Thriving through Covid-19: Heatherton
The Berkhamsted Group Community and Covid-19
Never has the country faced a challenge like Covid-19. During the 2020 pandemic the school experience is comparable to no other in our long year history.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement in March 2020 Berkhamsted ran virtually at a moment’s notice. Everything the pupils normally experienced, in a physical setting, in and outside of the classroom transformed into a virtual setting in a new virtual world overnight; and this has been repeated again in January 2021 with the national lockdown.
Events since March 2020 have brought home to us more than ever before that Heatherton is more than just a school where people attend. It is a web of relationships, it is a school with a strong set of values and a rich culture. It is these features together with the commendable resilience of our pupils and staff that have ensured the education and the community has thrived during these adverse times.
I was impressed that the school acted so quickly to move the girls onto Teams. It greatly reduced the stress levels in my house when my daughter could reliably access her work!
- Heatherton Parent, March 2020
I would just like to say a really big thank you to all the staff. Everyone has been so helpful and done absolutely everything in their power to make this difficult time as easy for our girls as possible. We can still feel the Heatherton spirit every day.
- Heatherton Parent, March 2020
On site safety first
The staff leadership team are continually reviewing Government guidelines and instilling a Covid responsible culture. Health and safety is the responsibility of everyone, and pupils and staff all work in partnership to keep themselves and others safe.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Returning to school amid a pandemic and the changes of moving from physical to virtual school have brought some a great sense of purpose, optimism and gratitude, and for others it has been a time of anxiety and concern. Heatherton staff are very conscious of the different experiences each individual has had during the various times and have supported our pupils throughout the challenges the pandemic has presented.
The School is well resourced to support pupils’ wellbeing and has continued to be well-placed to enable staff to act when it is required with a robust pastoral programme in place. The pupils are encouraged to talk to their Form Teachers and the Head of Pastoral Care when concerns arise, and staff are trained to help pupils cope with the anxiety they may feel when faced with the adversity of a pandemic and the restrictions that places on their lives. During full lockdown and continuous remote learning, every Pre-Prep pupil had a 1-1 for reading, and Years 3-6 had 1-1 sessions with their form tutor’s, providing further opportunity to discuss any worries or problems that they may have, in confidence. With form time twice a day, the staff were continuously checking in and created a safe space for the pupils to have fun and chat to their friends online. Additionally, the staff met 3 times a week to ensure that the online learning provision that we had in place were of optimum quality and that all pupils continued to relish life at Heatherton.
Heatherton is also able to make use of the specialist wellbeing team at Berkhamsted, consisting of the nurses, chaplaincy and counsellors, who are highly skilled and experienced at providing more specialised support in response to issues, including bereavement. The school and home, work in close partnership to give pupils and their families the confidence to seek support when it is required.
Online Safety
Online safety education is included in the curriculum, in order to foster age-appropriate autonomy, digital resilience and ethical digital participation. It is the space where safeguarding, technology, community, education and wellbeing all converge. The School considers our approach to be both pro-technology and pro-boundaries and staff always carefully plan teaching and learning activities involving digital resources, ensuring that they have thoroughly tested them for suitability and functionality. Heatherton also offers a ‘Digital Wellbeing’ seminar for parents from an expert external speaker.
Teaching and Innovation both in the classroom and remotely
“It seems as though the girls have been given very similar work to normal, and they do not seem to worry that it’s delivered differently via various forms of media. I think Heatherton has coached them with a great sense of independence, that they can sit down, tackle something without too much input, and do a good job at it. Developing a timetable, structure & ground rules has been crucial, and has worked.” – Heatherton Parent
Moving from the physical classroom to the virtual classroom in January 2021 was unproblematic with the infrastructure in place and the open-minded approach taken on by everyone. Preparation started weeks ahead of lockdown with a view that major restrictions were on the horizon. Once again, teachers instantly moved resources online to ensure an excellent learning experience for all of our pupils. The virtual school not only continues the key areas of the curriculum, but the innovative teaching engages and enthuses pupils with a wide range of exciting activities.
The Heatherton virtual classroom included:
- 3 live lessons via Microsoft Teams a day
- Full curriculum timetable
- 1-2 non-live lessons a day
- Continued Individual Music lessons
- 2 form times a day
- Form Teacher support for the pupils and family
- Weekly 1-1 pastoral chats
- Work set on Notebook between lessons with feedback given
- Online assemblies
- Online P.E lessons
Now the school site is open, Covid related absences do not cause any pupil at Heatherton to miss out on their education. From home, pupils have access to their normal timetabled lessons via Microsoft Teams to stay included in the class through hybrid learning. This will continue to remain a key feature of our education plan for as long as required. It ensures pupils are equipped to complete homework tasks and their own further research from home as well as ensuring every pupil has continued access to the same high-quality education and pastoral support throughout the pandemic.
“Thank you so much to you and your staff. I could not recommend Heatherton enough and am so grateful for all that your team are doing. Our children are so lucky.” – Heatherton Parent, January 2021.
We understand how important it is to look after our environment.🌿🐞
Last term, the whole School worked extra hard to recycle, and even used recycled materials for Art projects.
Year 6 created some magnificent drawings from recycled paper. pic.twitter.com/LLnc2q9XGS
— Heatherton (@HeathertonSch) April 12, 2021
Serving others
The School values of ‘Aim high with integrity, Be adventurous and Serve others’ are shared across the Berkhamsted family of schools. Children from Nursery through to Sixth and staff too are encouraged to embrace these ideals in everyday life.
During Covid-19, the Berkhamsted community found it more important than ever before to serving others and help in a variety of ways.
Explore a highlights reel of many projects and initiatives the Berkhamsted community proudly supporting:
Join us
We are working within government guidelines to welcome prospective families on site for a tour.
Upon registering your initial interest you may explore:
- Virtual Open Events
- Video tour of the school
- Hear from Heatherton pupils
- Introduction with subject departments
- Question and answer opportunities with the Head
You are supported throughout the journey by our dedicated Admissions team who are available each day (except weekends and Bank Holiday’s). The admissions journey is made easy with clear and regular communications from the day you register your interest in Heatherton School to the first day of your child’s educational journey at Heatherton.