TY - GEN
T1 - Covid-19 school closures, working from home and family challenges: a novel solution
AU - Pinnell, Jodie
AU - Sabine, Alexander John William
AU - Carroll-Meehan, Catherine
PY - 2021/11/8
Y1 - 2021/11/8
N2 - This blog post outlines a unique response to the challenges faced by families during the Covid-19 pandemic. The creation of ‘Study Buddy Club,’ saw Childhood Studies undergraduate students operate daily online sessions with the children of university staff (aged 8-11). This aimed to provide much-needed respite for parents and carers working from home. With a focus on the educational and pastoral needs of young children, ‘Study Buddy Club’ appealed to a ‘family-friendly’ working policy, acknowledging the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on certain members of staff, particularly working mothers. A second aim of the project was to offer work placement hours for undergraduate students in childhood studies. Practical experience is a compulsory component required to ensure an ‘approved qualification’ (DfE, 2021) and the academic year was progressing in lockdown without access to a viable solution to fulfill this. These sessions covered both curriculum-based homework set by schools and extracurricular activities via Zoom. The programme proved to be highly successful with a healthy uptake, and all attendees agreed that the provision was of significant benefit.
AB - This blog post outlines a unique response to the challenges faced by families during the Covid-19 pandemic. The creation of ‘Study Buddy Club,’ saw Childhood Studies undergraduate students operate daily online sessions with the children of university staff (aged 8-11). This aimed to provide much-needed respite for parents and carers working from home. With a focus on the educational and pastoral needs of young children, ‘Study Buddy Club’ appealed to a ‘family-friendly’ working policy, acknowledging the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on certain members of staff, particularly working mothers. A second aim of the project was to offer work placement hours for undergraduate students in childhood studies. Practical experience is a compulsory component required to ensure an ‘approved qualification’ (DfE, 2021) and the academic year was progressing in lockdown without access to a viable solution to fulfill this. These sessions covered both curriculum-based homework set by schools and extracurricular activities via Zoom. The programme proved to be highly successful with a healthy uptake, and all attendees agreed that the provision was of significant benefit.
M3 - Other contribution
T3 - Covid-19, Education and Educational Research
PB - British Educational Research Association
ER -