Remote Learning Provision

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 (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.

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.

FAQ

Once home, pupils are expected to log on to Microsoft Teams and follow their timetable as normal. Teachers will have set work online that replicates what is being taught in lessons that day.

If there are any instances where a teacher has not set work for that day, please ask your son/daughter to contact the academy and temporarily focus on other lessons, with a priority on core subject (English, Maths and Science).

We will 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, in practical subjects such as Food, Art, DT and PE pupils may be set more theory based work due to not being in a workshop/environment with the correct equipment and safety measures.

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 – Following their timetable for each day, currently set as 5 x 1 hour periods = 5 hours. HAIL tasks will be set as usual and shared via Synergy.
Key Stage 4 – Following their timetable for each day, currently set as 5 x 1 hour periods = 5 hours. In addition to this, pupils should complete revision using knowledge organisers and provided revision guides. HAIL tasks will be set as usual and shared via Synergy.

We recognise that not all students have access to a desktop computer. However, by using Microsoft Teams, work is also available via any tablet or mobile phone. We have a small stock of laptops that can be loaned out to students in particular need. Please email [email protected] to request access to this.

The main platform for delivery of remote education is Microsoft Teams. All pupils have been trained how to use this in their Computing lessons. It can be accessed through the following link:

https://teams.microsoft.com/

Pupils need to login with their usual OMERA email address and password.

We ask that parents/carers ensure that their son/daughter is accessing their remote education daily. Pupils are expected to follow their usual timetable exactly as if they were in school. Lesson times are published on the school website and lessons will take place at these times, even when the whole year group is accessing education remotely.

In order to support your son/daughter at home we would ask that you ensure they have a dedicated space to complete their school work at such as a desk or kitchen table. Where pupils have to work in their bedrooms, we would encourage you to regularly check in with them to ensure that they are completing work.

Routines should be maintained as if in school. If a pupil’s English lesson is due to take place from 9.00-9.50, they should be ready at the computer by 8.55 ready for the lesson to begin.

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.

Different subjects will assess and feedback on pupil work in different ways. Where work is handed in on Microsoft Teams, teachers will mark the work electronically directly onto the document. Some subjects will set quizzes or online tests that check understanding of what is being delivered in live lessons. The frequency of assessment and feedback will vary from subject to subject. Maths and English for example who have multiple lessons a week will assess more frequently than Computing which has one lesson per week.

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:

Students with SEND have the same access to live lessons and support is given with access via the SEND team.
The SEND Team work in school alongside key worker students.
Wellbeing calls for SEND students are carried out weekly by a member of the SEND department.

Where appropriate, support can be provided using breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams to work with SEND students in planned lessons.

Pupils who are self-isolating will still be able to access the full range of lessons for each day on Microsoft Teams. Work will be uploaded to Teams as described above. However, teacher input to online learning may be limited due to teachers being in school delivering live lessons.