Remote education provision: information for parents

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?

Upon being sent home as a result of bubbles closing or lockdown, work will be set online using doddlelearn.co.uk and google classroom. For those students who are unable to access a remote device, hard copies of work will be sent home.

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

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 the following number of hours each day:

Key Stage 3 and 4

All students will have the opportunity to engage with remote learning for 5 lessons a day covering core subjects and Art. Teachers will be online following a set timetable to support learners and to provide lessons. There will also be a variety of independent tasks set on both of the online platforms we use.

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

 

Staff will be monitoring work completed on a weekly basis and will be available remotely to provide any help required. We currently use two remote learning platforms to set and monitor work these are: www.doddlelearn.co.uk –To access the doddlelearn.co.uk resources students must log in and they will see the work assigned instantly on their home page. The assessments completed on this website are self-marking, providing instant feedback to students and their performance is updated for teachers to track. To log in type in type in the web address above and find Belmont park school on the top panel then –                                                                   Username – first two letters of first name and all of second                                                                 Eg Bruce Roberts would be BRROBERTS                                                                 Password – Belmont Google classroom - can be accessed by going on to the school website https://www.belmontparkschool.com then quick links - Google hub – google classroom. They will need to log in with their user email and their password. This platform allows students to type detailed responses and submit the work for staff to provide feedback, mark and grade. This will be especially useful for KS4 students

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:

 

Parents and carers will be contacted by the school to identify the remote learning needs of the students. If a laptop is required the school will attempt to apply for one from the government. This will then be installed with all the relevant software by our IT technician who will also be available fortnightly to help with their maintenance if there is a technical issue with the hardware. how you will issue or lend devices that enable an internet connection (for example, routers or dongles), and where parents or carers can find more information If required printed hardcopies of materials will be provided upon request from the student, parent or carer. Work can be sent into the school by post, or can be hand delivered by students with a turnaround of 3 days for feedback.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

 

Some examples of remote teaching approaches: 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 (as per the schools full opening guidance, schools full opening guidance, schools are expected to avoid an over-reliance on these approaches)

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?

 

Students are expected to be online to receive their online lessons as timetabled and complete their additional set work We would appreciate parents or carer’s help in setting routines to support your child’s education, to check to see if students are engaging online or on hard copies of work and to respond to subject teacher’s phone calls.

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

Subject teachers will be making weekly phone calls in the first instance to ensure all students are able to access, complete and return work. Also to praise and share information on non-engagement of students with parents where appropriate. The school will track and record

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:

 

The doddlelearn.co.uk platform self-marks and feeds back to students and school instantaneously. Work must be submitted once complete when using the google classroom platform. Students will be expected to submit work weekly and work done will be assessed with an effort grade A-E and a 1 – 9 level where appropriate. Feedback will be given on a weekly basis. Work completed in exercise books can be sent or delivered to school for assessment and feedback by arrangement.

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:

Families should be contacted by subject teachers once a week to feedback information regarding their engagement and attainment on tasks set. Opportunities for students to receive free technical support from out IT technician will be available if their personal laptops are dysfunctional Lessons should have a variety of short differentiated tasks that allow all students to access and engage with the learning. Staff in the school building will support remote learning with those very vulnerable students at school. Teachers will be available during timetabled lessons online to support learning as per their given timetable.

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?

In the event of a student being sent home to self-isolate, work will be set online that allows students to be able to engage with the learning their peers are undertaking in lesson so as to not disadvantage them. This will keep students up to date with topics being covered and reduce attainment gaps in specific curriculum areas. This will can be supported by the doddlelearn platform for core lessons. In the event of a student’s not having access to a suitable remote device we will endeavour to send hard copies of work home to support learning.

1/5/2020

EMERGENCY FUNDS

Kiran (reception) has been instrumental in setting up an emergency fund, both as part of Ramadan and as a commitment to support our students and families. Where requested we are providing food parcels and soon, £15 food vouchers, available  from central government for families entitled to FSM. Not all families are taking up this offer or there are also other families who are not entitled to FSM but are also suffering financial hardship. Where this is the case we will offer £15 supermarket vouchers or if there are specific areas/needs that you require support with we will see if we can provide them for you. We will not be able to give any direct cash payments. Please do not hesitate to contact us to see if we can support you in any way. Thank you once again to Kiran and her family and friends who have so generously supported this fund and to everyone else who have since contributed to it.

Take care and stay save.

19/03/2020

Dear Parent or Carer,

As you are aware we are currently dealing with the impact of the coronavirus. The situation is developing and changing on a daily basis. The current guidance is as follows:

1. The school is open for the foreseeable future for all students with EHC plans, students with social workers and the children of parents considered Keyworkers as classified by the government.
2. Students who do not fall into the above categories should remain at home and self-isolate from Friday afternoon 20/03/20. Work has been provided for all students attending Belmont Park using the www.doddlelearn.co.uk website. The student username is the first two letters of the students first name and their last name. (eg Bill Davis would be BiDavis). The password will be set as Belmont until changed by the learner, we recommend they do this.
3. Special consideration for families who live with the elderly or with people who have significant medical issues must be made and if it is best for families to send their student to school at this time.

The current situation with all schools managing the Covid -19 outbreak is fluid, please check the Belmont Park School website for regular updates.

Quote from the government announcement at 5pm on Wednesday 18^th March 2020

“After schools shut their gates on Friday afternoon, they will remain closed until further notice except for children of key workers and vulnerable children, as part of the country’s ongoing response to coronavirus. 

Examples of these workers include NHS staff, police and supermarket delivery drivers who need to be able to go to work to support the country’s fight to tackle coronavirus. Vulnerable children include those who have a social worker and those with Education, Health and Care Plans – a legal document that describes a child’s special educational needs and the support they require.