COVID-19 and Yipiyap - How we are tackling it

The effects of Covid-19 have been felt all over the world and are impacting massively on the way we all now live. The decision to close schools to all but the children of key workers or the vulnerable in order to reduce contact and save lives has inevitably caused severe disruption. To families it has meant adapting to the challenges of homeworking and schooling, to the schools it has demanded a whole new strategy for online delivery of education and to the students the acceptance of far-reaching impacts on their social development and learning.

Here at Yipiyap, we too have directly felt the impact - our own children not being able to sit their final year exams, having to work while also making sure our children are getting on with their own school work, being responsible for an amazing workforce and worrying if/ how we are going to pay them over the coming months! But by directly feeling these pressures ourselves, we have had the motivation and insight as to how best support our schools and students at this time. Having the capacity to do this however only happens when you have the best possible team around you!! Every single Yipiyap colleague has, over the last 3 weeks, played a massive part in ensuring we can deliver the best possible ongoing support to our schools at this challenging time.

Let’s start with Alan our Director of IT and Innovation who has singlehandedly designed and implemented an online working platform that can be safely used by our tutors to reach their students, parents and teachers alike. Basically, doing in 3 weeks what, in other circumstances, could have taken 6 months to roll out! With this in place, we have been able to confidently offer the schools we support the facility of online support with our amazing tutors who have adapted magnificently from ‘in-school’ to ‘online tutors’ in a heartbeat!

Then, there are our Regional Directors who have all worked tirelessly to ensure that support sessions are being timetabled and delivered smoothly as well as co-ordinating their teams, their schools and now their parents so everybody is on board and in the loop. It has been a herculean amount of work from all and we are just so proud of how everyone has pulled together to ensure that we can offer this continuity for schools and students in these challenging and unsettling times

Here are a few ways some of our amazing tutors have adapted to their new way of support!

“As a Yipiyap tutor my main role is to provide high quality academic support and I wasn’t going to let a pandemic stop me from fulfilling my duties!

Before my school announced its closure, my role included helping GCSE students reach their target grade and I did this by providing support both in class and in small groups. I was passionate about helping them reach their full potential and to feel confident and prepared for their upcoming exams. However, since changes have been implemented due to the pandemic, I have had to adapt my approach whilst still providing the same high quality of support. Making use of new and innovative technology has been critical in enabling me to help my students, even without the traditional face-to-face contact. I have invested my time in making bespoke resources for students and classes to ensure they have work to be doing over the coming weeks and months.

I know from speaking with my students that this support has been invaluable and has enabled them to continue their academic journey, even without being in a classroom setting. It is truly special to know that you are providing a helping hand and being a point of contact for students during such a difficult time. ”

— Holly - Yipiyap Tutor, Hull

“Before the government announced school closures, I had a set timetable which involved running Maths intervention sessions for a range of year groups. In these sessions I would go over any topics they were struggling with in class in order to give them a boost towards their target grade.

Covid 19 however changed all of that and soon my timetable as I knew it changed completely. My school swiftly put a plan in place and I was directed to spend my time supporting the very vulnerable students in school and our aim was to make their time in school as enjoyable as possible. I was ready to help the school in any way I could which meant trying new things and being flexible.

The average lesson completely changed and as there were only a few students in school they were grouped together to form one class. This meant that we had to accommodate different abilities and age groups, so the lessons were often skills based.

It has been such a positive experience playing sports with them and trying things like archery and baking and really helped me get to know them and support them to the best of my abilities. It was really important that we had fun while learning! For me personally it has felt good to know that I have been able to contribute something really positive to help these students during such a difficult time.”

— Mexhisan - Yipiyap Tutor, Nottingham

“Prior to COVID-19 I was tutoring a small group of year 11’s on a range of GCSE texts, and helping them to enhance and develop their exam skills in order to achieve the best grades possible.

Then came the virus, the school closures and the start of my online sessions!!  It is all very interactive and I am still able to fully engage with my students and help them where necessary across English, Maths and Science. It took a little time to adjust to using Zoom after being in the classroom but after a couple of practice sessions it became much easier. I am now able to support my students effectively using a range of resources to work through together each session.

During these unprecedented times I feel fortunate to still be able to support my students and have the Yipiyap tutoring experience. I know this support is vital as I am helping a wide range of students particularly those from key worker families. At the same time, I continue to develop my skills with a ‘virus proof’ level of expertise in the online world and all the skills that involves. I feel really proud to help my students stay engaged and keep their minds active during this pandemic.”

— Olivia - Yipiyap Tutor, Leeds

And here’s what our schools think of our tutors’ ongoing support…

“Jade’s daily online sessions with C are really helping to support him during this very challenging period. C has an EHCP and has really struggled with the major changes which have taken place since schools closed due to the need for social distancing. The online session times have been adapted so they are suitable for C and mum is very positive and thinks Jade is doing a brilliant job. Our other students really appreciate Jade’s support as well, as do we.”

— Nikki Ryder - Senior Assistant Principal, Boston Spa Academy

“I am absolutely delighted with everything that you and the tutors are doing to support our students. The students are really engaging with it strongly and the tutor sessions I have dropped in on have been really positive and engaging for the students.”

— Adam Ryder - Principal, The Morley Academy, Leeds

We feel humbled by the effort all of our team have put into ensuring that our schools and students have a vital offering to help them continue educating over the coming weeks of uncertainty and are very grateful to all of the schools, students and parents who have embraced our support so positively.

We hope that very soon we will all be able to return to our normal way of life but until then we wish everyone well and trust you will all remain safe and healthy throughout this time.

The Yipiyap Team