What's new?
After a Herculean effort from our technical team, our new teacher account went live at the start of February 2021 which is totally free for all registered teachers and schools in the UK. With this account, teachers can set unlimited activities for up to 30 students in their class to complete during school hours (9 am to 3 pm). Classroom teachers can also 'gift' unlimited, at-home access for 5 students in their class who they feel would benefit from additional support (e.g. Pupil Premium Grant or Free School Meals students).
In a nutshell, teachers can track progress, assign National-Curriculum-aligned activities (KS1 - GCSE) and utilise our NTP-approved catch-up assessments; all for zero cost. Our new teacher resource has already been approved by PiXL (Partners in Excellence) and we hope other future recognition will follow.
Why now?
Since the first school closures in March 2020, it has become very clear that the Covid-19 pandemic will have a significant and long-lasting effect on the education sector in the UK and all the students who have had their learning disrupted. In late-March 2020, we launched a free account to support parents whilst their children were forced to learn at home (for more info about this, please click here) and to date, more than 30,000 UK families have benefitted from our free service.
We wanted to make a similar, free account available to teachers immediately but, as we did not yet have a specialised teacher account in existence, this process has inevitably taken longer. This new account and access was not created overnight - our fantastic team has been working away to make this a reality behind the scenes for many months.
We feel passionately that all students should have equal access to education, so with each free account, teachers can grant unlimited access to 5 students who would benefit from extra support outside of school hours. We’re here to support you and your students in, and outside, the classroom during these trying times.
How is it free and will it be free forever?
We continue to be parent champions and believe that now, more than ever, learning at school and home needs to be fully aligned. We conceived this account to bridge the gap between home and school, whilst also reaching students who may not otherwise be able to access support, plus we know that engaged parents lead to better academic outcomes too - now that's a win-win! Parents who pay for our service allow us to keep doing what we are doing and innovating to create the best version of our product, so inviting parents to use EdPlace at home helps fund our free teacher account. To learn more about how teachers can refer parents (plus earn more unlimited access seats as a bonus!), please click here.
We also offer teachers and schools the option to upgrade to a paid account which offers even more benefits, including access outside of school hours (e.g. to set homework) or for more than 30 students, a school administrator account, and access to our premium content. To find out more about the differences between our free and paid teacher accounts, please click here.
Free access is limited to only teachers working at verified UK schools, during school hours (9 am to 3 pm), to ensure that usage is fair and not open to abuse. As long as you meet and continue to adhere to these criteria, we will not take this access away. Our mission is simple; we want to help millions of students, from all walks of life, succeed in their education and beyond.
How can you or your school get involved?
- Tag activities onto lessons to embed skills and track understanding;
- Use catch-up assessments to establish where students are at;
- Access GCSE practice papers to prepare for teacher-moderated assessments;
- Set SATs practice papers to benchmark students;
- Utilise the accessibility toolbar for SEND and EAL students;
- Where appropriate, work on 11+ skills to reduce the pressure of school entry exams.
Also, don't forget to let your teaching colleagues know - with the EdPlace free teacher account, teachers can easily collaborate on assigning and supporting students together.
If you are a parent, why not tell your child's classroom teacher about our new free account so that your child can benefit at home and at school? Plus, your support can help sponsor additional free accounts for students in need at your child's school.
Our EdPlace Commitment, whatever the future
We know that there is still a way to go until schools can return to normal in the UK. Therefore, we are making a lasting pledge to support UK teachers and students who need our help in the following ways:
- Continuing to offer a free teacher account during school hours (9 am to 3 pm) indefinitely which any teacher working at a registered UK school can sign up to use;
- Continuing to foster the best communication between school and home with our range of free and paid options for parents, plus a proportion of sponsored unlimited use seats for parents to gift to their most disadvantaged students (click here for more information on the launch of our free account for parents);
- Launching further milestone assessments to help identify areas where students need support on an individual basis against age-related expectations. Allowing students to target their learning on EdPlace, with the support of their teachers, to continue to 'catch up' (click here for more information on these assessments);
- Continuing to work as a partner with the National Tutoring Programme, supported by the UK government and delivered by organisations approved by the Education Endowment Foundation, to help the most disadvantaged students in the UK to get back on track with their learning (click here for more information on this project).
We hope that this free account will be a great support to you and your students during the transition back into the classroom and beyond. If you have any questions or concerns about your students' learning and how EdPlace is supporting your school during these challenging times, please contact our friendly Customer Support Team via email at help@edplace.com.