We have had a number of parents in recent days asking us why we are not doing live lessons. Here is the answer.
The first reason is that, whilst there are some benefits of live lessons, they are not necessarily any better. In fact, there are many reasons why recorded lessons may actually be better than live lessons. The advantage of a recorded lesson is that whilst students are learning at home during the day their teachers is available to answer questions and give support. It is good instruction from teachers, independent practice and quality feedback which have the greatest impact on learning, not whether it is recorded of delivered live.
The view that live lesson are not necessary the best way to deliver a remote curriculum is supported by Ofsted. More details of Ofsted’s view of what makes for good remote learning can be found here: What’s working well in remote education – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The second reason is that around half our students do not have exclusive use of good device such as a laptop or a tablet computer. As in many households throughout the country, some students are having to share a device with other family members. The benefit of having recorded lessons is that they can be accessed at anytime.
Below are the results from our recent access survey. As you can see, if we did live lessons, around of half of our students wouldn’t be able to learn.
We are working hard to improve online access and things are improving all the time. Within the next few weeks we may be able to introduce live elements in some lessons, for some year groups. We will update you with details if and when we are able to do this.
So, what are we doing to improve access to the remote curriculum?
Recently we have asked all students about their internet access at home and what devices they are using. We have secured over 300 laptops and we are getting them out to the students who have the greatest need. There are still not enough laptops for all students who need one. We are giving these out based on the findings of the survey. Whilst we understand why you might want to get in touch to request a laptop, we cannot respond to individual requests – it is important that we distribute these as fairly as possible. Please remember that our provision is device neutral – this means that it can be access through any internet enabled device (e.g. a mobile phone or a games console). If data is an issue you may be able to get more data from your mobile phone provider. See this link for further details: Request to increase data allowances on mobile devices to support student’s remote learning – The Radclyffe School.
