our virtual learning platform to complete throughout the week. English and Maths tasks were set daily. The timetable worked on a Week A and Week B basis to provide variety in the afternoon sessions, with non-core subjects such as Spanish, Drama or History.

Live Video Lessons

Daily live video lessons provided pupils with the opportunity to see and interact with one another and their teachers while continuing to learn. This ensured children could still discuss topics, ask questions and get clarification verbally, as they would in a classroom environment.

11+ Preparation

We know that early 11+ preparation is key. In order to equip Year 3 to Year 6 girls with the knowledge and skills to excel in verbal and non-verbal reasoning, we enlisted the use of a specialist online platform. We are also ensured that all our 11+ support clubs for Year 5 pupils continued to take place, albeit online.

Reading Sessions

We invested in a major library resource during the 2020 lockdown – used from Nursery through to Year 6 – to enable children to enjoy one-to-one reading time with their teachers. This virtual library contains thousands of age-appropriate books for children to choose from, and by reading a book to their teacher over Zoom, pupils were able to develop their reading skills in a fun and interactive manner, much like they would do face-to-face.

Pastoral Care

We know just how much anxiety and confusion the current times may be causing children, as well as their families. This is why our offering ensured that pastoral care, for which our school is well known, was very much at the forefront of all we did. We offered group and individual drop-in sessions at the end of every school day for children to share concerns and successes. Additionally, parents could email teachers with any queries or concerns they had and video calls were arranged on request.

Drop-down Days

A drop-down day was scheduled every half term, to provide Falcons pupils – and their parents – with a break from screens. In this off-timetable day, the focus was primarily on doing a creative, engaging project that requires no technology. During the 2020 lockdown, two of these major events included a celebration of VE Day and a Virtual Sports Day, which replaced our yearly day of sport.

Clubs

Clubs were offered in varying formats – as live sessions, recorded in advance or through accessing a link. Our extra-curricular activities included street dance, yoga, plus LAMDA and instrumental lessons.

Online Safety

We have a dedicated space on our virtual learning platform for online safety. Parents and children were actively encouraged to explore the resources in order to help pupils stay safe and to respect others while using the internet and social media. Helpful links, posters and presentations continue to be shared regularly for the school community’s benefit.

What did our parents think of our online provision?

We thought Falcons Girls had nailed it during first lock down but this time seems to have superseded that!

Year 4 Parent

Thank you to the teachers – they have made the girls feel so welcome. The girls are coming out of their lessons with big smiles and seem to be interacting very well. We’re all extremely happy!

New Falcons Parent 

Falcons Girls have been superb with the online teaching! I really can’t fault it. From the initial parents briefing, to online classes and the daily checklist, everything has been seamless and my daughter is able to crack on with no intervention from me! Thank-you!

Year 6 Parent

Thank you and all your team for all the work that has gone in to making ‘School in the Cloud’ get off to such a great start.  The girls are doing well and the timetables are a good balance keeping them focused every day.

Current Parent 

If you’d like to discuss our educational provision further, please contact our Admissions Officer, Ms Nadine York:

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