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Remote Learning

What is remote learning?

  • Remote learning is teaching, activities and content assigned for students to complete when they cannot access the classroom during a period of lockdown or self-isolation as a result of COVID-19.
  • The work will take the form of specific tasks or wider, general practice and project work which may take a number of lessons’ worth of time to complete.
  • All remote learning work set follows our curriculum and supports the development of students’ knowledge and skills.

 

What should students and parents expect from remote learning?

The DfE's guidance on remote learning is that “where pupils have access to appropriate devices, remote education might include recorded and/or live direct teaching time as well as time for pupils to complete tasks independently, depending on age and stage of development.”  For students in Years 7-11, students would be expected to follow their daily timetable of morning registration and lessons.  They will be supported as follows:

  • Live lessons – Delivered face to face via TEAMS, featuring an element of teaching, discussion and questioning.
  • Online lessons – Delivered via TEAMS and email. Online support is available during lesson time for some discussion and for teachers to answer questions about the tasks and activities, set on epraise or TEAMS.
  • Independent study – tasks and activities are set on praise or TEAMSand are designed to be completed individually with timeframes for tasks provided.

 

The curriculum and activities will be sequenced, and the variety in learning importantly reflects what happens in the classroom. Students will receive individual or whole class updates from their subject teacher every week as part of the support across a unit of work that will help them to succeed and progress.  How much of each type of learning a student receives will depend on their year group and the subject (e.g. PE lessons will not be live but activities will be set).

During periods of sustained remote learning, we have the following expectations:

Year 11,12,13

These year groups will receive most of their lessons live, with targeted online lessons to support independent work.  With external exams at the end of the year, it is very important that Year 11 and 13 attend all lessons and complete all assignments.

Year 9 & 10

Year 9 are in their gateway year to GCSE study and Year 10 are following their GCSE course.  Over half of these lessons will be as live / online, with time between these for independent study.

Year 7 & 8

These year groups are learning core knowledge and key skills.  They will get live / online input for at least one third of their lessons.  This may take the form of launching a topic, a set of tasks or a project and then monitoring progress and learning.

 

How will students access remote learning?

All year groups will have access to remote learning through epraise, TEAMS or direct (school) email. It is vital for students and teachers that school emails, epraise and TEAMS calendars are updated and checked every day. 

  • epraise shares specific time-bound tasks, with links and resources which appear in a calendar format.
  • TEAMs enables the delivery of live lessons and online learning, where resources, web links and videos provide variety and choice for students. Learning checklists and exam questions may be added to support progress. 
  • School email is a core communication tool for communicating work, progress and feedback.

 

Student welfare

Student wellbeing is at the heart of the Larkmead community. Students will attend a daily morning session with their tutor as a register and welfare check. Engagement with remote learning will be regularly monitored. We will reward and recognise students for their hard work and achievement. We have clear behaviour expectations. Concerns about attendance, behaviour or engagement will be shared with the Director of Learning and parents. The school’s safe-guarding responsibilities remain in place.

 

Research and experience highlights the importance of variety in remote learning to prevent the fatigue that comes with prolonged screen-based work. It is important that students take their breaks and get fresh air and exercise in line with any lockdown or self-isolation restrictions. PE lessons will be one such opportunity. If parents have concerns about their child’s engagement or wellbeing, or any issues with accessing the curriculum, they should please contact the teacher or tutor directly.

 

Progress Checks

Students (principally mostly in Year 9-13) will have access to a personal learning checklist which will help them record their progress during a unit of work. They will also receive general feedback weekly based on tasks completed.

Assessments will be varied, including online tests, short written questions, problem solving activities. They can include some aspects of student self-review, students using mark schemes and direct teacher feedback. Our marking policy indicates feedback on formally assessed work should be provided as follows:

  • Year 7 – 8: once per term using examples of assessment above
  • Year 9 – 10: twice per term using the examples of assessment above
  • Year 11, 12 and 13 based on stage of preparation for exams and formal assessment

 

Supporting Learning

A wide range of links and websites are available as tiles on Workspace 365, including:

Depending upon the duration of a lockdown period, parents will be contacted to collect a range of printed/additional material, including student exercise books, printed worksheets, workbooks or textbooks.  

 

Top tips for students and parents

We know that remote learning presents challenges for students and parents, as well as for teachers who may be teaching their usual classes or supporting lockdown school while also being responsible for students not in school. 

 

Student actions – please…

Parent actions – please…
  • Get into good habits. Attend registration, follow your timetable and complete your 5 hours per day.
  • Stay informed. Check your email, locate the resources and web links and complete all tasks.
  • Know what resources you need. You must log-in to the Launchpad and check emails and praise daily.
  • Stay on track. This work will help you make progress. We’ll contact home if you miss lessons or tasks.
  • Try your best. You should always make an attempt at a task, using all the resources you have to help.
  • Stay in contact. Let your teacher know straight away if you are having problems accessing or understanding materials.
  • Reflect on feedback. Follow teacher comments and marking to make improvements.
  • Recognise what’s going well. Use your class PLCs to check-off your progress based on any assessments.
  • Get the balance right. Take regular breaks, take care.
  • Help them get the balance right. Getting into a routine helps children complete work and enjoy their own time.
  • Ensure your child can log-in to Launchpad, use epraise and access the TEAMS tile for their key stage.
  • Ask them how they are doing. They have 5 hours each day but it won’t all be live or on-line learning.
  • Check-in and check-up so that they are accessing their email, following their timetable and completing the tasks requested.
  • Let the teacher know if your child is having any problems accessing the materials.  
  • Encourage them to do their best. It is important that they give every task a try. They can contact school if they need advice It helps to be as specific as possible.  
  • Encourage them to check, review and reflect. Teacher comments will help them progress.
  • Recognise what’s going well. Celebrate and recognise their effort and achievement.

 

We hope that this strategy supports students and parents to make remote learning as stress-free and successful as possible.

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