Developing on line materials for learning

I think we need to look at how we deliver learning in a different way. Make a decision not to return children to school until the beginning of Sept. In the meantime use the resources we have available to develop a curriculum that can delivered flexibly to all ages. For older children this can be led by SQA but with the support of educational institutes that have experience of flexible learning e.g. Open University , University of the Highland and Islands. This would allow the opportunity for learning both within school and at home this would enable young people to attend school on certain days and reduce class sizes. For younger children the situation is more complex. Some nurseries are outdoor nurseries and that might be a way forward to build on these models Scandinavia seems to work well with this which we could learn from.
Primary schools again we need to look at how we reduce class sizes and maybe develop a different shape for our school week. This may involve changing hours and school days. I realise some of this will have implications for working parents but the shape of how we work is also going to change perhaps we need to move away from the way we look at fixed hours and the weekend . These are just some broad thoughts. We are a small country and we can do this.

I think what I have outlined are some broad ideas which could be a basis for discussion but using the resources and the experiences of the universities outlined would be helpful. I think that it is an opportunity to move away from our fixed ideas of education to something that will give young people a good quality educational experience but in a different way.