I would like to congratulate staff and pupils at Malton School as they keep to a full timetable despite the coronavirus crisis. Pupils aged between 11-18 are continuing their studies using an iPad scheme which was introduced seven years ago and which has enabled every teacher and pupil to coordinate their lessons using an App called Showbie. The children are required to register at 8.45am and follow their normal timetable with teachers setting their work through video podcasts, PowerPoints or work sheets and remaining online to provide support throughout the day. The school keeps to regular times allowing an hour for lunch and short breaks during the day. At the end of the day parents receive an email providing feedback about their child’s performance, with appropriate praise or notification of any work missing.
I think this is absolutely fantastic. It means that pupils at Malton School will not be missing out on their education at an important time in their life. They are receiving tailored lessons matching as closely as possible the experience they would have received had they been in school. It is a great example of what can be done using technology in these extremely challenging circumstances and I think we should look at making this sort of scheme available across the sector.
Headteacher Rob Williams said “Thanks to our iPad scheme the school has been able to offer a high quality learning experience from day one of the lockdown. Every student already had an iPad, paid by parents on a monthly basis, using pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged children, and we were able to ensure that they all had access to the internet, using dongles where necessary, so we were ready to go from 23rd March. I am very proud of the way staff and students have risen to the occasion to make this work so successfully. We know that routine is important for all of us at times of stress and so continuing schooling in this way is sustaining a sense of normality through the current crisis.”
The school says it has been inundated with messages of support and thanks from parents, who are grateful that their children are able to continue so effectively with their education.
