Remote education provision: information for parents

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.

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

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 son/daughter expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of students being sent home? (School open, student isolating)
If students are not already members of the relevant subject Google Classrooms a member of staff on the first day will check and make sure your son/daughter has the relevant codes to join these groups. There will be work posted to these classrooms which helps isolating students to continue working in line with the students in College.
Should your son/daughter need support to gain access to online learning we will do our best to facilitate this, as far as is practicable.

Following the first few days of remote education, will my son/daughter be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school? (School open, student isolating)
Yes. All work completed within College will be mirrored via Google Classroom allowing students who are self isolating to tackle this work. There may be some adjustments due to practical, group or experiments which means an alternative task will be provided.

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my son/daughter each day? (School open, student isolating/School closed, all students working remotely)
We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take students broadly the following number of hours each day:

Key Stage 1

n/a

Key Stage 2

n/a

Key Stage 3 and 4

Key Stage 3 - 5 hours
Key Stage 4 - 5 hours

Accessing remote education

How will my son/daughter access any online remote education you are providing? (School open, student isolating/School closed, all students working remotely)
All resources can be accessed through your son/daughters college account using Google Classroom. Additional resources will be shared via MyMaths, GCSEpod, Seneca Learning, Duolingo, Kerboodle, Quizlet and Kahoot. In addition, there are subject specific websites which students will be signposted to access where relevant.

If my son/daughter does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education? (School open, student isolating/School closed, all students working remotely)
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:
Where necessary and practicable we will provide your son/daughter with an internet enabled device such as a Chromebook/iPad to enable them to access the learning required. Should this be necessary we will ask a parent to collect the device from the College reception, signing for it on collection. At the end of the self-isolation period we would ask that the parent returns the device directly to reception.
If there is no internet service within the home then we will arrange for printed version to be made available. These will need to be collected and returned on weekly basis from College reception.
Where there is limited internet service in the home we will explore options available to improve this by providing additional ‘data’ to enable the student to access online learning. This may be via a ‘dongle’ which provides access to the mobile phone data service or by increasing the data already being accessed through a mobile device.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach students remotely: (School open, student isolating/ School closed, all students working remotely)
Where your son/daughter is self-isolating they will be set work to complete online and submit online. This will take the form of extended answers, or short question and response pieces of work. They may be asked to complete the assessment work that is being completed in College and we would ask for your support in ensuring this is done.
Additional tasks such as accessing youtube instructional videos or using those provided by GCSEpod may be a feature.
Where possible, we would endeavour to include the student within the ‘live’ lesson by inviting them to use Google Meet to join and take part. Depending on the nature of the lesson this may not always be possible.
Where necessary, we will provide paper packs or resources, textbooks and exercise books that can be collected for use at home.

Engagement and feedback

What are your expectations for my son/daughter’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home? (School open, student isolating/School closed, all students working remotely)
We would ask that your son/daughter completes the work set each lesson by following their normal College timetable. This means following the timing of the day which will allow them the time needed to complete the work and remain in sync with students in College.
We would ask as the parent that you support this procedure wherever possible and support your son/daughter in establishing a working space and a routine.
Communication between College and isolating students will be primarily through email and we would ask that this is checked at least once a day at the start of the day. Again, we would ask that parents support this and encourage their son/daughter to use email for communicating with their teachers as required.

How will you check whether my son/daughter is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns? (School open, student isolating/School closed, all students working remotely)
The work set will have pieces of work that are required to be handed in for checking, marking and feedback. These will be a good sign of engagement and may come after several lessons as a culmination of the work completed.
Where possible, if there was a Google Meet option to join the lesson we would expect your son/daughter to make sure of this and be active in their participation - answering questions and listening to the lesson.
Where progress is a concern in one or more subjects the Head of Year will in the first instance make contact home with you as the parent to establish what, if any, problem exists.

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: (School open, student isolating/School closed, all students working remotely)
Assessment of the students’ work will follow the same standards and principles as that completed within College. There will be key pieces that are identified to the student as being assessed work and other work will be checked and fed back on to help your son or daughter make the progress expected.
Not every piece of work will be marked or feedback. Feedback will be given in line with our usual College policy as far as is possible.

Additional support for students with particular needs

How will you work with me to help my son/daughter 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 students in the following ways: (School open, student isolating/School closed, all students working remotely)
If your son or daughter is identified as a SEND student then their key worker will be a key person in liaising with them, you and their teachers. They may offer 1:1 support sessions via Google Meet or small group work if this is available.

Remote education for 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? (School open, student isolating)
As far as is possible, any student who is self-isolating will have access to the same learning via online platforms like Google Classroom. This will provide them with the same or similar activities and opportunities as those students who are attending.
There may be some changes to the exact nature of the task but the overall aim of the piece of work or topic will remain the same.

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