Remote Learning
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education when we are in a period of local or national restrictions which require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.
For details of what to expect where individual students are self-isolating, please see the final section of this document.
Our website and the weekly parent newsletter from the Headteacher are excellent reference points for you to access up to date information about our school and also to find information about a variety of support measures for our students and their families.
A student’s first day or two of being educated remotely at the beginning of self-isolation or local/national restrictions might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.
Note that full details of the school’s curriculum is available on our website for each subject and year group. If the content of the remote curriculum is different, this will be made clear by subject teachers.
If your child has been sent home to isolate while school is operational, they should follow their normal school timetable. Lessons should be accessed via Microsoft Teams. They will complete the same tasks as other students and will be able to interact with their teacher. If their normal teacher is not available tasks will be set for your child to access with instructions for how work should be submitted where applicable. We will use our best endeavours to assist the family to access the work remotely. In some cases, for example where a student does not currently have access to the internet or a digital device, students will be given work to complete in hard copy e.g. a textbook or a work pack.
In the event of a local or national restriction which means school is not operational, students will be expected to follow their normal school timetable. Tasks will be set on Microsoft Teams anbd Bromcom. Some live lessons will be available depending on capacity within the school. This may vary over time. In both cases the intention is for remote learning to be available from the first day, although it may on occasion take a second day to be up and running. Other software may be used in line with the detail elsewhere in this document, in addition to Microsoft Teams as stated above.
As far as practicable your child will receive the same curriculum as would be the case in school. Tasks in practical subjects such as art, design/technology, drama, music and PE will be adapted when necessary for home schooling.
We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take students broadly the following number of hours each day:
|
Secondary school-aged students not working towards formal qualifications this year |
At least 5 hours per day including homework demands. |
|
Secondary school-aged students working towards formal qualifications this year |
At least 6 hours per day including homework demands. |
All students will follow their normal timetable starting at 8:30am with form time every day. Live lessons will be taught on Microsoft Teams for all lessons except for Core PE when students will have some self-directed time with a focus on health and wellbeing.
All resources will be accessed via Microsoft Teams. Teachers will use a variety of Assessment for Learning (AfL) techniques during live lessons including Q&A and online quizzes. Students will be told in advance of any forthcoming assessments so that they can prepare. Work to be assessed by the teacher will include written work or photographs of artefacts made by the student submitted via ClassCharts or via Teams. In the event that a teacher is absent, the parent/carer will be notified on ClassCharts and work will be set on ClassCharts by the Head of Department or the SLT line manager if the Head of Department is absent). In these cases, resources will be uploaded to both ClassCharts and the VLE.
Lessons should be accessed using a device suitable for the task. The same applies to completing work. In most cases this will be a laptop or PC. Students should also be in a location where they are able to concentrate.
We recognise that some students may not have suitable online access at home and where possible will lend suitable devices to students who do not have access to one which can be for their sole use during the school day. We also have a limited number of devices which enable a suitable internet connection which can also be lent to students. Students require access to a connection which means they are able to fully engage in lessons which have video input, whether live or recorded, throughout the school day.
In general, we will avoid printing materials, or receiving hard copies of work, as both the remote curriculum and the facility to submit work are available electronically whether students are in school or at home. If your child does not have access to a suitable internet connection, and we have run out of devices which enable one, they are classed as vulnerable and may be able to attend school. Please contact the school if this is the case.
You should contact us via admin@standrewtheapostle.org.uk for further information. Alternatively, please call us on 020 31955444.
We use a combination of approaches to teach students remotely, including live lessons, recorded lessons, activities set during lessons or work set to cover a series of lessons or for homework.
Each student will receive a blended approach, the nature of which is likely to vary from day to day.
We appreciate that if this situation arises, it may present some challenges for you. We kindly ask for your support so that we can continue to provide high-quality education for your child during this time. We don’t expect you to watch your child all day, and we wouldn’t expect parents/carers to be involved in remote lessons in place of our teachers, but it would be really helpful if you were able to take an active role in your child’s learning by asking them about their day and what work they’ve done.
If your child is working from a paper pack, please continue to support them to complete this work as they will be required to submit all work to their teachers when they return to school or as agreed with the teacher.
We expect all of our students to follow our behaviour expectations for online learning. If students are not engaging with online learning, we will call home to find out why and to offer our help and support to the student.
Our expectations are that parents help to ensure their child follows the normal timetable and attends remote lessons and activities on time. Parents should encourage their children to engage fully with all activities which are set including live lessons, independent activities and homework tasks. Parents can also support both their child and our staff by reading and engaging with all communications which come from the school, including those from subject teachers and form tutors, contacting the school if they have concerns or issues.
If you wish to contact the school about a curriculum or pastoral issue, please email admin@standrewtheapostle.org.uk and mark the email for the attention for the Head of Department or the Head of Year accordingly.
Periodically we will contact you to complete a survey to gain your overall feedback.
We will do this by:
taking a register for each lesson, every day.
monitoring and marking work submitted by students as appropriate.
giving regular feedback.
subject teachers contacting you via email or phone if there are any issues with the completion or the quality of work
pastoral staff contacting you by phone if there is a serious issue with engagement or attendance
We would also like to confirm that Parents evenings will continue to run as scheduled through our online platform. You may also check ClassCharts for updates on attendance and behaviour.
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:
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 students and to deliver remote education for students with SEND.
Subject teachers will adapt the curriculum, including resources and tasks as appropriate, as would be the case in school. Subject teachers will also liaise with the SEND department for advice and guidance as necessary, to replicate the individual approach as we would in school.
Our SEND department will run a small provision in school for students with EHCPs/significant SEND where it is felt that attendance on site would be beneficial. Assigned ‘keyworkers’ from amongst the SEND team will check-in with SEND students to offer support through weekly/fortnightly phone calls.
Where individual students need to self-isolate but the majority of their year 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.
Students will be able to access lessons through Microsoft Teams and 'join' the teacher taught lessons from home to ensure your child receives a high quality education.