This event took place on Wednesday 23 September 2020, and the recording is now available on this page.
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About the webinar
Many children are now returning to the physical classroom having spent significant time in remote learning environments. Their ability to access learning has been varied and they may have faced many other challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This webinar focused on how we continue to ensure children have optimal learning experiences whilst managing the well-being challenges of returning to the physical classroom.
- How are schools establishing strategies for pupil well-being?
- What types of support and guidance are being used to make sure that pupil well-being is prioritised?
About the panel
This was a panel event, with speakers from around the world, followed by questions from the audience.
From Spain: Maria Jesus Perez works at the Madrid School in Spain as Well-being & Safeguarding Coordinator and Sonja Uhlmann as Child Protection Manager for the British Council in Spain. They believe strongly that the role of teachers in children’s well-being is especially important at this time. They will share their experience of developing new practical guidelines to protect children as their lessons have moved online.
From Lebanon: Maha Mahdi Shhadeh is an English instructor and co-ordinator and British Council Schools Ambassador, with 17 years experience of teaching English as a foreign language at Primary and Secondary level. She currently teaches at Abbassieh High Public School in Lebanon and will speak about how her school is managing pupil well-being at this time. You can follow Maha on Twitter here.
From England: Hannah Boydon is the Deputy Head Teacher of Mayflower Primary School in Leicester and has been a British Council Schools Ambassador since 2009. As a school, Mayflower is committed to international working and has used the eTwinning, Erasmus Plus and Connecting Classrooms programmes to support work in the school around happiness, mental health and well-being. The teachers work hard to deliver an enhanced curriculum which connects their staff and children to the world beyond the classroom walls. Hannah will share what the return to school has looked like at her school this year.
From USA: Christina Tettonis is Superintendent of The Hellenic Classical Charter Schools (HCCS), located in Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York. The Schools provide students grades Pre-Kindergarten to the 8th Grade a rigorous, standards-based education, enhanced with the study of the Greek and Latin languages. Under Christina's leadership, the New York State Education Department designated HCCS Brooklyn a National Blue Ribbon School in 2019. Her school exceeds New York State targets for student achievement, rigorous instruction, collaborative teachers, supportive environment, effective school leadership, strong family-community ties and trust.
In the face of unprecedented challenges created by the pandemic, Christina’s team, along with the guidance of government and public health professionals, successfully developed a reopening plan. Christina will share her experience about transitioning from remote learning to a hybrid instructional delivery model, and the importance of maintaining trust with internal and external stakeholders throughout the process.
From Jordan: Sally Darweesh has been an English language teacher in the primary section at Islamic Educational College (IEC), located in Amman, Jordan, since 2018. She received her BA in English language and literature from Petra University in 2016, and her master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Jordan University of Science and Technology in 2019. She is a current PhD student in Linguistics at University of Jordan. Sally will share the previous and current situation in Jordan regarding remote learning and its effect on student well-being. She will also share her own experience along with her college’s policies and procedures to cope with the reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, concluding with tips for teachers, school staff and students around the globe to support them during this time.