Remote education provision

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?

All Settlebeck students have immediate access to Teams and Moodle (for IT and Computer Science), and work will be provided on there, although initially it may not reflect the whole curriculum, and contact lessons may not be in place.

For households where we have not been able to ensure appropriate online access, a paper-based alternative will have been provided.

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?

Settlebeck students will follow their normal timetable throughout any periods of school closure. This will ensure that they are receiving the same curriculum coverage as they would if school was fully open.

Individual subjects will align their lessons to existing plans wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make adaptations in some subjects. For example, in subjects where particular equipment is needed, or topics that are not easily delivered remotely. In these cases, the order of teaching topics may be altered and practical sessions may be delayed until school re-opening.

We also recognise that students may learn at a different pace remotely.

 

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 5 hours each day, in line with Government guidance.

Accessing remote education

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

The majority of work will be accessible via the Teams platform, with the exception of IT and Computer Science who will set work via Moodle.

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

• Settlebeck will lend laptops to students wherever possible if they do not have appropriate access to suitable equipment. We have a limited number, but please contact the school on 015396 20383 to discuss options.
• We can provide students with free data SIM cards if they are using phones or tablets to access remote learning.
• If we are unable to ensure reliable internet access, or where we feel it is more suitable, we will provide workbooks or other printed materials. This will be available at reception for students who live locally, or can be delivered to students who live further away.
• In the event of a short school closure, any written work can be submitted on return to school. If there is a longer closure, then paper-based work can be exchanged when new work is issued.

 

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• live teaching (online lessons)
• recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
• printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
• textbooks and reading books pupils have at home
• commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
• long-term project work and/or internet research activities
• Independent practice via worksheets or similar provided through Teams

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?

Settlebeck students will follow their normal timetable throughout any periods of school closure. They should be available and ready to work throughout the normal school day with appropriate breaks, where they should ideally take some time away from the screen.

A ‘contact rota’ has been provided, which highlights when students should be available for online meetings or lessons with their teachers throughout the week. Please make sure that your child knows when these lessons are, and that they are logged on.

Secondary age students should generally be able to work independently. Please support your child by trying to provide a calm environment for them to work in, encouragement and access to refreshments throughout the day.

There is a temptation to let normal routines lapse, as they are not ‘going to’ school – however, it is important that students get enough sleep to be able to learn efficiently, so try to maintain bed times as much as possible.

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

At Settlebeck, we expect all students to register with their form tutor on Teams every day between 9 and 9.10am. Absences will be followed up as if the school was open, so please make sure that school are informed of any illness or appointments.

The ‘contact rota’ (which was issued to parents by email, and is also available on the school website) sets out lessons where students are expected to interact with their subject teachers. These are between 2 and 4 lessons each day for every student. Any absence at these lessons is followed up by the class teacher. If the class teacher cannot make contact with the student, then the absence is referred to the Head of Year. They then have an overview of student engagement, and will contact parents / carers by telephone and / or email if there are concerns.

 

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:

• Some subjects will use websites where work is marked automatically, and results are stored for teachers to access.
• Some staff will ask for evidence of quiz results (e.g. Oak Academy) or work done, either in written form or as an image on Teams, and will feedback accordingly.
• Some work will be submitted as a word document via Teams or email, with feedback in the same format.
• Longer projects may be submitted when school reopens, but students should expect regular guidance on their progress.

Students should be getting some input on their progress, either through self marking, automatic marking, verbal or written feedback on a weekly basis.

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 recognise 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 will offer a place in school to any student with an EHCP, or who is classed as vulnerable (which may be due to an inability to access work independently). These students have access to teaching assistants as well as other members of staff.
• A teaching assistant is allocated to work with individual students in the majority of live online lessons. These can be deployed to support SEND students.

 

 

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?

If a student is self-isolating, then we will endeavor to provide them with work in line with their normal timetable, although at short notice, this may not be possible. This may be through:

• The allocation of independent work, which may include reading, research or pre-recorded videos.
• Live streaming of in-school lessons, if practical and appropriate.