Today marks the opening of the virtual doors of Oak National Academy for the first time.

The national online classroom and resource hub will provide a plan of daily lessons and resources to assist teachers, as they continue to support pupils until schools re-open.

Created by a group of primary and secondary school teachers in under two weeks, Oak National Academy will provide a sequenced plan of video lessons and curricular resources for teachers to use as they wish, to complement their existing teaching and planning.

The Outwood Family is one of numerous trusts to support, and help provide content for, Oak National Academy.

A recent poll by Teacher Tapp found that almost two-thirds of teachers want a free online curriculum resource hub to aid them and their students.

A direct response to the coronavirus situation, Oak will provide over 180 lessons a week, the equivalent of three hours a day for primary school students and four hours a day for secondary.

The online classroom has the support of various education organisations including the Sutton Trust, Teach First, the Teaching Schools Council and the Confederation of School Trusts and is being backed by the Department for Education.

Structured and planned online lessons and resources will cover core subjects from maths to art to languages.

They’ll be taught by 40 teachers from some of the country’s top-performing groups of schools. The content will extend from mainstream early years reception (ages 4/5) to year 10 (ages 14/15). Over the next few days, we'll be working with expert teachers to create resources specifically for special educational needs students.

Lessons will be an hour long and include a quiz, a video explanation from the teacher and a worksheet.

Teachers can choose to signpost their students to all, any or none of these resources. Every lesson will be free to use for any teacher.

Matt Hood, Principal of Oak National Academy, said: “Nothing can replace the full experience and opportunities of school. But over the past month teachers have put in a phenomenal amount of work to make education at home the best it can be. If we can, we want to help those teachers.

“Oak National Academy is a collective response from 40 teachers who want to help their colleagues in these challenging times. They are making online lessons and resources available that teachers can choose to draw on, to support the hard work they’re already doing, so that their pupils get high-quality, structured learning.

“We hope Oak National Academy will be useful for schools up and down the country, and play a small part in the collective effort to make sure that every child continues to learn.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “To see teachers and schools come together to support each other and families across the country, is remarkable. Oak National Academy will bring the national curriculum to life and play a crucial role – alongside the BBC and, most importantly, schools themselves – in making sure every young person in the country can continue to learn and grow during this challenging time and into the future.

“This extraordinary initiative builds on what many schools are already providing and is testament to the dedication and commitment of all teachers, heads and the wider sector.”

The Oak National Academy resource centre is available at: http://www.thenational.academy.