Coronavirus in Ballarat one year on: pandemic spurs rapid changes in education

But with just a few days notice, albeit with a lot of stress, school leaders and teachers were able to transform lessons in to online meetings and electronically submitted work for students of all ages.

The lessons learned, and the engagement of students and parents with online education, are likely to find a permanent home in schooling in to the future.

Phoenix P-12 Community College principal Karen Snibson said the adaptability of the education sector had been highlighted in the rapid changes it had been forced in to.

"When the first lockdown came and we had a couple of days notice to move out and have kids move to remote learning, we thought we could never do it ... but the third time in lockdown (last month) we did it with about an hour's notice," she said.

"The fact we can actually migrate to a variety of online learning and keep children engaged in purposeful learning is something that has stretched everyone's imaginations and opens up a world of possibility."

While some children thrived during remote learning, others struggled and when schools resumed face to face classes in term four last year there was a renewed emphasis on the progress of each individual child.

"A really profound learning has been an absolute commitment to work to meet children at their point of need, whether that's with extra tutoring or our web of connection," Ms Snibson said. "The outcome of that was seen in our senior school results which were remarkable in our toughest year."

But the quick shift to remote learning also highlighted the digital divide in the community.

At some schools up to half of families had to borrow equipment to get online at home to complete work, while many regional and remote students were unable to access the reliable high speed internet they needed to complete their assigned work.

Sebastopol Primary School principal Michelle Wilson said the extra time spent online during remote learning and during COVID movement restrictions had also contributed to parent's concerns about screen time.

"Screen time is a real struggle for many parents," she said.

"Online tools and social media were fantastic but it's very hard to get the balance right."

Online activities such as Yoga with Adrienne, PE with Joe and listening to podcasts became staples for many families, backed up by schools "but at the end of the day there was too much screen time," Ms Wilson said.

And the impact of the COVID pandemic is also likely to change schools in Ballarat and other regional areas physically in the long term.

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With the pandemic prompting many Melbourne residents to reassess their lives and move to the country, enrolments are booming at schools across the city, particularly the growth zones west and north of the city.

At Sebastopol, Ms Wilson had been planning for a 2021 enrolment of 55 students and now has 73 in class.

"There's definitely been an increase in people relocating and its lovely that the central highlands is an area that people decide they want to be in. It's exciting for us to have new children here but it's been a change for our school after a fairly stable period."

Nearby Delacombe Primary School has 15 per cent more students than the same time last year and so many new prep enrolments flooded in during term four they were forced to put on an extra class.

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