Leading the Way: GDST Helps Parents through Education Crisis

Every once in a while, an event will cause the tectonic plates of society to shift inexorably. Covid-19 has that done just that with education. Lockdown, school closures, home schooling, cancelled exams, chaotic A level and GCSE results; the last six months has thrown education into crisis and the white-hot glare of public scrutiny is focused on the sector like never before.

Education in the UK has never been uncomplicated. An uneven and labyrinthine system means options are endless and choice is anguished. Coronavirus has just added another layer of complexity. Parents are faced with new challenges in deciding how best to educate their children. We are all teachers now. Months of home schooling means we better understand and appreciate the role school plays in meeting the social, emotional and academic needs of our children.

Freshly educated about the realities of teaching, parents have a new awareness about what a good education really is. We are more demanding than before. We are witnessing Covid-19 changing our workplaces, possibly forever but who, we ask, is seeking to apply the lessons of Covid-19 to education and create a stronger future for our children?

Lockdown saw some schools shine but the majority struggled. Many were not well enough resourced, managed or flexible enough to adapt to teaching in an online environment. Many children, particularly the most disadvantaged, were left with minimal academic input, no routines and little stimulus to see them through the long days. Parents, left with the burden of home schooling and holding down their jobs, were overwhelmed. No wonder that television consumption grew by 40% and 32% of homes with children aged 3-11 subscribed to newly launched Disney+ by June 2020.

Many parents turned to content online with platforms such as BBC Bitesize offering support and receiving 3.8 million unique visitors per week to its website. Children, on the other hand, sought out entertainment; apps such as and TikTok and Houseparty became lockdown essentials – Tik Tok alone looks set to double its UK user base to 8.5m this year.

There were success stories. Some schools were agile – schools already using systems such as Google Classroom and Firefly were able to move quickly to online teaching and some level of teacher/student interaction. And it is these schools that are now leading the way to create a new vision for a 21st century education. An education for children that fuses the very best of online learning and teaching in a physical classroom.

The GDST (Girls’ Day School Trust) led the way in lockdown. A family of 25 schools with more than 19,000 students, the GDST has been educating girls for 150 years, and lockdown enabled them to put this expertise to good use. All schools were up and running with Guided Home Learning from week one, using a combination of live teaching lessons and project-based independent learning to engage all students. Extra-curricular activities were not cancelled but simply moved online. Years 11 and 13 were not cast adrift without public exams but provided with a range of academic and enrichment projects to continue their learning, preparing for A-levels or ‘real-world ready’ career modules and pre-university study.

The phenomenal network of 70,000 engaged alumnae, staff and students mobilised, linking all the pupils across the UK in a web of connection with untold benefits for the wellbeing of pupils as well as sowing the seeds for a stronger education approach in the future. Pupils used technology to collaborate on projects with other schools in the group such as the GDST Song Contest. Inspiring Change Makers, an online conference created and hosted by the GDST, saw 40 inspiring and high-achieving women speaking to 26,000 students from across the state and independent sector.

If our working lives can become more connected and enriched through the use of technology, why not apply the same principles to benefit our children?

The learning’s from Covid-19 have also shaped the GDSTs approach to communications this autumn. Parents are looking more closely at schools, asking more questions, trying to understand what schools are doing to help to nurture resilient, forward-thinking and confident young adults. The GDST is hoping to help them find the answers. The GDST is linking up with The Times, Telegraph and Guardian to host interviews with parents, pupils and teachers – to focus on current topics and issues and bring the reality of a GDST education to life. These content partnerships will run in print and online to encourage parents to learn more and ask questions if they wish.

The GDST is also working with Mumsnet to host Q&A sessions where parents can get expert advice from three GDST head teachers. These sessions aim to answer questions and offer guidance and reassurance as children start the new school year this autumn.

Cheryl Giovannoni, CEO of the Girls’ Day School Trust, said: “The GDST are experts in girls’ education. We believe we have a responsibility to share this expertise with all parents to help them make those big decisions for their daughters’ future, whether they attend a GDST school or not. If women are to be the ‘economic accelerators’ the world really needs as we come out of this pandemic, this generation of girls will surely need to be prepared to contribute to helping make this world a better place. Anything we can do to ensure that happens is part of our mission to help girls learn without limits and realise their potential.”

Marie Oldham, executive chair, VCCP Media, added: “The GDST family of schools responded rapidly to the needs of pupils in lockdown. We

wanted to bring this expertise to life within our communications approach this year to help inform parents who are seeking to make critical decisions about the right education for their daughters.”