This year didn’t go according to anyone’s plan, but education was one area where fast action was needed to ensure stability for pupils. David Starbuck MA (Hons) PGCE, Acting Head of Albyn School explains how the school adapted to the unfolding pandemic.
When the coronavirus hit, and schools were shut down, we resolved that our educational provision was to continue, no matter what. In the run-up to this closure, we prepared our teachers and pupils with a new virtual way of teaching and learning that ensured that there would be as little disruption in our pupils’ education as possible.
Doing more things digitally
Our timetable and communication never stopped and we managed to arrange almost everything digitally. Throughout the Scottish lockdown, lessons were delivered online through Teams and Zoom and we still had form classes and continual pastoral care.
Live teaching kept everyone connected and communicating with one another and enabled us to make new connections across the student population, teachers and families.
From parents’ evenings to staff meetings to whole school events, a new digital age has embedded itself in Albyn School and appears to be working very well.
At the end of the summer term, we arranged a live virtual sports day where a fantastic number of people, including parents and former pupils, got involved. At the end of term, our annual Closing Ceremony was held online, but brought to life with the energy from pre-recorded musical performances created by pupils and teachers.
Communication remains key. My fortnightly newsletter to parents and guardians provides an update of the goings-on of the school. Staff are emailed regularly and have the opportunity to take part in weekly virtual meetings to ensure they are supported.
Keeping it clean
While we have always ensured the school is a healthy place for all, our cleanliness has been increased to avoid the spread of Covid-19 and help people to feel safe.
Pupils and staff have access to handwashing facilities across all school environments and daily deep cleans are taking place; every chair, table and desk is sanitised before and after each use.
We feel we have struck a cautious and careful approach to being safe, whilst maintaining a friendly and ‘normal’ environment for everyone.
As a result of these heightened measures, we’ve seen a drop in our usual summer and winter bugs and hope to keep these more stringent measures to keep us healthy.
Embracing real experiences
While now adept with doing everything digitally, we missed our in-person events and activities. After months of remote learning, our pupils and staff were overjoyed to physically be back in the classroom for a ‘live’ lesson.
Seeing pupils sit at their desks surrounded by their peers was a real joy to see and that contact – albeit socially distanced – was greatly missed by all, making the in-person learning experience even better!
Respect and appreciation
Unified by our shared experience of the challenges of Covid-19, the school population has renewed their respect for one another – for instance, we can see pupils appreciating the efforts of their teachers.
There is an enhanced appreciation of the teaching staff, nursery staff and senior management team for keeping the school going in a fun, vibrant and meaningful way but there are many other members of staff who worked and still are working very hard.
The admin team, accounts team, classroom assistants, learning support, admissions, catering, estates, IT and cleaners have also been exceptional and now have more well-deserved visibility in the school.
Looking to the future
We’ve developed a stronger sense of ourselves as a team at Albyn School in recent months and will work hard to retain this for many years to come. Our adaptability and agility have enabled us to get through tough times but also discover new ways of doing things.
Providing online learning has proved to be beneficial in many ways, not only to maintain a high level of teaching for current students but for helping those transitioning to get a head start in their learning. It will also play a key role when pupils are self-isolating or quarantining.
I firmly believe that a great education is an Albyn education. We give our pupils an extraordinarily positive, fulfilling and nurturing experience that can redefine their expectations, giving them the academic and personal grounding in life that goes to the heart of everything they will feel able to achieve as they go through life. Those values came to the fore during lockdown and continue to be at the forefront of everything we are doing now and next.
We hope this year’s experiences will help make our pupils more resilient as there can be no doubt that 2021 will bring more unchartered territory. If 2020 has given us anything, it has shown that Albyn can handle anything that comes our way.
We wish you all a very merry Christmas from all at Albyn School.
Come along to our next Virtual Open Day on Friday 8 January 2021. Register at the Albyn School website.