Remote Education
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 if local restrictions require entire cohorts of pupils to remain at home.
For details of what to expect where individual pupils are at home , 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?
In the event of a partial closure pupils will be set work each lesson via Class Charts. Pupils will be X coded on the register by the Academy Attendance Manager so that teachers are able to identify those pupils who are at home working remotely. The class teacher will set the lessons work (PowerPoint, resources, tasks, Oak National link – whatever is deemed appropriate for the pupils) on Class Charts and click the option for pupils to return work back to the teacher so that their work can be checked and marked. This will ensure that pupils are able to follow the curriculum during their absence. In the event of a full closure or a lockdown the class teacher will deliver the timetabled lessons online via Teams. Pupils will continue to follow their Academy timetable. One lesson per week per subject will be a full hour, with the remaining subject lessons being a 10-to-20-minute tutorial to complement an independent lesson set on Class Charts. The tutorial will determine that pupils understand the task that has been set and are able to access the resources to complete it. The exception to this is Key Stage 3 Expressive and Performing Arts subjects and PE. All lessons for these subjects will be 10-to-20-minute tutorials with work being set that enables pupils to develop their creativity and well-being. All pupils without IT access are supplied with work packs that can be collected from the Academy.
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 in some subjects. For example, Key Stage 3 Art and Textiles focus on drawing during remote learning due to most pupils having limited resources at home. For Dance and Drama, the focus is on theoretical work with options for practical where safe and possible. In PE as team games are not allowed the focus is on fitness and for Technology project work is developed again in response to limited resources for practical subject work at home.
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:
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
Live lessons will be delivered via Teams. Pupils can access this through their school Airhead account. All resources for the lesson will be shared with pupils via Class Charts. If pupils are unsure of their log on details, then they can contact their Head of Year who will be able to provide this information. (First initial followed by surname @kingswoodsecondaryacademy.org with no spaces).
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:
All pupils are audited twice a year whilst in school to determine access to IT and use of laptops / tablets at home as well as internet access. Parents of pupils identified as Pupil Premium without laptops are contacted by the year team do determine if they have access to data or WIFI as well as access to devices. Those without a suitable device to work on are offered a government laptop (if available) and this is ordered through the Trust. An appointment is made for the parent / carer to attend school to collect the laptop. Photo ID will be required before the laptop can be taken off the Academy site.
Communication is made to all parents with a flow chart to show who a parent / carer needs to talk to if they have any issues with laptop of access to school resources/remote learning.
Pupils who do not have online access will be provided with work packs to complete. Parents will be invited by group call to come to school and collect the packs. If they are unable to attend school because they are shielding or self-isolating, we will arrange for the packs to be delivered to their home.
Once work has been completed by the student it should be returned to the academy. Work will be assessed once teachers are able to return to the Academy.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
· Live teaching (online lessons) for all lessons. Each subject apart from Expressive and Performing Arts, PE, Art, Music and Technology will deliver a full one-hour lesson each week and for the remainder of their timetabled lessons a 10 to 20 minute catch up with work set in Class Charts for independent study. Expressive and Performing Arts, PE, Art, Music and Technology will set creative work for you to complete and will provide 10 to 20-minute tutorials only at Key Stage 3. For GCSE and A Level they will follow the same format as the rest of the Academy for online lessons.
· Recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers, Mymaths and Mathswatch) are used in some subject areas (English, Science and Maths in particular) to supplement pupil learning.
· Printed paper packs produced by teachers are available to those students who are unable to access online learning or prefer to work from written material.
· Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences are used by teachers e.g. GCSE Pod, BBC Bitesize, Mathsgenie and Seneca.
· Long-term project work is used at times in Technology at Key Stage 3.
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 students are expected to engage with remote education. This may be online or via work packs. Heads of Year monitor attendance of online learning and contact parents or carers of those pupils not attending to see if additional support can be put in place to assist pupil’s engagement.
· Heads of Year share contact email for support regarding log-in details to Airhead, Class Charts etc.
· Guidance to help parents / carers support their child’s remote education is shared and available on the Academy web site.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
· Pupil’s attendance for each lesson is logged. If students are not attending lessons, or not submitting work due to a pastoral issue than the appropriate year team will contact the relevant teachers so that they are aware.
· Pupil’s not attending lessons or submitting work (where no knowledge is held by the pastoral team) then their parents will be contacted by the relevant curriculum area to see why there is no engagement with lessons or work being submitted. This may be via an email or a phone conversation.
· All EHCP students will be contacted weekly by the Senco.
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:
· The teacher will assess and feedback to the whole class during the lesson through questioning and answering, the use of Microsoft Forms, quizzes, thumbs up or down to statements etc. They will also use Class Charts to give feedback both individually to students and to the class.
· At Key Stage 3 pupils will receive feedback on the KSA Whole Class Feedback Sheet. This will identify strengths and areas for development and provide an opportunity for pupils to improve their work.
· At Key Stage 4 and 5 pupils will receive individual feedback to assessments as identified in the curriculum plan. Pupils are expected to act on the advice given by the teacher and submit improvements to the work as they would if they were in school.
· Work will be submitted via Class Charts and pupil work can be returned to the teacher using this platform too. For those pupils unable to use ClassCharts they will be able to submit their work via email.
