Remote Learning

Remote education provision: information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils 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.

For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home

A pupil’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 pupils being sent home?

Teachers will upload work either to Microsoft Teams or Go4Schools for students to complete during their timetabled lesson time.

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, Music and Drama lessons will not involve much of the practical elements that would be delivered in school.

Remote teaching and study time each day

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 pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:

Key Stage 3

5 Hours of learning with a majority delivered ‘live’ and Independent study set otherwise. Additional PREP work will be encouraged.

Key Stage 4

5 Hours of learning with a majority delivered ‘live’ and Independent study set otherwise. Additional PREP work will be encouraged.

Key Stage 5

5 Hours of learning with a majority delivered ‘live’ and Independent study set otherwise. Additional PREP work will be encouraged.

Accessing remote education

How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?

Key Stage 3,4 & 5: All ‘live’ lessons and Independent work set via Microsoft Teams.

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 pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

All students who do not have a device for accessing work will be lent one by the school. We have a stock of purchased and donated laptops that are regularly issued.
If the school does not have enough laptops the school will buy them to ensure students are fully supported.
If a family does not have internet access then an internet dongle will be issued.
If students require any printing or additional paper resources the Pastoral Manager, Teacher or Team Leader will arrange for them to be posted or delivered.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

Some examples of remote teaching approaches:

Live teaching (online lessons) OR Independent Study work – following their timetable using Microsoft Teams to access learning.
Hegarty Maths is also used to facilitate work for maths in KS3 & KS4.

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

Students should follow their timetable daily and catch up on any lessons missed through the recordings.
Parents should ensure students are logged in and completing work each day. They will be contacted by a pastoral manager, teacher, team leader or member of SLT if their child is not engaging.

How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?

Central tracker monitoring attendance to all ‘live’ lessons and monitoring work submitted by students where independent work has been set.
Each year group has a ‘Year Team’ who monitor all engagement data sent in via teachers. Parents are contacted if a student hasn’t logged in for more than two days. If patterns are identified or work is not submitted, further communication takes place.

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 pupil work is as follows:

Most lessons contain some form of low-stakes assessment that allows students to reflect on their own progress.
Larger pieces of assessed work are submitted via email or via online assessment tools.
Feedback is issued directly to students either via email, during the lesson in whole-class form, or via other online assessment tools.

Additional support for pupils with particular needs

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 pupils, for example some pupils 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:

Each Year Group Team has been assigned a member of SEND staff who supports students through weekly phone calls.
Lessons are scaffolded and broken down appropriately so that all students have the opportunity to access the curriculum.
Further support given to students via teacher emails if required.
Alternative Education students receive their own remote learning programme which is bespoke to their needs.

Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Where individual pupils 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 pupils 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?

If appropriate, students will be asked to join the lesson via Microsfot Teams so they can be part of the learning in the classroom.

If not, students will be sent adapted work from each subject they would have been taught that day. This will be via email and Go4Schools.

The student will be asked to submit any pieces of work that require assessment. They will be given feedback via email and further support on their return to school.