This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students 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.
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 should expect their lessons to follow the timetable of the school day and stick to the published lesson times. Where possible, staff will be delivering the normal curriculum via Teams in live lessons. This includes Tutor time and PSHCE.
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. For example, Physical Education will be advising on healthy and safe alternatives to curriculum Physical Education lessons including a weekly challenge and activities that everyone can do for example walking and exercising.
We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take students broadly the following number of hours each day: Key Stage 3, 4 and 5: Approximately 5.5 hours of Live Teaching a day plus the time allocated to each Key Stage for homework.
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
At CCHSG we deliver our learning via Microsoft Teams. All of the resources are also uploaded onto the SharePoint, which is part of the Office 365 suite of software. All students can access SharePoint from the school website www.cchsg.com
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 have a small allocation of devices which, in certain circumstances (e.g. PPG or FSM students), we can loan students. Parents can find out more information by contacting office@cchsg.comWe also have a small amount of dongles we can loan to students who are of low income for use to connect to the internet. For further information parents or carers can find more information by emailing office@cchsg.com
If students do not have online access, they can access any printed materials needed by contacting their Year Leader who can arrange to have essential materials printed and sent out by post. If students do not have online access to hand in any work required to be submitted by their teachers, they can post their work to the school, marking it clearly with their teacher’s name.
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach students remotely:
- Live teaching (online lessons) recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
- Use of electronic text books, textbooks and reading books students have at home
- Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences e.g. Corbett Maths, My Maths, Seneca learning.
What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
We expect students to fully engage with the live learning provided by the teachers at CCHSG. This includes students following the structure of the school day and arriving to online lessons including morning Tutor Time punctually and ready to learn. Homework and lesson tasks will be set as per the normal classroom environment. Students are expected to submit, via Teams or by email, all assessed work set by their teachers.
We expect parents to support the school by encouraging their child to follow the routines of the school day and ensuring they encourage their child to carry on submitting classwork and homework as appropriate to the set deadlines. If parents notice their child is spending a disproportionate time on tasks they should contact their child’s Form Tutor in the first instance to discuss this.
For students’ wellbeing, they should follow the structure of the school day, plus homework to avoid overload, but take a break away from the screen at break time and at lunchtime. Standing up to have a stretch and move around in the movement time between lessons is also to be encouraged.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
Students’ engagement with remote education is checked daily and both the attendance officer and class teacher will contact you if there is lack of attendance. Student absences for example for medical appointments or illness should still be reported to the school in the usual way.
If disengagement continues, the students’ Year Leader will contact home and arrange a meeting with parents/carers. Here we will discuss ways in which we can support your child or offer them a place in school as a vulnerable student who is in danger of falling behind.
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 students. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others.
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 SENCO will work with families to discuss access arrangements and any help or individual support needed in order for the student to access the content delivered by teachers via remote education platforms. This might include:
Written feedback via Teams or via email on specific pieces of work.
Verbal feedback directly to the student via Teams.
Marking will follow the same timescale as the normal school marking policy.
Students may be asked to follow up with corrections and resubmission for example to show ‘purple pen of progress’.
If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?
In cases where an individual student needs to self-isolate, teachers at CCHSG will ensure that they still have access to the planned sequenced of learning as per the published curriculum. This will incorporate a mixture of access to live lessons where possible and with meaningful and ambitious work each day in all relevant subjects for that day, including providing feedback. Some lessons may be recorded for watching later if the student is unwell during their self-isolation period
What is the school doing to promote online safety?
The eSafety procedures at CCHSG have been reviewed and guidelines for all staff conducting ‘live’ learning have been re-issued. Students and their parents/carers have signed a new ICT acceptable use agreement that features ‘live’ learning and the safeguarding protocols surrounding it. Students are reminded of these protocols at the start of ‘live’ lessons. The Weekly Bulletin is used to signpost these guidelines and other eSafety reminders to the school community.