Staff at Balwearie High have been well prepared for teaching during lockdown

He said: “We developed a protocol to ensure continued engagement with our most vulnerable young people and liaise regularly with our social work and psychological services colleagues to that end.

“This was shared with all secondary schools as an example of good practice.

“Not all pupils have access to IT at home and some need to share the IT with their siblings, reducing contact time, and some choose not to engage as much as we would like.

“We have asked our parents/carers to have an overview of this and encourage interaction as much as possible. Community teamwork and collective responsibility are essential here.”

He said staff have been sending tasks to pupils via teams and been innovative in their thinking by creating virtual learning tents for expressive arts and home economics.

He said: “Check out our Glastonwearie link. Our PT of Home Economics does a weekly video on food preparation that has been viewed by many outwith the Balwearie, and indeed the Fife, community.”

He said feedback from parents has been positive and his tips for home schooling for parents include using the pupil’s timetable to determine what subjects they should be engaging with on any given day and remember to factor in breaks.

If possible, he said parents should create the correct working environment at home, free from distractions.

He added that they shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations and shouldn’t place undue pressure on young people,as they need time away from their studies too.

While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you - wherever possible and providing it is safe for you to do so - to also please purchase a copy of our newspapers; the Fife Free Press, Fife Herald, St Andrews Citizen, East Fife Mail and Glenrothes Gazette.

Inevitably falling advertising revenues will start to have an impact on local newspapers and the way we continue to work during this period of uncertainty.

The support of our readers has never been more important as we try to make sure that we keep you connected with your community during this time. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. We need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Our team of trusted reporters are working incredibly hard behind the scenes - from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms - to look at how we can do this, and your continued support of our newspapers across Fife will help to protect their viability in the days and weeks ahead.

For more details on our subscription offers please visit email [email protected] or call us on 0330 4033004

Thank you

Allan Crow, Editor, Fife Free Press