After a game-changing year of constantly moving goalposts there came a rare moment this month when the leadership team had time to sit down and take stock.
We were shattered, but also proud. We realised that, as individuals, teams and as a school, we had achieved so much and learned many new lessons.
Lest they be forgotten, we decided to document our thoughts and consider how we can nurture these new areas of growth, optimism and opportunity.
Coronavirus: The chance to build on our school’s success
So what did we learn? And what must we not forget?
1. Build on TA talent
We learned that together we can achieve so much more. Our teaching assistants are a prime example. When we returned to smaller class sizes, our TAs covered a class of 10.
Staff discovered strengths within themselves and among colleagues. We need to continue to grow this amazing resource.
As a result, we have organised nurture groups led by TAs, and make a more active effort to ensure that we use and continue to develop their skills.
2. Community matters
Relationships flourished during a time of adversity.
We need to keep talking and listening to parents, community and outside groups, in order to build and grow. We need to continue to share best practice within and beyond our schools, too.
This means looking beyond our local community and to the wider education networks that exist: #WomenEd, Chartered Teachers, ECIS and COBIS. They helped us feel that we were in this together, and we must not let these bonds fade.
3. Technology growth
We all quickly learned the power of Zoom, Doodle polls, Padlet, Seesaw, Teams and many other platforms that enabled us to share with our schools, and our global networks.
This year we have ensured that lessons are continually placed on our learning platform, Seesaw, and that any student in isolation is able to Zoom in on a lesson. We are also developing plans to evidence and record all assessments on Seesaw as a live reporting tool.
As we no longer are able to invite parents in for workshops, we are developing a bank of online “how to guides” for parents, from phonics to CPA in maths and, of course, how to use the learning platform.
To ensure that the school remains open to new innovations, we have also created a post for a blended learning co-coordinator. This will help us to ensure that these new skills are not lost but integrated into school life as normal, whatever the future holds.
4. CPD benefits
During lockdown we benefited from more professional development opportunities, and joined more professional chats than ever before.
This is a powerful opportunity. Already we are switching to more online professional development and benefiting from a wealth of speakers who we previously may not have been able to reach from Luxembourg.
Our staff have also taken the opportunity to lead training globally, from webinars on diversity to sessions on mentoring and leadership, for the likes of COBIS and WomenEdBeLux.
As a school, too, we have implemented more in-house online training, which is recorded and available to all. This allows staff to attend remotely.
Equally, the school has set up a St George’s bank of exemplar lessons, from lockdown and beyond, which is publicly accessible on Seesaw.
5. Taking a step back
Finally, we need to remember that this is no ordinary start of term.
We need to continually check that our students are thriving, that we can identify and remedy gaps in learning, and rebuild our teaching to include more opportunities for speaking and listening, writing on paper, using practical resources, working together as groups and all of the other key factors missed during lockdown.
We need to focus on wellbeing, and ensure that the anxieties and uncertainties faced daily are supported and listened to, and that our schools provide a positive and safe environment.
And, of course, we need to be prepared, so that we are not caught unawares again.
Claire Nuttall is headteacher at St George’s International School in Luxembourg. She tweets @nuttall_claire
