Wednesday 20th January 2021
Dear Parent / Carer,
We are now half way through our second week of home learning and I hope by this stage many of the earlier technical problems have been addressed allowing your son/daughter to engage with each of their classes.
Following the First Minister’s statement yesterday afternoon extending the period of school closure for most pupils until at least the middle of February, it is important that we continue to try to improve and develop our learning and teaching experience at home.
We have received valuable feedback from both young people and parents regarding their experience at home trying to manage the sometimes competing demands of learning and day-to-day life at home. The general consensus is that the principle of trying to follow the timetable of classes each day seems to be a good idea in the main however there is a need for greater flexibility here recognising that some pupils will not be able to get to/submit work on the day it is issued as they may only get access to a device/support when their parent or carer finishes their work for the day. Some families may also choose to prioritise certain tasks to work through given their own home environment.
To address these issues, instead of issuing a task at the exact time of the class ‘arriving’, work will now be issued at the start of the day, however the teacher will endeavour to be available online at the actual time of the class for some form of ‘live’ input, feedback to pupils or further teaching input etc.
Staff have also been asked to only issue work for the class on the day of the actual class, although this will not be issued out with the school day. There is nothing more annoying or stressful than school/work notifications ‘pinging’ from your phone in the evening!
Hopefully these small changes will give greater flexibility in planning the school day in the context of family life and alleviate some of the pressures some young people are experiencing.
This is indeed a very challenging time for everyone and I hope you are bearing up. Home learning will never be equal to the face-to-face experience in school but our staff here at Grange Academy are working hard in many creative and varied ways to make it as effective and enjoyable as possible.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
Robert Johnston
Head Teacher
