A report from the Scottish Covid Inquiry today reflects on the experiences of 2,000 young people during the pandemic, after they were asked what action should be taken if there is another pandemic.
The report focuses heavily on education, with the young participants sharing their views on issues including online learning, alternatives to exams and transition from primary to secondary school.
A future report from the inquiry will reflect the views of teachers.
Here are some of the key takeaways for schools after Let’s Be Heard, the inquiry’s public participation project, published its today.
1. Better support from teachers
The young people canvassed “consistently said they needed more support from teachers during the pandemic”.
Some focused on academic support, saying that in the event of another pandemic there should be more time in lessons to discuss what is being learned, as well as more opportunities to ask questions.
Respondents also said there should be more mental health and wellbeing support from teachers, and that teachers should provide details of external support services.
2. More engaging online lessons
Respondents called for “more engaging forms of learning” than they experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that this should “better mirror a normal school day”. This could entail more online calls with teachers and an emphasis on live lessons rather than providing a range of suggested work for pupils to do in their own time.
3. Digital access and skills
Many said that if another pandemic occurs, there must be arrangements to ensure that all pupils have access to devices, reliable internet and essential digital skills.
The young people, when looking back at their school experience during Covid, also “wished [that] teachers had received adequate training on how to confidently use technology to deliver their lessons online”.
4. Hub schools
Some respondents shared their views on the hub schools that were set up for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers. They called for more hubs next time, so that more pupils can benefit from their support, including young carers .
5. Better support for pupils with additional needs
Respondents said that more support should have been provided for pupils with additional support needs, particularly during periods of remote learning.
Some wished they had been given more one-to-one time with their learning support teacher during remote learning, as well as more frequent check-ins.
One 12-year-old said: “I could have had more time to speak to my learning support teacher about how my reading was doing, because I have dyslexia and me and my mum were doing all the work at home on our own and sometimes we needed to ask questions and there was only certain times we could speak to my teachers.”
6. Support for P7 to S1 transition
Many respondents who were in P7 when the first lockdown happened - many of whom this month received their S5 Higher results - felt more could have been done around the transition into S1, to better prepare them for life in secondary and make up for missing out on events at the end of P7 such as school visits.
7. Alternative assessment to exams
Some recalled that “communication between children and young people and decision makers, such as schools and government, was limited”. Covid led to the cancellation of national external exams in 2020 and 2021, and students “disliked having to rely on teachers for information” on alternative arrangements.
One respondent said that, in the event of another pandemic, there should be “better communication regarding exams and reassuring of students - we went into lockdown only two months before final exams which our uni offers depend on and [we] were completely ignored as a year”.
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Vlog magazine on and on
