“We’ve been developing our digital education offering for some time now, which is evident with our recently launched DigiEd model. As part of the design process, we decided to rethink how home-schooling and distance learning is currently being offered. We set out to understand the frustrations of parents, and the learner, and how best to serve them and came up with a different proposition,” says Curro Online Business Manager, Jay Paul.
“One such concern is that most home-schooling solutions do not prepare the learners for the technology-heavy 21st century and hence we focused our curriculum on Maths, Science, Coding and Robotics. As Covid-19 continues to impact our country, we also identified a need among parents who are struggling to juggle home-schooling with their own work, or are looking for an online programme that will still give their children access to class-time with qualified teachers. Many parents are also concerned about sending their children back to school once schools reopen, especially those with immune-compromised family members living in the same household. Curro Online is a response to all these pressing needs,” says Paul.
Paul stresses that Curro Online is not a home-schooling model, where parents need to take on the responsibility of teaching and continuous supervision. It is a learn-from-home online model that is aligned with Curro’s enhanced CAPS curriculum. The model’s online material is created and taught by Curro teachers. There is a structured timetable in place for the learner that needs structure, as well as the option to be flexible for those that work well at their own pace. The timetable includes teachers initiating each class, and guiding learners through pre-set material on the online platform. The parent thus assumes a smaller supervisory role similar to the role they would normally fill (e.g. checking that the learner has done their homework), and can rest assured that the academic process is taken care of by the Curro teachers.
“The teaching model combines flexible learning through pre-set learning material on our learning platform, with live interaction whereby learners can ask teachers for help and also receive detailed feedback on their progress,” he says.
For parents that would like greater flexibility in their child’s life, the Curro Online platform has an easy-to-follow curriculum with a variety of video material, recorded live lessons and other learning material. “Each learner can choose which material best suits their learning preference, and then complete a variety of assignments and assessments for us to test their understanding,” adds Paul.
Curro Online will be taught by a dedicated teacher per subject, per grade, for the whole year, allowing them to actively track the progress of the learner and intervene pro-actively when needed. The school will be English-medium and initially offer grades 4 to 9, with new grades being phased in every year. Learners in Matric will write the IEB examinations.
The school says it will focus on the holistic development of the learner. Students will not study in isolation, but rather in small classes. They will also have group projects assigned to them, which will be done in small groups of four, where they will learn the skills of coordinating projects in a virtual work-from-home world. Extra-curricular activities will be available at existing Curro campuses, and Curro Online learners will also have access to an educational psychologist for virtual consultations, if needed.
“We believe this model is ideal for families who wish to provide a high-quality independent school education for their child, and have the flexibility to return them to a physical school with little disruption to their academic career at any point in the future. Our model ensures that parents can continue to focus on their work commitments and all other responsibilities, and take off the pressure to teach their children. And, of course, it’s an affordable independent education model, which is what Curro’s vision is based on,” concludes Paul.
