SERC’s Experience features in Covid-19 Impact on Education Report

South Eastern Regional College’s move to online learning in the light of lockdown is featured in a new report by The Edge Foundation which looks at the impact of Covid-19 on education.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Education, released on Wednesday 24June, summarises published evidence on the early impacts of lockdown including on the youth labour market, disadvantage, schools, further education and higher education.

South Eastern Regional College was asked to contribute and feature in a case study for the further education sector. Paula Philpott, Head of SERC’s Learning Academy said, “SERC progressed rapidly and seamlessly to online working and learning once the lockdown was announced late March. The College wanted to continue to engage students and ‘create a routine’ for them and the staff by adhering to the current timetable for classes. SERC had already developed strategic systems to underpin learning and teaching which was key to supporting online working and monitoring progress.

She added, “To ensure that students had access to PCs and laptops, we provided an extra 327 PCs and laptops to students and staff, in addition to the laptops already allocated to staff. Some students used smart phones to access online services and learning. To date positive feedback has been received from students, staff, and parents in relation to the online delivery of learning and assessment.”

The economic impact has been felt and will continue to be felt disproportionately by young people and will be one of the defining features of a whole generation of British children. The lockdown has had a severe impact on every family and on every aspect of education in this country.

Alice Barnard, Chief Executive, Edge Foundation, said, “There has been a huge amount written about the impact of Covid-19 on education already. This report digests some of the research and perspectives so far, bringing this together in one place to consider in the round the impact of the coronavirus on education and the youth labour market.”

You can read the full report here.

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