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?
Where possible, students will have access to teacher led lessons via Teams within the first day of remote learning.
When this is not possible, students will be set independent learning tasks via Satchel:One.
Students should continue to follow their school timetable
For support on how to access teacher led lessons via Teams, students and parents should review the Remote Learning Guide that can be found on the school’s website.
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?
Students will have access to the same curriculum when being taught remotely as they would do when in school, wherever possible and appropriate.
Adaptations in some practical subjects are necessary where there is a reliance on specialised equipment. Students will still have access to these subjects, however the content or tasks might vary to those that they would have undertaken 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?
All year groups will receive 5 hours of remote learning every day. In most cases, this will be in the form of a teacher led lesson taking place via Teams, however there may be some instances where students will be set work to complete independently.
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
The majority of students’ learning will be done via live, teacher led lessons that will take place on Microsoft Teams. Students are able to access their lessons by logging into RM unify and clicking on the Teams icon or accessing Teams via a web browser. Students’ lessons will be prepopulated in their Teams calendar making it easy and simple for students to access their lessons by selecting the Join button. Further information about this process is in the Remote Learning Guide that can be found on the school’s website.Any independent learning tasks will be accessible via Satchel:One (formally Show My Homework) which can also be accessed via RM Unify.
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:
If students are unable to engage with remote learning as a result of not having access to a device such as a laptop, computer or tablet, or not having access to the internet please contact your Progress Manager or your child’s form tutor for additional support.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
• Live teaching (online lessons via Teams)
• Independent study tasks
• Student led physical activity
Engagement and feedback
What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
Students should attend every lesson as they would if they were in school and engage actively and positively throughout the lesson.
Students should uphold the Student Code of Conduct (which can be found within the Remote Learning Guide on the school website)
Parents should support students in upholding the Student Code of Conduct
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
Engagement will be closely monitored by staff via a range of information including teacher assessment and the amount of time students are logged into Teams calls.
Whole school review processes are in place to ensure actions are put in place to support disengaged students.
Parents will be contact via phone or email if there are concerns about a student’s engagement in lessons
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 use these and many other methods, as per our Feedback Policy on the school’s website.
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:
•We discuss any issues in our SEN review meetings which take place three times per year.
•Our teachers take great care to differentiate their approaches, wherever possible, to help all students to access the work.
•We liaise with any family where we believe their children are struggling to access the learning, in order to try to find a solution.
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 a student is required to self-isolate and therefore is unable to be in school (but is either unaffected by COVID-19 or well enough to attend lessons), students will be invited to attend lessons via Teams.
Students should expect to be invited to Teams lessons the day after the school has been notified of their absence due to self-isolation.
Students should log into Teams and expect to follow their usual school timetable
It might be necessary for some subjects to set independent study tasks by teachers if students are unable to take part in the lesson fully, due to its practical nature (PE for example).
Students who are unwell or absent for other reasons other than Self-Isolation will be unable to attend lessons in this manner.
