Remote Learning
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.
The Remote Education Plan links below cover all the information required by the DfE regarding the curriculum but does not include the input provided through tutors and other pastoral support staff. All students who are receiving remote learning will have access to regular pastoral input.
Secondary Remote Education Plan
The remote curriculum: what is taught to students at home
A student's first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.
What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of students being sent home?
Class teachers set work in line with the curriculum being followed by the rest of the class. This is set via assignments on Microsoft Teams. For whole year group/school remote learning, we aim to offer live lessons where practically possible within the first day or two of remote learning.
Following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?
We teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, for practical lessons such as technology or PE, tasks will be set that support the curriculum topics being covered by the rest of the class.
How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take students in Key Stage 3 & 4 broadly 5 hours each day. Students will have a blend of live lessons and some subjects with menu of activities to complete. Teachers will be available for feedback for all lessons at the scheduled time.
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
Microsoft Teams is the primary platform for the provision of remote education and will be used to direct all students as to what work needs to be completed. This may include the use of other online platforms, which include (but are not limited to):
- Kerboodle
- Dr Frost
- Hegarty maths
- Oak National Academy
- Dynamic Learning
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
We recognise that some students may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those students to access remote education:
- Our aim is to ensure that all students have access to an electronic device (laptop or tablet) with internet access so that they can participate in remote learning set via Microsoft Teams.
- The school has conducted a remote learning survey with the students and ascertained the digital needs of all our students and this has been shared through our School MIS with all the class teachers.
- The school has accessed the DfE Device scheme and has fully distributed its first order and is currently in the process of distributing its second order
- We are awaiting guidance from the DfE regarding the availability of devices for its Primary Phase and Post 16 Phase.
- The school will continue to respond to technology needs as they arise subject to the guidelines of 1 device per household.
- Priority has been given to disadvantaged students, in the first instance, and those with no access to internet enabled devices or internet access.
- Parents or carers should contact the school if they do not have any access to an internet enabled device or internet access. Until an internet enabled device or internet access is available, the school will liaise with parents on carers regarding access to printed materials for work and how to submit this to teachers on a case by case basis.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach students remotely:
While students are learning remotely, we are using a blended approach to try to maximise engagement and participation as well as making lessons accessible to students. This includes but is not limited to:
- Live teaching (online lessons) will be delivered using Microsoft Teams for the majority of lessons. These are interspersed with independent study lessons to allow students time to develop their skills and understanding.
- Recorded teaching e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers.
- Dedicated learning platforms such as Kerboodle, Dr Frost and Hegarty Maths to support the teaching of specific subjects. These include video clips and interactive activities that provide feedback to students on their work.
- Long-term project work is set for subjects that contain a practical element. These will be monitored and feedback given at key points over the course of the project.
- Optional enrichment activities will be also be available for those students who wish to complete them.
What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
- Wherever possible, we ask that students engage with all live lessons at the time of delivery. These lessons are recorded and made available for those who are unable to attend at the time the lesson is delivered. We do understand that this will not always be possible so have built in independent study lessons, supported by live access to staff support to provide flexibility for families.
- Live lessons will follow the normal school timetable with slightly altered lesson times to allow for student and staff breaks in screen time.
- For subjects that have an independent study lesson within the weekly timetable, this learning can either be completed at the time of the lesson (as per the timetable) or at a later time by the deadline set by the class teacher. This is to give families flexibility around their days while remote learning is in place.
- Teachers will indicate if a piece of work is to be submitted or if it is an optional, enrichment or extension task to help students and parents manage work set online.
- Optional KS3 projects do not have to be completed either partially or in full. They are there to supplement students’ learning and no student will be disadvantaged when they return to in school learning if these have not been completed.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work, and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
- Parents will receive an email at the end of each week which will summarise which assignments are outstanding on Microsoft Teams. Parents are asked encourage their child to ‘return’ all completed assignments, even if there is no requirement to upload an item of work.
- Class teachers will check levels of engagement on a lesson by lesson basis. Engagement is defined by access to live lessons and/or completion of tasks set using the Assignments tool.
- Names of students who are not engaging with their work are reported to subject leaders on a weekly basis.
- Subject leaders coordinate names of students who are not engaging and this is reported to year leaders. It will be collated on a central tracking spreadsheet.
- Parents will be contacted by the class teacher (if a single subject concern) or a member of pastoral admin support staff (if multiple subjects). For repeated instances, parents will be contacted by year leaders. Conversations with parents will be to identify what support strategies need to be put in place (by home and/or by school).
How will you assess my child’s work and progress?
Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on student work is as follows:
Feedback will be given to students through a range of methods that mirror good practice in the classroom. This includes but is not limited to:
- Written feedback for selected pieces of work
- Teacher feedback during online Q&A sessions
- Whole class feedback
- Quizzes using Microsoft Forms, Kahoot and other similar online tools
All students will receive regular feedback over the course of their remote learning and the frequency of this depends upon the number of lessons they have in that subject per week as follows:
| Number of lessons per subject per week | Amount of feedback over the half term |
|---|---|
| 6 | 3 pieces |
| 4 | 2 pieces |
| 3 | 1 or 2 pieces |
| 2 | 1 piece |
| Project based learning (KS3) | Some form of feedback during project |
How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults at home to access remote education?
We recognise that some students, for example some students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils in the following ways:
Students who are attending school during either partial school closure or during national restrictions are supported in person by a TA (teaching assistant) to support their learning while they are in school. This is intended to support their access to the same learning as others in their year group and ensure equity of access to the remote learning curriculum.
Those students who are learning remotely are provided with access to TA support via Microsoft Teams. This support is delivered with involvement from the student’s parents & carers and is coordinated by our SENCO, Mrs Richardson.
Any queries or concerns relating to access to remote education for students with SEND should be raised with Mrs Richardson in the first instance.
Remote education for individual self-isolating students
Where individual students need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, how remote education is provided will likely differ from the approach for whole groups. This is due to the challenges of teaching students both at home and in school.
If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?
- Work for each lesson is provided using Microsoft Teams and this is set using the Assignments tool.
- Work set is in line with the curriculum being followed by other students so that when students return to school, they are not behind in their learning.
- Where possible this mirrors as closely as possible the learning taking place in class. Where this is not possible (for example, where practical work is taking place), remote learning will support the skills/topics being covered.
- Where online learning websites such as Hegarty maths are used, feedback is automatically given upon completion of a task. In other cases, feedback is given either upon the student’s return to school or via Microsoft Teams. This is dependent upon the time period students are self-isolating for.