Online school to continue into next academic year amid risk of further disruption

Oak National Academy will remain ‘open and free as part of resilience planning for the next two terms’, charity boss says

The virtual school will continue for at least the next two terms (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A virtual school will stay open for at least most of the next academic year amid a rise in the number of pupils self-isolating.

Oak National Academy has been used by pupils and teachers to support remote learning - which has taken place during lockdowns and - during the Covid pandemic.

The Reach Foundation, which the school is part of, said it will keep operating at no cost for at least the next two terms.

The charity said this will help teachers to plan for the start of the next academic year by being able to access Oak National Academy’s online lessons and learning resources.

The announcement comes against a backdrop of rising Covid infections in the UK and the large numbers of children self-isolating as the school year drew to a close.

More than one million children were out of school last week due to Covid-related reasons - such as a positive test, suspected Covid case or being told to isolate - just before schools broke up for the summer holiday.

In the final weeks of term, over 300,000 pupils used Oak National Academy’s online learning lessons and resources.

Schools are already considering what measures they may need to put in place should pupils test positive or they are asked to self-isolate in the next academic year.

The extension of the virtual school into the autumn and spring terms is backed by £2.1m in funding from the Department for Education (DfE).

Ed Vainker from the Reach Foundation - which has incubated Oak since its launch - said the charity understood teachers wanted the online school to continue.

“We are also mindful that Covid-19 will be with us in some form for the foreseeable future, and the autumn and winter may bring further disruption,” the chief executive said.

“I’m therefore pleased the DfE will continue to support Oak so it remains open and free as part of resilience planning for the next two terms.”

Nick Gibb, the schools minister, said: “From being set up by a small group of teachers in under two weeks, Oak National Academy has become one of the great success stories as we tackle the pandemic.”

He said the online school helped millions of pupils and teachers while most children were not allowed to set foot in school during a lockdown last spring and one at the start of this year.

But even since after all students were allowed back on since in March, Oak National Academy said 30,000 teachers have used its services a week, with demand rising amid the spread of the Delta variant.

“The impact Oak has made and the good it has done for the sector and children is immeasurable, and we will now look for the best way to harness that for the future,” Mr Gibb added.

Additional reporting by Press Association