As the UK braces itself to deal with a third national Covid-19 national lockdown since March 2020 with schools and educational establishments closed for the foreseeable future, the BBC is to deliver what it says is the biggest educational service in its history across more of its platforms.
In April 2020, with UK schooling currently badly disrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak and the need for social distancing, the BBC introduced a programme, the BBC Bitesize Daily, designed to ensure that every child in the UK had the opportunity to continue to follow the appropriate core parts of their school curriculum. The programme was designed to act as a standalone resource or to complement what schools are providing remotely, aimed at minimising disruption to children’s education and providing rhythm and routines.
In the latest move, the BBC will now bring together BBC Two, CBBC, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and online to deliver a new education offer to children, teachers and parents. Most importantly, the new offer is designed to ensure all children can access curriculum-based learning even if they don’t have access to the internet, a key issue in the UK where high speed broadband availability and high quality mobile coverage are nowhere near guaranteed across the country.
Educational content for all four nations in the UK will be available. From Monday 11 January, each week day on CBBC will see a three-hour block of primary school programming from 9am, including BBC Live Lessons and BBC Bitesize Daily, as well as other educational programming such as Our School and Celebrity Supply Teacher and much loved titles such as Horrible Histories, Art Ninja and Operation Ouch. Bitesize Daily primary and secondary will also air every day on BBC Red Button as well as episodes being available on demand on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Two will cater for secondary students with programming to support the GCSE curriculum, with a least two hours of content each weekday. Content will be built around Bitesize Daily secondary shows, complemented by Shakespeare and classic drama adaptations alongside science, history and factual titles from the BBC’s award-winning factual programming units.
Commenting on the corporation’s response to the new crisis, Tim Davie, BBC Director General, said: “Ensuring children across the UK have the opportunity to continue to follow the appropriate core parts of their nation’s school curriculum has been a key priority for the BBC throughout this past year. Education is absolutely vital - the BBC is here to play its part and I’m delighted that we have been able to bring this to audiences so swiftly.”
The TV offer sits alongside associated online content. For primary students , BBC Bitesize online will offer an expanded offer of structured lessons in Maths and English for all year groups - these can be used at home or in the classroom. ‘This Term’s Topics’ also covers other curriculum subjects and curates learning content that works for the Spring curriculum. This content can be easily incorporated into a learning plan or used to explore different topics at home.
In the latest move, the BBC will now bring together BBC Two, CBBC, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and online to deliver a new education offer to children, teachers and parents. Most importantly, the new offer is designed to ensure all children can access curriculum-based learning even if they don’t have access to the internet, a key issue in the UK where high speed broadband availability and high quality mobile coverage are nowhere near guaranteed across the country.
Educational content for all four nations in the UK will be available. From Monday 11 January, each week day on CBBC will see a three-hour block of primary school programming from 9am, including BBC Live Lessons and BBC Bitesize Daily, as well as other educational programming such as Our School and Celebrity Supply Teacher and much loved titles such as Horrible Histories, Art Ninja and Operation Ouch. Bitesize Daily primary and secondary will also air every day on BBC Red Button as well as episodes being available on demand on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Two will cater for secondary students with programming to support the GCSE curriculum, with a least two hours of content each weekday. Content will be built around Bitesize Daily secondary shows, complemented by Shakespeare and classic drama adaptations alongside science, history and factual titles from the BBC’s award-winning factual programming units.
Commenting on the corporation’s response to the new crisis, Tim Davie, BBC Director General, said: “Ensuring children across the UK have the opportunity to continue to follow the appropriate core parts of their nation’s school curriculum has been a key priority for the BBC throughout this past year. Education is absolutely vital - the BBC is here to play its part and I’m delighted that we have been able to bring this to audiences so swiftly.”
The TV offer sits alongside associated online content. For primary students , BBC Bitesize online will offer an expanded offer of structured lessons in Maths and English for all year groups - these can be used at home or in the classroom. ‘This Term’s Topics’ also covers other curriculum subjects and curates learning content that works for the Spring curriculum. This content can be easily incorporated into a learning plan or used to explore different topics at home.
