5 Ways We Have Improved the Virtual School Experience at NAS Jakarta

1.   A structured day

There is no doubt that beginning a new academic year with online learning is a huge challenge for all children, parents and teachers. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is persisting, bringing uncertainty and a lack of clarity as to when schools may be allowed to open their doors in Jakarta. Therefore, we believe it is important that NAS Jakarta provides a Virtual School Experience that supports and improves our children’s levels of confidence and independence at this time of uncertainty.

Children learn best when there is structure and routine, so our new-look Virtual School Experience has been carefully constructed around a daily timetabled combination of:

• Live lessons
• Time to work on set tasks or receive feedback about learning
• Times for the children to meet together in their class groups, both formally and informally

Older children were able to follow their timetable independently from day one whilst it naturally takes a little longer or greater support is required for our youngest children, but the routines of the structured day support everyone at home with virtual school.

2.   Personalised contact for children with their teachers

NAS Jakarta is a school that listens to what its community is saying. Feedback from last term called for an increase in the amount of personalised support, encouragement and feedback from teachers.

So, we have taken a number of steps to improve this:

1. The structure of our live lessons means that after the lesson’s introduction and teaching points, individual children or small groups can then work directly with their teacher.
2. Constructive feedback or encouragement is posted on our learning platforms of Tapestry or Seesaw.
3. From Year 1 to Year 6/7, every child has their own NAS Learner Profile to record key achievements. Copies have been delivered home in NAS Jakarta “Discovery Bags” or online for families overseas.
4. Weekly “Stars of the Week” are now directly linked to our Virtual School Experience and are awarded in every class from Year 1 to Year 6/7.

3. Discovery Bags

Bright, specially designed and re-usable, NAS Jakarta Discovery Bags have been introduced to support the beginning of the new school year. Every child in Year 1 to Year 6/7 has been provided with a stationery kit, exercise books and more. Families are asked to return their Discovery Bags to receive an ongoing supply of library books and reading books throughout our Virtual School Experience.

All Early Years children were provided with age-appropriate materials in their Discovery Bags to support their hands-on learning during our Visual School Experience. A new pack of resources is created every week for families of Nursery, Foundation 1 and Foundation 2 children to collect from the school lobby in their re-usable Discovery Bags.

4. Ongoing feedback between parents and teachers

“Knock on the Door” times included in our Virtual School Experience timetables are designed for daily contact between teachers and parents.

At NAS Jakarta, we recognise the importance of time to meet so parents can ask questions to clarify their own understanding of the teacher’s expectations, to receive feedback about their individual child’s progress and to provide constructive feedback to our teachers. This ensures that our Visual School Experience is ongoing cycle of delivery and improvement in order to benefit children’s learning.

5. Daily support for personal, social and emotional learning

Academic learning at NAS Jakarta is just one part of our new-look Visual School Experience. Personal, social and emotional learning is important not just at the very beginning of the academic year, so is built into our daily provision. “Morning Circle”, “Snack Together” and “Afternoon Circle” times are provided in the timetables of all our children from our very youngest in Nursery classes to our oldest Year 6/7 class. These sessions are a mix of formal and informal interactions so that positive relationships can develop between the teachers and their students as well as peer to peer. Children are encouraged to eat their healthy snacks, participate in singing, story times and formal registration times as a class or year group.