The Olive School, Bolton’s blended teaching practices praised by Department for Education
Work undertaken by The Olive School, Bolton has been highlighted by the Department for Education (DfE) as an example of excellence in blended teaching practices.
The Olive School, Bolton featured in the recent DfE publication, ‘Remote Education Blended Delivery Case Studies’, which detailed teaching success stories from life in the pandemic.
As schools closed their doors to the majority of pupils during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, staff at The Olive School, Bolton worked tirelessly to meet the educational and wellbeing needs of its pupils.
Teachers at The Olive School, Bolton, identified that stalled language development in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) posed a key risk to pupil progress during lockdown. A significant number of pupils at the school have English as an additional language — a challenge which was ordinarily met by immersing pupils in vocabulary and syntactic language patterns in school.
During lockdown, the school worked to deliver language-rich remote lessons, which prioritised vocabulary development. Each day, EYFS pupils received three ‘live’ online lessons, where they could interact with staff and peers at the school. A ‘story of the week’ gave pupils multiple opportunities to hear, repeat and memorise language patterns that would enable them to learn essential language skills.
Children at home continued to read individually from books uploaded to MS Teams, which were differentiated according to their ability to blend sounds. On a weekly basis, all EYFS children were called by staff and read a story aloud together. Parents could hear the feedback their child received and have some further time with the staff member to discuss their children’s progress.
As a result of the school’s efforts, pupils benefitted from meaningful contact with their teachers, support staff and friends. They followed routines that were well established in school and, through regular practice and repetition of language, they continued to develop their vocabulary.
Sabina Saeed, Principal at The Olive School, Bolton said: “The Covid-19 pandemic presented many challenges to pupils’ education and wellbeing, but staff at our school worked incredibly hard to minimise any effect of the pandemic on pupils.
“Our teaching and non-teaching staff have learnt from our practice under Covid-19 and we are continuing to seek out innovative approaches and tailormade solutions for the long-term benefit of pupils.”
Added By: Olive Bolton | Date Added: 23rd Sep 2021 | Posted In: Latest News