Remote Learning review survey 2020

For the views of pupils and parents with regards learning provision and access to learning provision provided by IOM schools during the period of school closures due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. We asked about volume of learning, quality of learning, enjoyment of learning, levels and quality of feedback to pupils, establishing a good learning routine at home, access to devices/connectivity, and views as to the future of a more blended approach to learning in general.

587 responses were received over the course of the consultation.

• In terms of how soon remote provision was offered by schools following closures on 23^rd March, 69.5% of respondents said work/learning was available immediately or within 1 week of school closure.
• In terms of how well the school shared plans for remote learning provision, 48.4% of respondents said plans were shared on a regular basis. 30% said there was some information shared by the school, but no coherent plan. A further 10% said no plans were shared by the school.
• When asked whether they were able to maintain a good consistent routine for learning at home, almost half of all respondents said they were able, with just over a third saying this wasn’t possible for them.
• 66% of respondents said they had both the appropriate access to devices and network access/bandwidth to access remote learning provided. Only 16% of respondents said they suffered from a lack of available devices at home.
• When asked about the frequency with which new learning was provided by the school, 76% of respondents said new work was provided daily or weekly.
• 48% of parents/carers were either very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the volume of remote learning provided by their school. 49% were either dissatisfied of extremely dissatisfied.
• In terms of the quality of remote learning provided by the school, 44% of parents/carers were either satisfied of extremely satisfied, with 45% either dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied

The review not only supported schools in their own reflections, analysis, and self evaluation of the Covid 19 lockdown period, but also informed the subsequent DESC guidance documents which were produced in collaboration with all schools and teacher unions in October.

The consultation helped us understand what went well during the period between 23^rd March and 22^nd June, and what we could perhaps do better, should we be required to enter another period of adaptive functioning of schools. It helped us understand the challenges posed to schools, pupils and parents, whilst also giving us some vital data on those pupils whom for whatever reason could not access either the devices or requisite bandwidth to access remote learning provided by schools. The 10 review recommendations continue to be implemented by the Department and Schools as we look to move to more blended approaches to learning in the near and distant future, and be prepared with consistent protocols and platforms for remote /distance learning as part of our business continuity arrangements