Remote Learning Audit
Information for Students, Parents and Carers
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students, parents or carers about what to expect from remote education.
The remote curriculum: what should students expect?
A student’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 students being sent home?
Students are able to transfer immediately to remote learning through Google Classroom.
This resource is utilised by all teachers and all subjects have a classroom for every group.
Teachers set appropriate work for their classes via the Classroom; this will include live lesson
ns, pre recorded lessons and appropriate resources to ensure that learning continues in line with the normal sequence of learning.
In some cases, it may be appropriate for paper copies of resources to be sent home for students to complete. Please contact enquiries@freeston.outwood.com should you require work packs.
If your access to technology changes at home, please inform the school so that our records regarding students’ access to technology and Wi-Fi can be kept up to date.
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 broadly teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school.
There may be some subjects such as art, PE and Design & Technology that rely on access to specific resources and equipment that students do not have access to at home.
In these cases, alternative work will be set that is linked as closely as possible to what the students would be learning if they were in school.
It is important that students continue to make progress in all their subjects, this is why we have carefully mapped the content for each subject to ensure that we can switch seamlessly to a remote learning approach should the need arise.
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 students broadly the following number of hours each day.
Secondary school-aged students not working towards formal qualifications this year
A minimum of 4 hours with additional work set between lessons (homework).
Secondary school-aged students working towards formal qualifications this year
A minimum of 5 hours with additional work being set between lessons (homework).
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
Google Workspace Education is an ecology of digital tools from Google designed to host and distribute digital documents, communication, and collaboration through cloud-based technology.
Through the use of Google Meet, Google Classroom, Google Docs, Drive, Gmail, Forms, Jamboard, Groups, calendar, and more, teachers create virtual classes, track document changes, participate in discussions.
Teachers and students can Edit documents, presentations and spreadsheets in real time with their group, and track every change with version history.
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 students may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those students to access remote education.
If you have already informed us that your child requires a device to access online learning, where possible a laptop/Chromebook will be issued to them. We do understand that circumstances may change and should this happen then please contact us via enquiries@freeston.outwood.com. A colleague from school will then contact you to address any issues and to resolve any barriers to online learning, including Wi-Fi access.
For those families who have requested printed materials; packs of work will be posted home or delivered (if appropriate). A member of staff will contact you to agree an appropriate way of submitting the completed work in order to get feedback from teachers. This could include regular phone calls, posting work back to the school or taking photos of the completed work via mobile phone and emailing it to the appropriate person.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach students remotely:
- Google Classroom is the ‘go to’ place for all students to access their online learning.
- All students have been taught how to use this platform and additional support if required, is available via the Outwood Home Learning Website.
- Students, parents and carers will find video clips which explain for example: how to log onto Google Classroom, resetting passwords, accessing and submitting work.
- Live teaching will be used wherever this is practicable to do so. Students will either follow their normal timetable of lessons or a bespoke timetable will be produced for the time they are absent.
- Prepared content where the teacher has recorded the lesson for their class and posted this in their Google Classroom, this could include direction to national sites, for example: Oak National Academy, BBC Education or subject specific YouTube clips that are embedded in the content
- Additional work is set by the teacher via Google Classroom which may include revision and quizzes to consolidate learning. For example, clear explanations, scaffolding and feedback will be given to students via private comments or classroom stream.
- There should be no clear difference between teaching in real time (“synchronous teaching”) and alternatives (“asynchronous teaching”).
- A range of strategies to support peer interaction are explored, including peer marking and feedback, sharing models of good work, and opportunities for live discussions of content.
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 learning and those not engaging will be followed up by their teachers to identify any barriers and to establish what further support is required.
Parents and carers have the option to sign up to Guardian Summaries which means that they will receive either a daily or weekly overview of the work that has been set for their child on Google Classroom.
The following guides have been produced to support remote learning:
- Google Site to support access to Guardian Summaries and Google Classroom – this site provides useful advice on how best to support your child with their online learning. Eg establishing routines, regular screen breaks, removing distractions.
- Student Guide to Online Lessons – this document outlines the behaviours we expect from students during live lessons
We have adapted our Praising Stars assessment system to capture effort and engagement in online learning where this is required.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
A register will be taken by the teacher for all live lessons and absentees will be followed up regarding their non attendance.
Parents will be informed via text regarding lack of engagement with remote learning.
There is an expectation that parents/carers support their child in ensuring that they engage with the work that is set by their teachers.
Class teachers will follow up any concerns with student engagement.
For students who are accessing printed resources, their progress will be followed up via phone calls as outlined in the ‘Accessing Remote Education’ section above.
If parents and carers have signed up to Guardian Summaries they will receive a daily or weekly email listing an overview of the work that has been completed or due in for their child.
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 student work is as follows. This will take a variety of formats depending on the way the lesson is delivered.
- Live lessons enable the teacher to obtain feedback from students in the same way they would in the physical classroom.
- Feedback via Google Classroom will be given to students regarding their progress and areas for development.
This can take the form of written feedback or through the use of Screencastify, mote or loom which records the teacher’s feedback to the students which is then posted in the Google Classroom for the students to listen to. - Google Forms are also used frequently to quiz students to check for understanding.
- Students will receive feedback via Google Classroom on the work they have submitted. This feedback will be in line with the school policy which means that the student will receive regular feedback from teachers in school.
- All students will receive at least weekly feedback from their teachers.
- We have adapted our Praising Stars assessment system to capture effort and engagement in online learning where this is required.
Additional support for students 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 students, for example some students 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 students in the following ways.
All teaching staff will ensure that due consideration is made to the work set in order for all young people irrespective of their needs can access high quality teaching.
We as an academy will also ensure that EHCP students are contacted by key workers where any concerns around access or learning can be discussed at this point.
For any other students with identified additional needs (SEN support) we have a closely monitored enquiries account where the concerns can be signposted accordingly. The contact details are: enquiries@freeston.outwood.com.
Students with SEND are allocated a member of staff from our inclusion team, who will provide the link between home and school.
Regular dialogue will occur via phone call, text or Google Meet to ensure that SEND students are able to access the work and if appropriate they will be given additional remote support from support staff who they are familiar with.
It may also be appropriate for specialist equipment eg: reader pens, light boxes to be loaned to the family during the period of absence to support remote learning. Because work is set by the class teacher there should be no barrier to students being able to access the work set as teachers understand the specific needs of their students and will set work that is appropriate for their ability level.
We have specific Google Classrooms to help and support vulnerable students and SEND students.
A teaching assistant has access to all subject specific google classrooms to help and support individual students.
We promote metacognition and self-regulation as some students are likely to particularly benefit from explicit support to help them work independently, for example, by providing checklists, daily plans, voice notes or specific recorded task set work.
When an individual student is isolating, their year group bubble will remain open.
Remote education for self-isolating students
Where individual students 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 students 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?
High quality learning will be set via the Google Classroom that is in line with the work that would be being covered in the lessons.
Where it is practicable to do so, the lesson being taught in school will be live streamed for your child to access at the same time as they would normally access the lesson should they be in school.
There will be some lessons where it is not appropriate to live stream the lesson, eg. PE, Design & Technology, Music etc as it is difficult to capture the learning during practical lessons. In these cases, work will be set that aligns closely with the content of the lesson.