Brough Community Primary School has been selected as one of only 50 schools in England to become an EdTech demonstrator school. The Department of Education contacted the school directly, noting it for being one of a small number of primary schools who are recognised as Google Reference Schools in the country.
Under the Coronavirus Act, all schools are now required to offer all pupils who are not in school, the same lessons as taught in class. As a result of this, the EdTech programme expanded, to help with the increased demand for help and support requested, from both primary and secondary schools.
Head Teacher, Phil Cooper is leading the project for the school. With years of experience managing online learning systems and helping other local schools to get online, he is thrilled that the school has been selected for the project: “It is a real privilege to be able to do our bit for the country in this time of need. Brough Community Primary School has been at the forefront of online learning since I arrived here and launched our virtual learning platform.”
During lockdown last academic year, the school gained much praise and recognition for providing every pupil that needed one, a device to take home, and live online lessons all day. Mr Cooper noted: “As teaching and learning staff, we worked tirelessly through lockdown. Amazing things happened as we got to know our pupils in a different way. Teaching online is so different to in school and we all learnt so much. The staff and I got so much closer to the pupils and families, as they let us ‘virtually’ into their lives. We had a huge level of engagement with home learning and as a result, our children have returned to school having retained so much knowledge and enthusiasm.”
Quote from our Chair of Governors, Kate Lynch: “We are thrilled that DFE have recognised the fantastic work that Brough Community Primary School have undertaken to embrace technology as a key component of their education offer. The staff worked so hard during lockdown to set up robust systems and ensure good engagement with the children through vibrant online learning. The EdTech project is a great opportunity for our small school to make a big impression on the national tech stage.”
As schools both locally and nationally go into partial and full closure, Brough School will be part of the EdTech project, providing 1-1 support to enable schools to develop their online learning platforms. Working through virtual meetings and webinars, the good practice of this village school in the heart of a rural community, with just 82 pupils, will make an impact all over the country!
Link to the DfE demonstrator page.
Link to Brough Community Primary School’s EdTech page.
The headteacher, staff, governors and pupils are all available for further interviews, by prior appointment and in line with all Covid19 risk assessments and guidelines in place.
