Using Digital learning innovatively
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Information about the school
St Joseph’s Cathedral Primary School is an inner-city primary school in the centre of Swansea. It serves a wide catchment area.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
Using funding from Welsh Government grants, the school has invested in a laptop for almost all pupils. This allowed staff to develop opportunities for blended learning quickly and effectively across the school. As part of action research work undertaken by staff during the pandemic, they developed ways of integrating digital technology to enhance learning. As staff and pupils were unable to undertake visits to museums or local attractions, the school used virtual reality headsets to make learning real and relevant to pupils. For instance, when learning about the refugee crisis in Syria as part of refugee week, children used the headsets to ‘visit’ Aleppo to see the devastation left by war.
As part of a study on rivers, as well as conducting a local river study in the outdoors, pupils were also able to see a range of geographical features through the virtual reality headsets. Teachers integrated this fully into planning, allowing pupils to gain experiences that would not have been available otherwise.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
At St Joseph’s, teachers focus on integrating digital approaches to enhance teaching and learning as part of a drive towards realising the purpose of our curriculum from nursery to Year 6.For example, pupils use control technology to write their own morse code when studying World War Two in Swansea. When learning about Sherlock Holmes, pupils use green screen technology to undertake their oracy presentations in a setting from Baker Street.
Pupils in reception class create QR codes to record their learning in different areas of continuous provision. Considering how to explain their learning means that pupils practise and improve their oracy skills as they work.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
Pupils describe confidently how they use digital learning to enhance their own learning. They use a range of devices to show their work and describe how it informed their learning.
Teachers use digital methods to support learning where it is difficult to provide experiences through a visit or visitor across a range of curriculum areas.
Pupils apply to join the ‘tech team’ whose role it is to support teaching and learning by creating their own self help videos, responding to repair or advice requests from staff and even leading staff meetings on using new technologies.
How have you shared your good practice?
During the pandemic, the school developed the use of virtual reality headsets through the National Professional Enquiry Project. A case study of the project was shared across all schools involved in the project. Staff from the school also participated in an online webinar to describe the impact of using virtual reality headsets to engage pupils and extend the curriculum beyond the classroom.