Gwent’s school improvement service has set out plans for blended learning from September

Gwent’s school improvement service has set out plans for blended learning from September.

A report, which is due to go before Monmouthshire’s children and young people select committee on Thursday (July 9), outlines the Education Achievement Service’s (EAS) next steps in bringing children back to school across Gwent.

Blended learning is the third and final phase outlined by the EAS in encouraging children back into school. In this phase, students can expect a mixture of classroom learning and online learning.

Despite calls from Monmouthshire council’s cabinet member for education, Cllr Richard John, for the Welsh Government to make social distancing exempt from schools in September, it is anticipated that blended learning will still be in place.

In a report the EAS says: “The EAS has worked closely with the other Regional School Improvement Consortia and Estyn to produce a guidance document for schools to support them in preparing their approaches to distance learning for the start of the new academic year in September.

“The EAS will continue to work closely with local authorities to determine the types of support that will be required to ensure this is as smooth a transition as possible.”

Schools are currently in the second phase, which allows them to check-in with their pupils, catch-up with them and prepare for a longer-term approach to distance learning. This phase started in June.

Prior to this, schools were in the first phase, which started in March. This focused on keeping staff and students safe in the early stages of the pandemic.