insideKENT Magazine Issue 101 - September 2020 | Page 95

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
It was thanks to the schools investment in both the
latest learning technology and training of its staff,
along with their hard work and dedication, that
allowed Bethany’s community to thrive in these
times. Now that the worst is over - fingers crossed
- the faculties are looking forward to putting their
new skills to the test in September, pending the
reopening of the campus. Of course the school’s first
priority is the well-being and safety of all their pupils,
and so the procedural changes will include additional
hygiene precautions, staggered breaks and
lunchtimes, and the creation of pupil ‘bubbles’,
ensuring children have physical contact with as few
others as possible. To minimise the risk of spreading
germs, textbooks and other communally used items
will be replaced, where possible, with the pupils
working from their own laptops. The school’s sports
department is also working closely with the outdoor
education team to plan and implement a blended
program of exercise and outdoor exploration, that
will replace more direct contact sports that will,
unfortunately, no longer be permitted in the autumn
half term due to social distancing measures.
Having educated the youth of Kent for well over
400 years now, Sutton Valence School - a coeducational
independent day and boarding school
in Maidstone - is clearly a school that moves with
the times. Embracing new technological advances
and the latest teaching methods, as well as new health
and safety precautions, are at the forefront of the
schools priorities, though this ambition to change
with the times has never compromised the important
traditions and customs that are ingrained in its long
and successful history. Sutton Valence harbours a
sense of community rarely found in other schools.
This, along with the care and commitment on display
from both staff and pupils alike in their perseverance
against the realities of the pandemic, has meant that
an unprecedented challenge has become a positive
opportunity - an ‘unrivalled success’ according to
assistant head, Mr David Sansom - in bringing their
community even closer.
Just days before the end of the Easter term, pupils
and staff were given training on how to use Microsoft
Teams and Zoom video sessions, with more training
being provided over the holidays to staff. These
programs would become crucial parts of engaging
with, supporting and guiding children during both
the Easter holidays, where staff members offered
opportunities for children to continue their education,
and the lockdown of the summer term. With both
parents and teachers embracing the challenge of a
summer term no one could have imagined a few
months prior, Sutton Valence was more than
prepared. Going out of their way to ‘enable pupils
to follow their usual timetables, via live Zoom lessons,
virtual chapel services, weekly headmaster’s
assemblies, live tutor time each day via Zoom, PSHE,
and live house meetings, enabled the supportive,
caring and nurturing environment associated with
the school to continue to be available to all.’
In fact, the lockdown term was such an unbridled
success that the school's ‘Digital Strategy’ - that was
intended to be launched in the near future - has
been accelerated. So much so, that it will be
incorporated in the pupils’ everyday learning from
this September onwards. This includes pupils being
required to own a digital-ink enabled device, teachers
using Microsoft Surface Pros for lessons, and
resources being used and shared across several digital
platforms, including Microsoft One Note and Teams
applications.
If there is one thing we can count on after the
COVID-19 pandemic, it is that quality education
in Kent will never cease. Come rain or shine, hell
or high-water, plagues or pandemics, these institutions
are prepared for everything, and will be doing
everything they can to continue providing an
education to the county’s children, all the while
keeping them safe, secure, and happy. So whether
it be in a virtual classroom, or the hallowed halls of
these centuries old institutions, school is truly in for
the autumn term.
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