Oak National Academy will remain open for the entirety of the next academic year, supported by more than £4 million in government funding.
The national online academy says it will adapt its current approach, offering a mixture of resources for both school and home-based learning so pupils can “easily switch between each” in 2020-21.
Funded in part by a £4.34 million government investment, with support from the Mohn Westlake Foundation, the academy says it will act as a “free, optional resource” available to all schools.
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Tes revealed earlier this month that plans were being drawn up for online learning through Oak National Academy to continue during the autumn, with a more flexible curriculum on offer that would allow schools to “pick and choose” resources.
Coronavirus: Oak National Academy will continue to provide online learning
The academy, which has delivered over 13 million lessons in its first two months, says the new offer will include a virtual version of the entire national curriculum and the opportunity for schools to reorder topics and lessons to match their own plans.
“While schools are hard at work preparing for a full return in September, there may still be a need for high-quality remote teaching resources if there are local lockdowns, or staff and pupil absences due to illness and shielding,” the academy said.
“This would require running some teaching in school buildings, and some online teaching for pupils learning at home. Oak National Academy’s resources will be available to support both.”
It added that it will “collaborate with a wide group of teachers and school leaders to develop lessons”.
The academy is aiming to publish a full plan of lessons by the end of July, with the majority of content recorded and available to use by September.
It hopes to create 10,000 lessons over the next two months, covering core subjects from Reception to Year 11. There will also be new content specifically designed for the specialist sector.
A series of advisory groups have been set up “to make sure Oak’s offer works for as many schools as possible”.
These include representatives from the major teaching and headteachers’ unions, as well as the Chartered College of Teaching, the Teaching Schools Council and the Confederation of School Trusts.
Matt Hood, principal at Oak National Academy, said: “As we look ahead to September, we hope all teachers and pupils will be safely back at school.
“Given the risk of local lockdowns, it’s sensible to have a back-up plan available to any school, to make sure children can continue to receive an education. So we’re keeping Oak National Academy open for another year.
“Our online lessons and resources will continue to be free and available on any device. And through a significant collaborative, sector-wide effort we’re going to set out a broad, flexible curriculum map for the full year by July and share the majority of the video lessons that go with it before the new academic year begins.
“Through this, we hope to give teachers quality resources that help remotely and in school.
“This is an enormous task, but the teaching profession is - as it has done throughout this crisis - stepping up to the plate.
“They are pitching in to get it done so that we can support each other and collectively make sure that every pupil gets a good education, no matter what happens.”
Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “What Oak National Academy has achieved during this challenging time has been nothing short of outstanding - innovating and collaborating with leading state schools to deliver over 13 million video lessons and resources across a broad range of subjects.
“This is an invaluable programme for schools and teachers, supporting children to catch up and keep learning now and into the next academic year. I would like to thank Oak for all they are doing as we continue to tackle this pandemic.”
