Mrs Langford reflects on skills learnt by staff and pupils during COVID-19 lockdown.
Some things never change and, although we have not been physically in school for the last three months, it is time to write school reports again.
Reports are always a time for reflection: What has the pupil learnt? How are they progressing and what should they work on in the future? This year, reflection seems even more pertinent, as we all pause to think about what we have learnt on a micro level from a global pandemic.
Personally, as Deputy Head – Academic and the school’s lead on the teaching and learning framework of High Performance Learning (HPL), I am impressed by how many HPL characteristics our staff have demonstrated and modelled since March 2020. Going through the values, attitudes and attributes of high performers (VAAs), I can tick them all off:
Empathetic - these skills have definitely shone through: a concern for society and the ability to work together, as well as recognising differences and similarities between people.
Agile - our teachers have all had to adapt to a completely new way of teaching. Demonstrating a willingness to innovate and invent creative and multiple solutions to our new situation, they have experimented and been open-minded.
Hard work - hard work, perseverance and resilience have been manifested in the quality of the lessons produced; each one taking hours of preparation and requiring the use of new technology. In addition, the ability to impart knowledge and skills remotely has also been ably demonstrated.
But what about the advanced thinking skills (Advanced Cognitive Performance Characteristics or ACPs)? Once again, I have seen the staff use them all in their lessons: while working from home, teachers have been constantly evaluating their lessons and self-correcting in order to achieve their goals, creating new teaching styles by building on existing skills to the point where talking on Zoom and setting lessons online has become an automatic skill.
Without exception, the staff have risen to challenge and led by example, providing an exemplary HPL behaviour model for the children to follow.
Naturally the most important players, in this hitherto unscripted scenario, are the pupils. As I write my own reports, in almost every instance, I find myself highlighting how a child has drawn on and grown their HPL skillset and I feel justifiably proud of the pupils in my care. Although some curriculum knowledge may have been lost this term, the skills the pupils have learnt are far more long-lasting and valuable.
Empathy - almost all pupils have realised that, although they don’t like this situation, it has been so much worse for so many others; an outcome that has been truly heartening. They have looked out for their friends and told teachers when their peers are struggling. They have organised fundraising ventures and virtual chats and have shown that, in adversity, Westbourne House pupils can rise above their own immediate worries.
Technology – how would we have got through the Coronavirus pandemic without it? All the pupils are now confidently working with a variety of programmes and many are typing at speed. They whip between different programmes and different websites with ease and have been happy to share their skills and knowledge with other pupils and staff: “Mrs Langford, if you look in the top right corner and press that button with the dots on it you can mute us all.” A piece of advice that proved invaluable.
Agility - there is a pre-conceived idea that the only reason pupils work is because they have exams looming. I spend many hours refuting this, because one of the joys of schools is learning purely because it is interesting, not necessarily useful. In our ‘new world’, we have made all our lessons optional to all pupils and yet, crucially, almost all pupils have still fully engaged in the learning. They have shown enterprise and curiosity. Importantly, they have shown the intellectual confidence to experiment and work in unfamiliar contexts.
Meta-thinking and Analysing - pupils have continued working without the benefit of the constant presence of staff and have learnt to self-regulate and strategy plan. They have worked logically, reading instructions independently and have learnt to figure out ideas and concepts with less help. These independent learning skills are the foundations of a life of learning and will help them immeasurably in the future.
Finally, I have been constantly impressed by the originality and intellectual playfulness of the pupils. Given a wide range of tasks and assignments, they have produced extraordinary work in extraordinary circumstances.
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If you would like to learn more about HPL at Westbourne House School, these articles will be of interest to you:
- The basics of High Performance Learning for Parents
- Description of HPL and video of Year 8 peer mentoring younger children
Mr Barker, Headmaster, and Mrs Langford, recommended reading Great Minds and how to Grow Them by Dr Deborah Eyre.