6 Inspirational Stories From UK Teachers During The Covid-19 Pandemic
In the weeks that followed the announcement that schools would close for the majority of pupils, social media has been buzzing with posts, photos and images using the hashtag #homeschooling. While some show brilliant parents delivering innovative home lessons, others illustrate humorous attempts to keep children occupied.
Alongside these, the world has also seen some incredible stories from teachers that have decided to go above and beyond. Here are just six of the thousands, who all deserve praise during these challenging times.
Rob Pearce – An exercise a day
We know that exercise benefits physical and mental wellbeing, particularly with the current restrictions in place. So, to keep kids motivated and to ensure they are staying active, Rob Pearce, PE teacher at Middlewich High School, has started daily workout challenges.
By tweeting an exercise or pose, like the plank or stork, each morning and encouraging others to try it themselves, he has quickly amassed quite the social following, with people comparing him to Joe Wicks. With each exercise, Rob is helping to keep children, parents and teachers motivated and healthy.
Dr Jamie Frost – Maths for everyone
Starting off as a way to support his pupils who were struggling in maths, Dr Jamie Frost launched his free website DrFrostMaths.com in 2013. Since schools have closed, the website has seen over half a million hits a day. On the website, you can find a number of videos, teaching slides, quizzes and even a bank of exam questions – all for free.
It’s not hard to see why this website has become a goldmine of maths content for parents, providing both guidance notes for home lesson plans and refreshing their own knowledge. Alongside the recent success, Jamie has also been shortlisted for the Global Teacher Prize.
Chris McGhee – Designing protection
Following on from his school’s donation of science goggles, gloves and remaining hand sanitisers, Chris McGhee decided to become a one-man production line of face shields. Using leftover materials, the design and technology teacher from Guildford High School created the shields to add extra protection to the workers at the local hospitals who only wear the fabric face masks.
With his first batch of 27 shields, Chris plans to continue production so he can help even more doctors and nurses on the front lines and hopefully encourage others to help as well.
Pete Dring – Homework to make you smile
In an attempt to raise everyone’s spirits while away from school, Pete Dring, an IT teacher at Fulford School, decided to set some homework for his pupils with the mission to make people smile. The children were tasked to make a short video that would make people laugh and lift the spirits of those stuck at home. From this, a 12-year-old animation genius caught his big break, as his video went viral within hours, after his dad posted the stop-motion movie.
The video received over 600,000 views in less than a day, one of which was from animation legend Peter Lord, of Wallace and Gromit fame. The pupil now plans to create a sequel and hopes to donate any proceeds to his local hospital.
Red Kite Teacher Training – Trainees who won’t stop
Eager to get out into the world of education and start their first years of teaching, the students at Red Kite Teacher Training refused to allow the pandemic to get in the way. With their school placements suspended, many of the trainees have now taken to the digital world to support pupils however they can.
While some make daily video lessons and set their pupils homework and tasks from home, others have continued to volunteer at schools to support the children of key workers and covering for staff in isolation.
Sophie Pickles – Tips for tots
Former head of Moorfield School and nursery worker, Sophie Pickles understands how difficult it can be to come up with an ever-changing roster of activities and games to keep young minds entertained. Using social media, Sophie now shares her ideas and play sessions, to help inspire others and let every parent and child know they are not alone during self-isolation.
Among her videos, she has shared instructions on how to create your own bird feeder, chia seed slime and a town made of masking tape. Sophie also holds a daily live play and PE session using everyday household items. Throughout all of her videos, Sophie has attempted to ‘bring back normality’ and an essence of calm for parents who might be struggling.
We’d love to hear about the amazing thing your school is doing to support families at this time – so share your stories on our Facebook page.
