Digital courses and initiatives are a lifeline for teachers, students and parents in lockdown

Simon Carter, Marketing and Propositions Director, RM Education explains why it’s important to ‘maintain momentum’ when it comes to education during lockdown.

“As schools continue to face extraordinary challenges as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the launch of a “virtual cybersecurity school” for teenagers is testament to the successes of newly established home-schools across the country. Schools are doing all they can to ensure learning resources are available online but, in order to maintain that momentum, summer schools and holiday clubs must do the same by offering digital alternatives during lockdown.

“It’s only through access to the technology many of us take for granted day-to-day that pupils and their parents and carers have been able to adapt to home learning in such a short time. It’s not only highlighted the importance of an effective digital strategy for schools, but also the importance of digital skills for young people. Digital literacy has become vital to our economy and – as has been demonstrated in recent works – underpins our ability to stay organized, educated and in touch with our loved ones wherever we are.

“Online initiatives are a lifeline for teachers and parents at a time like this, and one of the few ways to keep pupils engaged indoors while social distancing restrictions are still in place. By providing courses such as this one for teenagers, it helps to improve young people’s employability, the standard of their education during lockdown and – more importantly – their confidence and mental health while they’re at home. Institutions that do so for free will be remembered fondly by parents and schools long after restrictions have been lifted and rightly so.”