Remote Education Provision: Information for parents

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

Sources of guidance used in this plan: 

DfE: Providing remote education information to parents: template (December 2020) Providing remote education information to parents: template - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)  

DfE: Remote education expectations (January 2021) as published in Restricting attendance during the national lockdown: schools (publishing.service.gov.uk)  

DfE: What’s working well in remote education (January 2021) What’s working well in remote education - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

EEF Rapid Evidence assessment – remote learning (April 2020) Rapid_Evidence_Assessment_summary.pdf (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)  

 Key Terms used in this plan: 

• Remote education: a broad term encompassing any learning that happens outside of the classroom, with the teacher not present in the same location as the pupils. 

• Digital remote education: often known as online learning, this is remote learning delivered through digital technologies. 

• Blended learning: a mix of face-to-face and remote methods. An example would be the ‘flipped classroom’, where main input happens remotely (for example through video), while practice and tutoring happen in class. 

• Synchronous education: live teaching; asynchronous education is when the material is prepared by the teacher and accessed by the pupil at a later date. 

1. The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home  

Please note that 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?  

Remote education will begin the next school day for any pupil who is expected to work from home because of self-isolation. All remote education will be provided via the Microsoft Teams platform.  

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, it may be necessary to make some adaptations in some subjects. 

• Remote education, where and when required, will be of high-quality and aligned as closely as possible with in-school provision and curriculum content. 

• Pupils will access and be taught our intended curriculum. This is well-planned and well-sequenced so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally, and pupils have opportunities to retrieve and recall previously taught content. 

• Clarity about what is intended to be taught and practised in each subject will be provided through individual and class assignments on Microsoft Teams. Heads of department will carefully monitor and adjust curriculum plans, where it is deemed appropriate.  

• Frequent and clear explanations of new content will be provided, wherever possible delivered ‘live’ by teachers, and where this is not possible through pre-recorded teacher videos or carefully selected high-quality curriculum resources.  

2. 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:  

The remote education provided will be equivalent in length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school and will include live direct teaching time with occasional pre-recorded content, and time for pupils to complete tasks and assignments independently.  

Pupils will have 5 hours of meaningful and ambitious lessons each day and will follow their in-school timetable. 

3. Accessing remote education  

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

Microsoft Teams will be used across the school to set work and deliver lessons for all year groups. Assessments and feedback to pupils will also be provided via Teams Assignments. 

Staff, pupils and parents will continue to receive training in the use of Microsoft Teams via the ‘virtual school’ section of the website. 

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:  

• Pupils who do not have suitable online access will be provided with printed resources until they have access to a suitable device (please note that Teams live lessons can be easily accessed via a smartphone and devices such as XBox / Playstation and Internet enabled TV). 

• We will make every effort to ensure all pupils have appropriate access to a suitable device and / or internet connection through the appropriate DfE schemes. Students who are in key exam year groups, or who are disadvantaged or vulnerable are prioritised under these schemes. 

• For the small minority of pupils who are completing their work via printed work packs, Directors of Learning/SENDCO will make regular contact with students and parents to discuss progress. Where it is safe to do so, we will arrange for work be returned to school for teachers to assess. 

• Support in using Teams will be provided for pupils and parents on the ‘Virtual School’ area of the school website, and through our dedicated ICT support service. 

4. Method of delivery 

How will my child be taught remotely? 

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

Microsoft Teams will be used across the school with all year groups to set pupils’ work and deliver lessons. Assessments and independent study tasks will also be set via this platform. 

Live teaching (online lessons) will be the main source for delivering learning; this provides pupils with curriculum continuity and the opportunity to be able to ask questions and speak to their subject teachers. All students will receive their full usual timetable. 

Remote teaching will replicate effective classroom teaching as far as possible, including: 

• providing frequent, clear explanations of new content 

• providing opportunities for interactivity, including questioning, eliciting and reflective discussion  

• Providing modelling, scaffolded practice and opportunities to apply new knowledge  

• enabling pupils to receive timely and frequent feedback on how to progress, using digitally-facilitated or whole-class feedback where appropriate 

• using assessment to ensure teaching is responsive to pupils’ needs and addresses any critical gaps in pupils’ knowledge 

• Breaking content and tasks into smaller chunks to aid concentration 

We recognise that different approaches suit different types of content and different pupils. In some cases, other methods of delivery may be used, for example pre-recorded lessons by teachers or use of lessons from other sources, e.g. Oak Academy.  

Where printed resources are required, for example key texts or revision guides for exam preparation, these will be safely distributed to students to use at home.  

5. 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?  

All pupils are expected to attend all timetabled lessons. These will be displayed on their calendar in Teams. 

Where a live lesson is not taking place (for example if a teacher is absent), work with clear instructions for completion will be provided for that lesson in the class Teams group. 

Live lessons are used as our primary method of delivery as they encourage greater levels of engagement from pupils and allow for interactions between teachers and pupils. Opportunities for discussion between pupils are built into lessons where appropriate, as it is recognised that peer support is an important element of pupil engagement. 

Teachers will work with pupils during lessons to develop skills and strategies which will support them in their independent learning. These include strategies to help pupils organise and check their own work. 

Weekly assemblies and PHSE lessons are also used to help engage pupils by making them feel like part of the wider school community. 

Rewards are used to motivate and engage pupils. These include virtual reward certificates, “Star of the Week” awards from subject staff and also Headteacher Awards. 

Parents can support their child’s education by: 

• planning each day with their child so they establish a routine and have clear expectations about the importance of engaging in their subjects and learning 

• ensuring they have a clear and quiet place to study and engage in their learning with no distractions, e.g. television / games console 

• checking that they have the necessary materials, e.g. a pen and paper to make notes 

• making sure children have the planned break / lunch time they would in school 

• checking that students have completed the necessary work for that day (and whether they have homework to do also) 

• supporting the school and keeping in contact so we can help if there are any issues/questions. 

We also aim to keep in touch with parents via regular newsletters and updates via email, text message and social media. 

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

Registers will be taken each lesson each day, and where pupils are absent parents will be contacted by our year managers.  

We will similarly monitor pupils’ work rate / engagement in lessons every week and communicate with parents where we are concerned about a pupil’s level of engagement.   

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:  

• Teachers will use questioning and other suitable tools to help gauge how well pupils are learning and progressing through content in the curriculum. Every lesson begins with retrieval practice of previously learned information. This information will be used to adjust the pace or challenge (or intervene) of what is being taught, or to revisit explanations to ensure pupils’ full understanding. 

• Regular quizzes / recall activities will be set and checked via self-assessment, where pupils will be expected to check what they have completed and act upon any feedback from their class teacher. 

• Regular and meaningful feedback will be provided to pupils, in line with school policy. This will include both whole-class and individual feedback. Pupils will be given opportune times to act upon feedback so that misconceptions / errors are rectified quickly.  

• Key assessed pieces of work will be submitted and assessed using Teams Assignments. 

• During lessons, pupils will be asked questions and expected to respond to their teachers. Responses will be verbal, using the chat facility or via the ‘hands up’ function in Teams. Such characteristics of teaching are important so pupils feel engaged and valued and teachers can check on pupils’ understanding and tackle misconceptions quickly. 

• Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes (as well as building social skills): these will be enabled through chat groups in Teams where appropriate. 

6. 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:  

• Class teachers will ensure remote learning is accessible for SEND learners by clearly identifying learning objectives, chunking the tasks set, providing scaffolded tasks, model answers and suggested time limits. This is done across all subjects and year groups. 

• Where relevant, support staff will attend Teams lessons to provide 1:1 or small group support to SEND pupils. 

• Where appropriate, support staff will make welfare calls to check the work is accessible and offer further support. 

• Alternative work is sent home to SEND learners who do not have a device / internet to access online lessons. This can be in the form of paper-based work or alternative tasks to make the content more accessible for them. Support will also be given in terms of establishing a routine and realistic work expectations.  

• Any concerns can be raised through the SENDCO (Mrs O’Carroll). 

7. Remote education for self-isolating pupils  

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?   

Remote education will differ depending on whether an individual / small group of pupils is isolating or a whole class / year group.  

 Where the majority of pupils are in school and only a small amount of pupils are self-isolating, all relevant resources and clear instructions will be emailed directly to those students in self -isolation. Pupils are able to email their class teachers to request help and/or ask questions and, when convenient to do so, teachers will endeavour to respond. 

Where possible, teachers will aim to adopt a blended approach, for example streaming their lesson live to students working at home as well as teaching students who are in the classroom. This will not be possible for all subjects or classes and is very much dependent on the size of the group and age and needs of the pupils. 

If you have any questions about remote learning while your child is isolating, please email [email protected] or contact school reception by telephone, and the appropriate member of staff will get in touch to support.