An online classroom made by teachers for teachers


Oak National Academy is an online classroom made by teachers, for teachers. Created in April 2020 as a rapid response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Academy offers free, high-quality video lessons and resources to support schools’ efforts to keep children learning. 

Image

At a glance…

  • During the summer-term from April to July over 4.7 million students visited Oak’s site, taking part in just under 20 million lessons. 
  • Since the relaunch on 1st September with Oak’s teacher hub, followed by the pupil classroom on the 7th September, Oak has already had over 100,000 users and this will continue to rise as they provide support over the whole of the 2020/21 academic year.

“We’ve been using Oak since it first launched. When schools closed to most pupils, we didn’t have a ready-made digital learning platform ready to go, so for us it was the perfect answer to how we could continue to teach our children while they were at home. We have used it for all pupils in Years 1 to 6 English and Mathematics. Some of our families have chosen to use it for other subjects too. [...] Using Oak Lessons, rather than recording our own, has freed up out teachers to focus on giving quality feedback and next steps.” Claire Haines, Deputy Head, Fielding Primary school in Ealing, West London

The Mohn Westlake Foundation’s grant, together with support from the Department for Education, has enabled Oak to continue supporting teachers to support students throughout the 2020/21 academic year, in the face of significant uncertainty for schools. 

With this joint support Oak has already been able to:

  • Develop subject curriculum plans for students from Reception to Year 11
  • Plan, create and film over 8,000 lesson videos and resources
  • Further improve accessibility, with captions for all videos and British sign language for young students in English and Maths
  • Improve its online classroom environment for students to access lessons
  • Create a dedicated teacher hub, with downloadable resources and customisable lesson delivery.

In addition to maintaining this support throughout the year, Oak will continue to improve and expand its curriculum, develop its online platform to improve the learning experience, and support schools to help tackle the unique challenges they are facing.  


“My two youngest children have autism and they have found home learning very stressful. Oak has afforded me the convenience of providing daily lessons for three different age groups [...]. My children love the Oak teachers and enjoy the lessons which are just the right length, and their school teachers have been impressed with their work. [...] It is fantastic to know that Oak will be there to support them from September if need be and it amazes me how it continues to grow in such a short period of time and for free!”Gary Wade, parent of three primary-age children, aged 5,8 and 11

For more information about Oak national Academy and this project please visit their website: www.thenational.academy
teachers.thenational.academy/
www.thenational.academy/people-and-partners


Share this Post