Remote Learning

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education when we are in a period of local or national restrictions which require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.

For details of what to expect where individual students are self-isolating, please see the final section of this document.

The Remote Curriculum: What is taught to students at home

A student’s first day or two of being educated remotely at the beginning of self-isolation or local/national restrictions might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.

Note that full details of the school’s curriculum is available on our website for each subject and year group. If the content of the remote curriculum is different this will be outlined in this statement and made clear by subject teachers to classes.

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of students being sent home?

It is possible that full remote provision might start immediately, delivered via Microsoft Teams (please see below for details of what this entails). Alternatively, teachers might post assignment for students to Microsoft Teams to cover the first day or two of school/cohort closure.

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?

Broadly, we teach the same curriculum remotely as we would teach in school wherever possible and appropriate. PE lessons are not delivered ‘live’ (with the exception of GCSE PE theory lessons). Instead PE teachers will post challenges for students to undertake to give ideas and encouragement for their physical activity. In Key Stage 3 Art, Drama, Music, and DT lessons are delivered through assignments being posted for students; teaching staff are available online during these lessons to support students and encourage them through the ‘chat’ function on Microsoft Teams. In some instances, teaching staff may run some sections of these lessons ‘live’. In both Key Stages PSHE will be delivered through the posting of assignments and some ‘live’ delivery of content.

Parents/carers and students can access details of what is taught on our website here for Key Stage 3 students: https://www.kingsschoolhove.org.uk/curriculumks3.php

and here for Key Stage 4 students: https://www.kingsschoolhove.org.uk/curriculumks4.php

In some cases teachers might deviate from the usual curriculum to enable effective remote learning. Where this is the case we will give parents/carers details of our changes and rationale for the changes. 

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

Students will follow their usual timetable for remote learning, and will have their usual break and lunch time. This means that students can access 5 hours of online structured learning per school day.

Accessing remote education

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

All remote learning will be provided through Microsoft Teams; all work is set on this platform and all feedback to students is provided through this platform. If any extension tasks are set they will be set on this platform also. In some assignments teachers may point to other widely available online resources, e.g. newspaper articles, You Tube clips, BBC bitesize content etc.

Lessons should be accessed using a device suitable for the task. The same applies to completing work. In most cases this will be a laptop, PC, Apple Mac computer or tablet. Students should also be in a location where they are able to concentrate.

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:

• We will lend suitable devices to students who do not have access to one during the school day.
• We have a limited number of devices which enable a suitable internet connection which can also be lent to students. Students require access to a connection which means they are able to fully engage in lessons which have video input, whether live or recorded, throughout the school day.
• In general we will avoid printing materials, or receiving hard copies of work, as both the remote curriculum and the facility to submit work are available electronically whether students are in school or at home.
• If your child does not have access to a suitable internet connection, and we have run out of devices which enable one, they are classed as vulnerable and may be able to attend school. Please contact the school if this is the case.

You should contact us via admin@kingsschoolhove.org.uk for further information. Alternatively please call us on 01273 840004 between the hours of 8:30am and 4:00pm.  

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• ‘Live’ online lessons delivered through Microsoft Teams. The class meets online on this platform, the teacher delivers content, sets tasks and checks students’ progress.
• Assignments are posted for students through Microsoft Teams to support their live lessons and to direct their study in practical subjects. Students complete assignments and will receive feedback on set tasks. Occasionally assignments may reference other commercially available websites, e.g. BBC Bitesize.
• Teachers may pre-record content to be delivered via Teams where helpful for learning, or where staff have a planned absence.

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?

Our expectations are that parents ensure:

• their child follows their normal timetable and attends lessons on time. We take a register of each class and monitor attendance. Attendance marks are visible to parents/carers through their Classcharts account;
• their child engages fully with all activities which are set;
• they read and engage with all communications which come from the school, including from their subject teachers and form tutor;
• they contact the school if they have concerns or issues.

We recognise that there will be limits on the support that parents/carers are able to provide. We would ask that you maintain a good dialogue with us if you are in need of any support.

If you wish to request a password reset for your child’s Teams account please contact passwords@kingsschoolhove.org.uk

If you wish to contact the school about a remote learning issue you should contact Assistant Headteacher Mrs Vincent k.vincent@kingsschoolhove.org.uk

If you wish to contact the school about a pastoral issue you should contact us via pastoral@kingsschoolhove.org.uk or contact your child’s Head of Year

Periodically the school will contact you to complete a survey to gain your overall feedback.

Full contact details for school staff can be found here: https://www.kingsschoolhove.org.uk/contactus.php

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

We are fully aware that remote learning may be challenging for families and we are here to support you and your children through it. We will be monitoring students’ attendance and their engagement with online learning through Classcharts.

We will do this by:

• Taking a register for online live lessons every day. Students will not be given attendance marks for lessons which are not delivered live. Parents can view session attendance through their Classcharts account;
• Monitoring and marking work submitted by students as appropriate. Feedback will be given regularly;
• Giving achievement or consequence points on Classcharts to give an indication of your child’s engagement with remote learning at regular intervals. Points can be viewed through parents’ Classcharts accounts;
• Subject teachers or pastoral staff will contact you via email or phone call if there are issues with the completion or the quality of work;
• Parents’ evenings will continue to run online as scheduled.

You are welcome to contact us at any time if you have any concerns about your child’s attendance or engagement with remote learning. Please contact your child’s form tutor in the first instance and they will liaise with colleagues as appropriate. 

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:

• Live lessons enable students to receive immediate verbal feedback on learning and tasks;
• Some assigned tasks will be marked, and feedback given as appropriate, in line with our usual assessment policy.
• Some tasks, such as online quizzes, are marked automatically and the outcomes available instantly.
• Feedback will be given to individual students, or via the whole class, as appropriate depending on the task.

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:

We will work with families to deliver remote education for students with SEND by:

• Subject teachers will adapt the curriculum, including resources and tasks as appropriate, as would be the case in school;
• Subject teachers will also liaise with the SEND department for advice and guidance as necessary, also as would be the case in school;
• Running a small provision in school for students with EHCPs/significant SEND where it is felt that attendance on site would be beneficial;
• Assigning ‘keyworkers’ from amongst the SEND team to students with SEND studying from home to ensure regular check-ins which will happen through weekly/fortnightly phone calls.

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?

Students needing to self-isolate at home, when peers are in school, will be able to access their usual timetable through Microsoft Teams.