How businesses and brands can best support Teachers and Parents during the COVID-19 shutdown

With students being taught from home and lock-down in effect the familiar landscapes and ways of learning that formed a constant for all young people have disappeared. Despite this, education continues.

Never has there been a greater need for the support and content which businesses can provide. A multitude of companies and brands already support teachers and wider education through the provision of specialist resources, volunteering, activity ideas and employability skills training. And they are now trying to adapt to doing this in an entirely different context. 

We’re lucky at We are Futures to work with a fantastic array of ambitious and creative clients, keen to step up their support for teachers and young people during this time. Through listening, in recent weeks, to the views of our own National Schools Partnership network of over 85,000 teachers, we have started to answer some of the key questions, whilst formulating the support strategies that companies can facilitate at this challenging time. I’d like to share some of these with you here.

There are 4 common questions we are hearing:

1.   What’s happening in schools?

2.   How are teachers feeling?

3.   What about parents?

4.   How can we best reach and support teachers and parents?

What’s happening in schools?

Although school gates are officially ‘closed’ to all but a few children, teachers are expected to upload and share content with all pupils and are seeking brilliant and simple resources to support home learning. There is huge variation in how schools are adapting and a growing need for the highest quality education content.

Many schools are working on a system of skeleton staff with rotas for teachers who are doing between one day to a full week. Some are following timetables and teaching live lessons on Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams or other platforms. Others have subscribed to online platforms to provide learners with digital activities and built-in assessment and are taking advantage of online resource hubs like Twinkl, TES and our own National Schools Partnership.

How are teachers feeling?

Amongst teachers there is deep uncertainty and concern for young people’s learning and confusion around ‘how it will all work’ – particularly for the more vulnerable students. Teachers report being left feeling lots of responsibility and pressure –not least because of a lack of confidence around virtual classroom tech. There is a determination to do the best for all their students, but a strong undercurrent of feeling unprepared.

What about parents?

Many feel overwhelmed, attempting to juggle the competing demands of working from home and providing childcare and education for their children. There is a greater burden on parents of pre-school and primary-aged pupils who’s learning is typically less independent. Social media and video content have become ever more crucial ways to connect and inspire.

How can businesses and brands best reach and support parents and teachers?

We have curated a range of creative and effective ways to engage and help educators and families at this time. Here are 5 thought-starters – use them as you wish; to review your current activities, stretch thinking around your existing education projects or to look at starting something new.

1)   Use flipped learning to update existing resources and put students in charge

What is it?

Flipped learning switches up the traditional lesson format to place the responsibility for learning about a topic onto students first, so then a richer form of learning can take place in the virtual classroom. For example, instead of learning about a topic in class then carrying out a homework, students read up and research the topic independently first, then come to the virtual lesson ready to take part in group assignments that connect the learning.

Why it works now

Without the usual access pupils would normally have to learning support or peer-to-peer learning, teachers are already sharing content and expecting students to work independently. This works particularly well for Secondary School. Existing resources can also be ‘flipped’ to work this way, particularly for STEM topics, but across other subjects as well.

How could you support?

Your business could offer activities that could be the basis of research projects. Is there a real-world issue that your business faces that could be set as an independent learning activity for pupils?  

2)   Live lessons

What is it?

With more than 1.5 million viewers tuning in to Joe Wicks’ PE lessons on YouTube, live lessons are having a moment. Museum tours, live lectures and more. Live lessons bring a sense of community, something missing in young people’s lives with the closure of their schools.

Why it works now

The potential for live learning has never been greater. Now is a great time for brands to harness their direct-to-consumer channels to take learning to the forefront of their marketing activity. This can work particularly well around topics where parents lack confidence or specialist knowledge – whether on PE, Maths or foreign languages. 

How could you support?

Could you lend your expertise or staff skillset to help a teacher enrich a live lesson? Be creative and connect with your audience with purpose. Use your supply chain, production sites or expert colleagues to bring learning to life in real time.  

3)   Create virtual volunteering opportunities for employees

What is it?

Find ways for your employees to use their charity days or their own time to help and support parents and teachers deliver education. For example, an engineer running a STEM challenge or creative writing workshops from a writer. Offer schools repurposed content with volunteer support through online mentoring or pre-recorded lessons from professionals.

Why it works now

There’s an appetite for people to volunteer and help others, but employers need to offer new ways to do this while social distancing is in place. This would work especially well for businesses who have existing relationships with schools and could relatively easily facilitate volunteering through online platforms.

How can you help?

Can you re-create your volunteer-led programme in a virtual environment? Or provide your workforce’s skillset in a practical manner for educators, whilst maintaining social-distancing? Do you have existing relationships with education establishments that could be utilised to help teachers and pupils to achieve their learning aims at this time?

4)   Gamification to encourage interaction

What is it?

Gamification engages students through elements of video game design to increase enjoyment and promote active learning.

Why it works now

Gamified content requires little set up or teaching and can also support students with additional needs who find lots of written information overwhelming.

How can you help?

You can help connect with young people through gamified content by repurposing elements of existing education content in a new format

5)   Move outside the traditional curriculum to skills-based education

What is it?

With young people spending lots of time at home, they need more than schoolwork to occupy their time.

Why it works now

This helps support parents to make creative use of indoor and limited outdoor spaces, while encouraging young people to proactively use the additional time they have on their hands to learn or develop an essential life skill. 

How can you help?

Businesses can support them by finding ways to help develop their skills. For example, the Scouts are offering the opportunity for young people to gain new skills or even apply for badges online. Could your business offer online classes or groups on Zoom to help young people develop interview skills or develop teamwork, planning or time management abilities?

These are just a snapshot of some of the ideas or approaches which can help maximise the positive impact of business education support in the current environment. There has never been a more important time for that sort of support to help provide breadth and real-life context to a young person’s learning and development. As well as helping our clients tackle this, We are Futures are also making my time available and free for any business who wants to discuss how best to adapt or adopt work to support in this area – feel free to contact me directly.

You will have your own brilliant ideas. Push thinking and boundaries – and see what happens!