As part of our new feature, we are talking with members of the ̨��swag Family and finding out how life has changed for them since the school closures announcement.

This time we chat with Elliot Bowes, Director of Software and Web for the ̨��swag Family. 

Read on to see how Elliot’s day to day life has been changed due to the social distancing measures taken by the Government.

[̨��swag.com] Hi Elliot, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. We appreciate you’re busy, so let’s get to it! Things have been turned upside down recently, for reasons we are all too aware of. So, for you what has been the most difficult aspect of the lockdown period for you and your work?

“Thanks for asking me to take part. Probably the most difficult thing is that, as a team, we’ve had to shift our project priorities and deadlines around quite a lot, either to accommodate work related to closures and reopenings, or to minimise disruption at critical times. 

“I think we’ve managed to do this quite well, our projects like the new academy websites and the EYFS version of Praising Stars are progressing well, and we’ve adjusted the roll-out schedule for getting all the academies onto Gmail to ensure this project is still completed by the end of the academic year. 

“We’ve also been providing support and training for the use of G Suite for home learning and remote work.”

Adapting to the situation is something I think a lot of teams have had to get to grips with quickly, and it definitely appears that you and your team did an excellent job of doing this. So is it possible to say what a typical day is for you now?

“I’ve tried to keep a good structure to my work day as much as possible, but with a bit more flexibility due to having a two-year old and a baby at home! 

“I’ll usually be at my desk by 7.30 to work through any emails, then at 8 I’ll help get the children ready for the day. Then I’ll begin working on the relevant tasks for the day; this has been quite varied as we’ve juggled our various responsibilities. 

“At lunch time I’ll get the boys ready for their naps and then have lunch with my wife. In the afternoon, I’ll carry on with work and catch-up with colleagues via Google Meet. Once it’s all over then it’s time for a cup of tea and playing with the boys!”

We have heard a lot from colleagues about the art of juggling childcare and working from home. Your two young ones at home must make it eventful for you! What would you say has surprised you most about your work during this period?

“How much I’ve got used to working from home! It’s great to not have the commute and to be able to spend more time with the family.”

That really is a positive! Would you say that’s also the most satisfying thing?

“Well it is satisfying, but honestly it has been fantastic to see how everyone has quickly adapted to new ways of working. 

“Our implementation of G Suite and Google Classroom over the past couple of years has paid off dividends, enabling collaboration and communication, along with distance learning, in ways that wouldn’t have been possible before. I would say that is the most satisfying thing for me during this period.”

Ben Barnes said something similar in our chat with him. It has been great to see the ̨��swag Family adapting to this, and your work in helping this has been influential.

So to finish, do you think your work approach in the future will be changed due to this period?

“As part of the wider IT team, we’ve probably been at the vanguard of using tools like Google Meet, G Suite and Basecamp to collaborate remotely pre-lockdown, but I’m hoping that everyone else continues to make good use of them when things return to normal. 

“They’ve enabled some really great ways of working, particularly collaborating with colleagues in different parts of the country. Hopefully this will save a lot of driving, improving both work-life balance and helping the environment!”

That is a strong positive point to end this chat on. Thank you for your time, Elliot!