Students, teachers and parents worldwide are now more familiar than ever with the concept of Remote Learning. New Hall School has embraced digital platforms for many years and staff have taken the opportunity to exploit a full range of new technology to make the transition from classroom to screen as smooth as possible.  From the beginning of the pandemic, students at New Hall School have accessed remote learning to allow them to continue to access a full curriculum when forced to lockdown or isolate.

At New Hall School each student from Year 3 and above is issued with an iPad. This enables students to access all of the necessary apps/software and, as teachers embed these platforms in their normal lessons, students are able to switch easily to a Remote Learning environment.  For our younger pupils within the Pre-Prep Divisions, online accounts are setup for each child so that their parents are able to help them access the full provision of Remote Learning.

Across all Divisions, we keep the Remote Learning day structured and feeling normal by following the normal School timetable, wherever possible.  The day begins with a live pastoral call from the students’ tutor or class teacher.  As well as focussing on the pastoral care and welfare of the children, these sessions allow the opportunity to reconnect with peers and to see the lighter side of lockdown through quizzes and competitions. Teachers then initiate all lessons through live video calls via Microsoft Teams.

This platform allows face-to-face contact online and for students to continue to interact with their classmates and to receive instant feedback from their teachers.  Teachers also post the instructions and resources for all lessons onto our Virtual Learning Environment, Firefly. This ensures that even those students who have been unable to connect to the live calls, are still able to catch up and to make good progress. During lessons, teachers utilise a wide range of strategies and platforms, alongside the interactivity offered within Microsoft Teams, to ensure lessons are as engaging as possible.

Parents were grateful for the School’s remote learning program:

“The quality of the remote learning during closure was fantastic and, throughout this time, my girls felt connected, motivated and valued, and most certainly part of the community they (and we) value so much. Although they missed their friends and teachers, the Skype sessions, the regular feedback and the creative tasks meant that they maintained their love for learning, and made our job at home a pleasurable one!”

“It’s excellent. We couldn’t be happier with the education our son is receiving. Everyone
involved should feel very proud of themselves. Our son is fully engaged and happy and it’s
great to see how well behaved the children are.”

“Really pleased with the fantastic effort being made by all the teachers to make remote learning
fun, accessible and relevant. Thank you so much for all of your hard work.”

New Hall School also recognises the importance of the Co-Curriculum during periods of Remote Learning.  Wherever possible, our co-curricular programme has continued by utilising online platforms.  This has included a wide range of academic societies, Dance lessons, Music tuition and virtual orchestras.