These plans were rapidly implemented and escalated after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on March 15, in which he announced the imminent closure of schools.

Due to the high use of information technology in daily teaching programmes, Uplands was in a good position to migrate to an online solution. For a number of years, the college has been using Google Classroom to facilitate learning at school.

This platform allows teachers to distribute lessons, resources and assessments. They are able to post tasks and then monitor pupils’ submissions and give feedback via the Internet. It was a natural choice for the online offering.

During the last week before schools closed, staff were involved in a number of workshops and training sessions to look at other online tools that might further enhance their ability to deliver quality, engaging lessons to pupils. Fortunately for Uplands, it runs a four-term calendar, which means that learners were due to go on holiday now and are not currently missing out on scheduled teaching. But this has also given the college additional developmental time.

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At the pre-preparatory school, teachers have been doing extensive research with regards to “remote learning” platforms. Although this can be more challenging to do with younger children, its teachers have been creative with their planning to ensure that the learners will continue to receive the best possible education should the lockdown be extended. Teachers will email daily planners which will include all the activities and learning material required. They will also add links where the children will be able to watch engaging lessons and activities via the internet.

Along with these tools, they will use Reading Eggs, Purple Mash and Seesaw, which are platforms where the learners can practice their skills. “Packets” will be made up for each child and will contain all the resources needed for the different lessons and activities. At the preparatory school, it recognised the importance of maintaining relationships with its pupils and will ensure that it is able to engage in video-conference calls with the classes through either Google Meet or Zoom.

Maintaining this social contact through the internet is an important aspect of looking after learners’ emotional needs. The foundation-phase teachers will also use existing online platforms such as Flipgrid and Purple Mash. The children have been signed up to an online library to ensure that they can continue reading.

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Teachers will be communicating and sharing lesson plans and tasks via email and the WhatApp class groups. More important than the technological platforms the college is able to use, is its approach to online teaching. It has always believed in a holistic approach to education and, to that end, the teachers from all departments, including physical education, drama, music, divinity, and arts, are exploring creative ways to continue this philosophy.
Staff from the different learning areas met at the college to decide on their immediate priorities and on which subjects they would offer by grade.
As they explored the very real possibility of offering full-time online learning, they decided to initially focus on the core subjects of English, maths and second languages with the grade eights and nines, and have limited the amount of additional subjects that they expect to cover. This decision was made as Uplands felt it might take some time initially for the pupils to adjust to learning online.

In the senior grades, from grade 10 to 12, it will continue with the curriculum in all areas in order to ensure that pupils are not compromised and do not fall behind. The college’s mathematics department has its own website, which it has been using for some time now.

All the learners have access to the site and it is used regularly, which means this learning can continue with a sense of normalcy. A number of tutorials and lessons have already been completed that are ready to be shared with pupils at the start of the term, should the countrywide lockdown be extended.

Campus-wide, departments have made themselves familiar with Google Hangouts, which will be used in conjunction with the existing Google Classrooms to provide face-to-face lessons that require explanations and engagement.

Alternative platforms such as Zoom have been explored to offer additional resources for teachers and pupils alike.
Uplands has set up two weeks’ worth of content to be covered per grade to guide learners through this process.

They, as well as their parents, have already been advised that the college is prepared for this challenge and is excited to continue engaging with pupils, despite the distance between them. The reality is that teachers, by nature, are a community, and they are all in contact with other educators across the country as well as around the world, learning what has worked elsewhere. This helps them understand the challenge that lies ahead.

Pupils and staff are learning together and are sure to make mistakes along the way. However, the college is confident in the dedication and passion of teachers and believes that, through valuable lessons, positive feedback, and constant communication with parents and pupils, it will continue to offer high-quality education. This will allow it to seamlessly transition back into a normal schooling environment when the time comes.