Well, what a whirlwind of a week it has been for us all.
Uncertainty. Worry. Adapting. Re-thinking. Survival!
One thing was clear – we’re all in the same boat and it’s time to look after one another.
Monday #NationalPandaDay – we had planned to make a big deal of this day – but we were only concerned about whether people would come to the workshop we were running,
and were concerned about the sustainability of our business, given the forecast of social isolation for the forthcoming months.
We had 8 brave souls who came to our session and 2 on Zoom. People were calm but unsure at what was coming next. The weekend just gone seemed to be a turning point for how serious the situation seemed.
After the session, we advised our staff to work from home as quickly as possible, with underlying health conditions and families to look after, this was imperative. We had recently bought new computers with Office 365 (thanks to a Business Development Grant from Caerphilly County Council) which meant we could work remotely and trial the use of Teams (with each other) and Zoom (with our learners).
We met with our colleagues at @ImpactWales to discuss how, as businesses working in education, we could survive the forthcoming months. We felt that we weren’t alone and along with our other colleagues @WelshICE we would have the support to get through what was coming our way.
Tuesday, Colette and Nikki were quick out of the blocks and started using Zoom to have assessment visits. These visits can be recorded, screens can be shared and it’s great to have the social connection. They also have the use of an e-portfolio where evidence, including digital reviews can be uploaded. Of course, there were some technical issues and the air was a slight shade of blue, but overall, with the support of Sean @ALS Training, it has been successful.
Wednesday, Ros was delivering an AET workshop she adapted her delivery on Tuesday night, made paper aeroplanes to demonstrate EDIP Model (Explain. Demonstrate. Imitate. Practice). IT seemed like she had fun with exploring her creative side and on the whole the remote experience went well. Ros has the ability to stay calm when the tech doesn’t work, with me I tend to get a bit fraught! We all caught up on Wednesday afternoon, had a good natter about how, in the words of The Fresh Prince, our lives had been “flip-turned upside-down”. We decided it was good for our souls to have a regular catch up and we booked it in the daily diary.
After a few hiccups, on Wednesday, we were all on screen together, having a good chat about what we had been through since the start of the week – it was only 2 days but felt like a fortnight! We decided that it was good for our mental health to have a catch up every day – so we have booked them in for the same time at the end of every day. It’s called Embarrassment Time (because the collective noun for Pandas is called an embarrassment!).
Thursday – Ros and I had a strategic meeting. It was important to make some decisions about what we could do, rather than dwell on what we couldn’t.
- We decided that we would try support others the best we can through providing resources, advice and guidance through our social media channels Instagram Facebook: Twitter
- We decided that reflection is good and each of us would keep a journal, or do a blog to share our thoughts and feelings, so that it might help others. We will develop a resource and video to help others with their own reflection.
- We will deliver our training sessions remotely – we’ll deliver them in bitesize chunks of 1 ½ hours long so that parents can put the children in front of a film, so they can have time to concentrate.
- We will share the things that we are grateful for. We will do things that make us laugh. We will remember to take time for ourselves during the day to do things that we like doing, not that we have to do.
Friday – We wanted to add a bit of fun into today’s Embarrassment to end the week. We decided to all wear wigs. It gave us a giggle and a positive end to the week.
So, in the light of the emotional, economic and social upheaval we are going through as a country and as individuals, we will make the best of the situation. We will look after one another, our colleagues, our learners, the organisations we work with. We will hopefully bring a bit of light to a dark time.
For any of us, it’s not our fault this has happened, and yes, our businesses will suffer. Yes, we will have to make changes to staffing and our working practices, but these Pandas are not endangered species and we will do everything in our power to survive!
