Parents info

REMOTE EDUCATION PROVISION: INFORMATION FOR PARENTS/CARERS

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 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?

 Students can access remote education remotely as soon as they find themselves in a situation where they need to learn from home. All students have login access to the “Google Classroom” website with their school email. They will have an individual page for each of their lessons where teachers will post details of classwork and homework tasks.

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. This will include subjects which are mainly practical such as PE. Students will be able to access instructions and support through google classrooms for the duration of their remote learning period.

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:

Key Stage 3

and 4        

Students will follow their usual timetable from home. Our current timetable model means every student attends three 100 minute lessons per day. Students will complete an equivalent amount of learning remotely. The nature of the remote learning depends on the circumstance (see “accessing remote education” section.

As with normal school time, students may be set additional homework/preparation tasks in between lessons.

Key Stage 5

Students at KS5 will also follow their timetable from home. A level students have six 100 minute lessons of each A level subject per fortnight. Students following BTEC qualifications have eighteen 100 minute periods of their subject per fortnight. Students will complete an equivalent amount of learning remotely. The nature of the remote learning depends on the circumstance (see “accessing remote education” section.

As is the expectation during normal school time, A level students are expected to invest significant additional independent learning time into all qualifications.

 

Accessing remote education

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

 The primary mode of communication between class teachers and students during remote education is Google Classrooms. All students have access to this site through their school email address (their google single sign on credentials).

Our remote learning policy outlines two potential situations with regards to remote provision:

Situation A

Situation B

School is open to most pupils but some have to learn remotely e.g, due to self isolation

Cohorts of students are learning remotely.

Appropriate strategies will be in place to support students unable to attend who are well enough to learn. This is managed through google classrooms. Students should regularly log in and check for instructions.

Where a large cohort of students (such as specific classes or year groups) are prevented from attending school, they will be provided with a curriculum linked learning plan which includes elements of “live” learning. This will include the use of google meet software to conduct real time interaction with students and to record lessons.

 

Students and parents should familiarize themselves with the guidance for conduct in remote learning, which provides specific guidance around conduct in live lessons using the google meet software:

https://www.oaklands.towerhamlets.sch.uk/docs/Guidance_for_conduct_during_live_lessons_-_students_and_parents__1_.pdf

Oaklands also has a GCSE Pod subscription, allowing all students to access curriculum linked revision materials remotely:

https://www.gcsepod.com/

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

We recognize that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

Remote learning in any form will require a device such as a laptop and internet access. Oaklands will endeavour to fulfil all requests for support in this regard.

In situations where support to access online materials is required, students/parents should inform the school as soon as they are notified of the need to begin remote learning.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

The approaches taken to remote learning will depend on the situation (please see table above)

Situation A

Class teachers will upload lesson resources and follow up instructions to google classrooms. Students should check this page regularly to keep up with curriculum learning. Students can contact teachers directly for support via their google classroom pages.

Situation B

Where cohorts of students are learning from home, each lesson will begin with a live interaction via the google meet website. Students should ensure they are logged in to their school google classrooms account and ready to learn at the start of the timetabled lesson. Teachers will provide links/instructions to join meets via google classroom pages.

During the live interaction, students will be registered and attendance will be monitored. In many cases the live aspect of the lesson will not last for the full 100 minutes, but teachers will provide clear guidance on what learning activities students should complete during this time.

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?

Situation A

Where schools is open to most students but a small number are learning remotely due to factors including self-isolation

Students: we expect that students check their google classroom pages for each subject daily, and complete any tasks set by teachers. We expect that students seek help with specific questions using the private message function on assignments where required (for example “please can I have help on question 2b”)

Parents and carers: we would appreciate the support of parents and carers in maintaining the routines of a normal school day in terms of hours of learning completed, wake up times and bedtimes. Please encourage students to seek help where required.

Situation B

Where school is closed to entire cohorts of students and we are delivering the timetable in its entirety online.

Students: we expect that all lessons are attended on google meet, with high standard of punctuality. We expect that students engage positively with the lesson and complete any follow up work set by the deadline provided. We expect high standards of behaviour and complete adherence to the “guidance for conduct during live lessons” document.

Parents: we would appreciate the support of parents and carers in maintaining the routines of a normal school day in terms of hours of learning completed, wake up times and bedtimes. Please encourage students to seek help where required. Parents should ensure they are aware of all the points in the “guidance for conduct during live lessons” document.

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

 During periods of self isolation, we would appreciate the support of parents to ensure that students are completing the learning tasks set by teachers on google classroom.

In the event of a “situation B”, students will be registered and attendance will be monitored. Initially, contact with parents will occur through standard text message templates where attendance concerns are raised. Further communication via phone may will be used to provide support.

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:

At Oaklands we follow a marking and feedback policy known as IACT, which stands for “improvement and correction time”. The focus of the iact policy is that teachers provide concise feedback which directs students towards what they need to do to improve their work.

Different departments and subject areas will provide feedback in a manner which is most suitable for them, but methods are likely to include:

  • Feedback using the assignment function of google classrooms
  • Individual feedback and support using the private message function of google classrooms
  • Self-marked assessments such as quizzes on GCSE Pod
  • Whole class feedback on work as part of live lessons

Students should endeavour to contribute actively and regularly to remote lessons, as this will enable teachers to gain a more accurate picture of their understanding and given direct feedback rapidly.

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 recognize 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 strongly encourage students with special educational needs to take up a school place during this period of restrictions and will continue to deliver provision at school as normal.

Whilst parents of students with special educational needs are encouraged to send their child to school the school will authorize an absence following a 'leave of absence' request by the parent.

Where a student with SEND is not attending school we will:

  • ensure that students can access appropriate education and support at home
  • make regular welfare checks through phone calls​

We will provide support for students with SEN in the following ways:

  • deploying teaching assistants to support teachers in live lessons
  • use breakout rooms in Google Meet for more personalized support within a lesson
  • 1:1 online mentoring by SEN staff at an agreed time between support staff and a student.​
  • EHCP Provision

Where a student with an EHCP is not attending school we will use best endeavours to ensure that special educational provision continues as normally as possible. Specialist services such as the School Nursing Team, Speech and Language Therapy Service, Hearing Impairment Team, Autism Outreach Service, Educational Psychology Service and the Behaviour and Attendance Team will provide advice and guidance remotely.

Parents can contact the SENCO directly for individual requests or concerns for  external support.

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.

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

 Self-isolating students should:

  • Check google classrooms for each of their timetabled lessons
  • Seek support as required through the private message function on google classrooms

Other information on Remote Learning