What is the Cornerstone Digital Strategy?
Cornerstone Academy Trust deliver a curriculum built on the national curriculum, but with a clear focus on Project Based Learning and preparing learners with the skills they will need in their working future. For us, this refers to learning experiences that are crafted around real-world projects, often requiring collaboration in groups and with a specific outcome and audience. In this way, the outcome of the work matters to pupils and they take ownership of their learning. In order to deliver this rich curriculum, the trust has for many years been a thought leader in use of digital tools and technology in the classroom.
In this way, we support pupils to become not just literate and numerate, but also with the critical think and digital skills needed for their future. Central to this is providing a safe online learning environment for pupils as part of the digital provision, which allows them to participate in anytime anywhere learning, and which you can find out more about below.
The Digital Tools
A Computer each as part of their kit
To allow pupils to collaborate in their learning, access digital resources and develop the independent working skills that modern life requires, Cornerstone run a one-to-one device programme from year one to year six. This means that every pupil has a Microsoft Surface device that they use when needed in school all year. Just as they are provided a pencil case, with the pencils, pens ruler, etc that they need each, they also have a surface that lives in school and they can take out when the work calls for it.
The Microsoft surface will have a detachable keyboard, a digital pen (for ink drawing and writing) and a pair of bluetooth headphones.
Creating Independent Learners
Independence and Resilience
Far from using the technology to babysit children, the Cornerstone curriculum has been built over twenty years to leverage the device when needed so that pupils can be independent enough to go to sing in the choir, record in the studio, climb the climbing wall, go to the allotment or forest school, and still feel on top of their class work.
Independent learners does not mean children being ‘plugged in’ without a teacher present, it means that as well as the quality teaching that they experience, thy can access a wide range of digital resources and tools to revise what the teacher has taught and
Built in Microsoft 365
A Windows device
Pupils sign in as individuals on their own device, and from this are automatically able to access all the Microsoft365 tools for their learning. Their school device is Filtered and Monitored (Find out more about Filtering and Monitoring here), and charges in the classroom in a secure cabinet each night.
Microsoft 365 (M365), Teams and SharePoint
Your child’s login gives them access to all the office programs. They can then work in school or at home on the web and desktop apps to complete their work.
Teams and SharePoint
Everything that children need to access is available through either SharePoint (like a traditional Intranet of web pages) or through the Microsoft Teams app. They are fully integrated, so either route access as all your child’s work, any resources and lesson support the teacher has shared, and all of their class and club activities.
Keeping our pupils safe online
All school devices are protected in a number of ways. Firstly they are encrypted to ensure no information can be accessed without a password. They are also filtered through the Schools Broadband service, and Monitored by Senso and the South West Grid for Learning. The monitoring happens both on the device and in Teams itself if accessed out of school.
Protecting our pupils' data
We take data protection very seriously. The trust data officer works with an external data protection team to ensure we remain compliant and are doing all that we can to protect your child’s data.
Other Learning Platforms
In addition to the M365, Teams and SharePoint tools, your child has individual logins to access other subscription services that we purchase to support their learning. This could be literacy tools such as Literacy Planet or Brittanica, or maths support such as Times Table Rock Stars or Accelerated Maths, as well as a range of cross curricular tools and help.
Find out more about other learning tools.
Learning Platform: M365, Teams and OneNote
Pupils use the same login to work on their device as they do to sign into their online tools, in the form of Microsoft 365, the latest version of the Office suite. They can then work in school or at home on the web and desktop apps to complete their work. As part of this suite, pupils access their class ‘team’ within Microsoft Teams, which allows them to work in their class OneNote notebook, save and open their work, access and submit class assignments, and communicate with their teachers and peers on their work. The M365 suite is completely safe and can only be accessed by those with a school account. Pupils and staff regularly complete work with pupils in their year across the schools. It includes:
Word, Excel and PowerPoint are traditional creative apps allow pupils to create documents and presentations.
Teams is a learning platform, with channels and chat for teachers and pupils to communicate with their class, assignments, and shared resources such as a class notebook.
OneNote OneNote is a notebook app, which allows teachers to share their whiteboard pages and pupils to access them themselves, alongside their own notebook areas that only they and their teachers can see.
Stream Many lessons, assemblies, events and performances are recorded in school, for pupils to play back later. The Stream platform organises these videos for pupils.
Sway, Forms These modern apps allow pupils to create and publish online work and create forms and surveys for others.
Viva Engage Viva Engage (previously Yammer) is a news sharing tool, with many social features. It allows teachers and pupils to publish their work within the school community and view others achievements.
Evolution
The trust have been a Microsoft Showcase School for over twenty years, meaning we are recognised internationally for innovating in the purposeful use of technology in teaching and learning.
We have also been a Microsoft Teaching School, and a DfE Teaching School, as well as a DfE EdTech Demonstrator School and most recently a NCCE Computing Hub for Devon and Dorset.
For each project we have been not just guiding other organisations on their EdTech journey but working alongside and in partnership and learning from the major thought leaders and companies in this space.
