Remote Education

Remote Education

Remote education provision: information for parents and carers

In accordance with statutory guidelines, the Department for Education (DfE) ask that schools provide information on remote education provision. It is aligned to the expectations for remote education, to which schools must have regard under the temporary continuity direction given by the Secretary of State for Education. This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students, parents and carers about what to expect from remote education if Covid-19 local restrictions require them to remain at home and/or if they need to self-isolate.

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 link 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?

Most pupils will have access to assignments on Microsoft Teams. We will also send links to websites that contain educational videos and interactive learning relevant to their programme of study.

We may send some pupils home with workbooks to complete independently in the first instance if there are issues with devices and ICT.

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.

We cannot teach exactly to the timetable at school due to providing an onsite provision as well. This has meant we have had to adapt the distribution of teaching and learning support staff. We also do not think it is appropriate for learners to have a continuous and long amounts of screen time. 

All learners will have access to face-to-face online lessons in English, Maths, Science, PSHE and other subjects appropriate to their Key Stage and areas of development. There will also be time allocated for assignments. 

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 and 4:

KS3 learners can expect to have between three and five hours of online learning a day. This will be a combination of face-to-face sessions; tutor catch up time if appropriate and time to complete set assignments and tasks independently.

KS4 learners can also expect to have between three and five hours of online learning a day. This will be a combination of face-to-face sessions; tutor catch up time if appropriate and time to complete set assignments and tasks independently. In addition, year 11 learners will have more assignments to complete in a flexible way, which may relate to extra revision materials for GCSE subjects or Vocational qualifications as well as work skills and careers/post 16 progression related activities.

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

We use Microsoft Teams for setting lessons, meetings and assignments.

Within this platform, we use a range of resources to include Oak National Academy, BBC Learning as well as materials planned and made by teachers. The latter may include PowerPoints, quizzes and exam board sample assessment material.

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:

Devices have been provided by the RBKC local authority and the OAT Trust.

We will issue laptops to pupils that need it. Staff will make initial contact with regards to an ICT audit to establish what resources the learner and family have at home/require.  Internet dongles can be provided if required. We will work alongside partner agencies to ensure every learner can access the offer.

Hard copy work packs will be sent to learners if they do not have online access. Parent/carers can drop off work to school on planned dates or photograph work and upload to send via e-mail.

Contact names/details: TAPA Admin: info@olamail.co.uk; [email protected]

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

  • Learning guides will make initial contact with learners at 9:45am each day to prepare them for their first lesson at 10am
  • The majority of our remote offer will be live teaching (online lessons) using Microsoft Teams.  All learners are supported to ensure access.
  • We will utilise recorded teaching such as BBC BiteSize and Maths’s Watch
  • Other recorded teaching includes Oak National Academy lessons, and or video/audio recordings made by teachers)
  • printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets) if needed and appropriate.
  • Textbooks, revision guides and reading books pupils relevant to Key Stage will be issued if appropriate
  • Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
  • Short to medium term project work and/or internet research activities/assignments.
  • Lessons will follow a planned sequence in line with termly planning as much as possible

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

  • Parents and carers should support their child in being up and ready for learning each day and let the school now if there are issues preventing their child from engaging online.
  • Parents and carers can support learners to ensure they are engaging with the daily offer
  • Online timetables are sent to parent/carers so they are able to support and help set routines for the learners.
  • All pupils are expected to engage in online learning and complete assignments set. Registers are kept for tracking online attendance and engagement.
  • The first point of contact would be the pupil’s tutor via e-mail if there are any concerns.
  • Learning Support Professionals will be available to support learning each day, just as if the learners were in school. 
  • At least once weekly calls are made to update on learning progress by tutor. In addition, welfare calls are made by tutors/pastoral team if there concerns about learners.

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

  • All pupils are expected to engage in online learning and complete assignments set. Registers are kept tracking online attendance and engagement.
  • Online timetables are sent to parent/carers so they are able to support and help set routines for the learners.
  • The first point of contact would be the pupil’s tutor via e-mail if there are any concerns.
  • At least once weekly calls are made to update on learning progress by tutor. In addition, welfare calls are made by tutors/pastoral team if there concerns about learners.

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:

  • Pupils will receive feedback on their work on a regular basis, depending on the nature of the work being set. This can be verbal or written
  • Specific assessed assignments that are returned to the teacher via the Assignments tool on Microsoft Teams
  • Half-termly detailed review of topic/unit covered in class in each subject.

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 will work closely with families and their networks to deliver a best fit remote education for pupils with SEND. This will include LSP support in lessons as well as what is ordinarily available in terms of planning and support for accessible provision. This will depend on the needs of individual learners.
  • Where learners are unable to access remote learning they will have the option of engaging with staff onsite to support online access/engagement.
  • Where remote access is impractical hard copy work arrangements can be established. 

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?

Where appropriate and safeguarding permits it, we will try to engage learners into the “live” in class lessons through Microsoft Teams.

It is however, more likely that assignments on Microsoft Teams and/or work sent via e-mail will be matched to the programme of study at school. This will involve subject teachers tracking progress and engagement and tutors feeding back at the end of the week.