Burnley teacher forced to tutor students from home in coronavirus lockdown says she has never experienced anything like this in 25 year career

Teresa has taught for 25 years and was at St Hilda’s in 2001 before it turned into Blessed Trinity from 2006.

Due to the coronavirus, Teresa is at her home in Rochdale with her two children, one in Year 11 and one in Year Seven, while also making sure the year seven to-10 pupils at Blessed Trinity are keeping on top of their Religious Studies learning.

“It is a crazy time, in the whole of my 25 years I have never experienced anything vaguely like this and it is mad,” said Mrs Burtles.

“We obviously had a short time to prepare for this and each year group has been allocated a day for Religious Studies. Monday is Year 10s and these have really impressed me.

“We have been using GCSE booklets which actually were intended as a back-up to learning along with lessons but they are now a main source of learning.

“I also wrote some revision sheets a couple of years ago and these have been updated and uploaded onto Show My Homework with the booklet.

“I am also setting my Year 10s a GCSE question each week and they send me their answer. I couldn’t believe that the vast majority not only responded to it but, after I had marked them on Monday, messaged me back to say they had learnt a lot from doing it.

“I am so proud of them as they are so keen and have gone above and beyond what they have had to do. It really does make me proud.

“Year 9s are being set a similar sort of work and they again can ask me for any help and I can give them assurances as it is a tough time. Their day is Thursday.

"Year seven study Religious Studies on Tuesday and yeart eight on Wednesday. For these two year groups, among other work, I have been setting them projects to keep in their folders so that, when we return to school, we can go through them and they still have the Show My Homework messaging facility to submit work and ask for additional help.

“I have been really busy. My daughter is busy doing what she has been set although she is finding the new routine difficult for now while my son is carrying out household tasks and I was surprised how full my days have been when ‘working from home’.

“The pupils have really responded to it, along with their parents, and that has been a great help.”