No one could foresee the changes to education that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought. As settings had to close their doors to the majority of their learners in March, staff and leaders across Wales rose to the challenge of continuing to support learner wellbeing and progress in different ways. 

Keeping everyone informed
In a changing landscape regular, clear communication with learners, families and staff has been vital. Leaders provide staff with regular updates, staff meetings are held online and families are kept informed through emails.  

Leaders and staff are working closely with families to establish clear expectations. Knowing your learners, families and communities well has proved key to successful engagement with distance learning.  

Parents have appreciated where schools have tried to maintain a sense of community through online assemblies and continuing to celebrate achievements for example. This has often improved engagement, particularly for younger learners.

As the length of time learners have been out of schools, settings and other providers, increased, communication has evolved to include learner and parental feedback on the quality of the provision and adaptations that may be required.

Wellbeing support
Schools, settings and other providers have maintained their support networks through a variety of means including telephone calls, text messages, emails and home visits from wellbeing officers. 

There have been deliveries of food parcels and the loan of digital equipment to allow learning to continue. In a few cases, online wellbeing activities including relaxation and self-reflection have been created to promote staff and learner wellbeing.

There are specific challenges in relation to distance learning for vulnerable learners. In the most effective practice, learners with additional learning needs have been provided with additional guidance and support and adapted support plans. 

One special school organised minibus visits around the county twice weekly. This allowed physical resources to be delivered to families, for example mobility aids and ICT equipment. This was very popular with staff and families and allows valuable face to face interaction at a safe distance. 

At one PRU, the few pupils in receipt of PRU-based counselling continued their individual sessions by either email, text or phone. All of the counsellors completed a module to be able to offer phone counselling.

Innovative digital delivery
Staff have provided learning activities using innovative approaches delivered through a variety of online platforms. 

Staff from a specialist resource base within a mainstream secondary school have provided its pupils with a weekly timetable of interactive activities on appropriate live streaming platforms. These engaging activities include wildlife watching, Makaton sign of the week, dance and fitness activities, craft sessions, storytelling, singing sessions and show and tell activities. 

At one PRU, staff provided pupils with planned learning activities such as relaxation techniques, social stories, literacy and numeracy, as well as class assemblies and the opportunity to follow a commercial programme to promote their social, emotional and behavioural wellbeing. Visual timetables, lesson objectives and success criteria were provided to try to maintain a similar routine to the usual lesson format.

Supporting Welsh-medium education
In many Welsh-medium schools, most pupils come from homes where Welsh is not spoken. 

Staff have tried to overcome this by providing pupils with learning activities that encourage them to use their Welsh as naturally as possible. The focus is on reading, understanding and, most importantly, speaking Welsh. Opportunities for pupils to develop presentations and create their own versions of Welsh songs and rhymes have been particularly successful in primary schools. 

Supporting professional learning
In a few providers, comprehensive programmes of professional learning activities have been rolled out to all staff with the focus on blended learning training.  

The providers have supported this training by using a set of guiding principles for the planning and delivery of teaching, training and assessment.  Staff are being trained and updated in the use of digital technology and online platforms.  

Planning for the future
Learners and staff across all sectors have been surveyed to obtain feedback on their experiences during lockdown and to help inform planning for future learning delivery. 

The key messages from learners are that they are missing their friends, teachers and the school environment. While many say that they are coping well with remote delivery, a minority admit that they sometimes find it difficult to maintain motivation and sustain engagement with remote learning activities.

Leaders have produced comprehensive recovery plans. These include logistical aspects and curriculum arrangements, and set out the responsibilities of members of staff and communication strategies for parents.

As we start the new term and the new ‘normal’ we will all have to continue to be both flexible and creative in how we adapt to meet the needs of learners across Wales.

Read more examples of how education and training providers are supporting wellbeing and learning during COVID-19.