Below is a letter sent from one of our parents to Gavin Williamson, former Secretary of State for Education, providing feedback around the remote learning offering here at Hurworth Primary School.

 

Dear Sir/Madam, 

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I understand that you would like feedback about schools and the quality of remote learning happening at present. 

My daughter’s school has been fantastic. They rapidly put in place thorough provision for remote learning, communicated clearly the expectations and kept parents up to date with the situation as things unfolded in the first week. 

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Almost as soon as lockdown was announced, my 6 year old daughter has enjoyed a good balance of live lessons alongside recorded provision. She enjoys a range of learning experiences, with some thoughtful practical activities alongside formal learning. It has been a joy to see up close how cleverly her lessons are planned and carefully put together to make such a lovely sequence of learning. She is engaged and happy, and even having the odd ‘lightbulb’ moment. She is often still chattering about something she has learnt that day when she goes to bed in the evening. 

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I cannot praise her teacher enough. Every single day, she has sent my little girl encouraging, kind and thoughtful emails, encouraging her with her learning and above all showing her that she is cared for. Each day the teacher looks over all of my daughter’s work from that day and finds positives to encourage her to keep learning the next day (and sometimes some learning points when needed, and this is always done in a sensitive way). I truly do not know how she manages to find the time to do this, whilst juggling half a class of children in the classroom and another half to teach remotely. Despite these pressures, she continues to innovate and has now introduced even more ways to encourage the children, with personalised praise ‘stamps’ and certificates also being emailed to us.

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I can’t fully imagine how difficult it must be to work in a school right now. Teachers are essentially doing two jobs – managing children in the classroom and at home simultaneously. They are having to deal (remotely) with a huge volume of parents on a daily basis, and I suspect that as parents are feeling the pressure right now as they also manage their own jobs and juggle children at home, that they probably aren’t the easiest group of people to deal with. The management team at my daughter’s school are doing an exceptional job of trying to manage parents’ expectations, shield staff from some of the pressure of the situation, whilst also acknowledging the pressure parents are under and encouraging and supporting us.

We are living through an historic moment. When I look back on my life as an old lady and remember this time, the thing that will stand out for me above all else, was how much my little girl’s school cared for her. The staff at her school are dedicated to all the children in their care, and that care reaches far and beyond past the walls of the school and into our homes. I will always be grateful for this. 

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