This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to parents and guardians 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 document.
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 on the first day or two of pupils being sent home?
When pupils are sent home to learn remotely, we will communicate to parents and guardians via the ‘remote learning’ section of the school website. You should expect to receive e-mail and text notifications of these updates that also contain a link to this section of the website.
During this period, your child’s learning will be set via Google Classroom. Instructions of how your child can access and complete their work will be included on the website together with the Google Classroom codes they require. Due to teachers being required to make this learning immediately available, the lessons might not involve the same level of interactivity you can normally expect.
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?
Dean Trust Ardwick will teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make adaptations in those subjects that would normally include significant elements of practical work (e.g. music, physical education, technology etc). In these subjects, video demonstrations might be used to substitute the practical work and there will be a greater emphasis on the theoretical aspects of the subject.
Remote teaching and study time each day
How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
The remote education provided is equivalent in length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school; a minimum of five hours a day. All your child’s lessons will be scheduled each day on Google Classroom and these will all appear in their Google Classroom calendar.
In Key Stage 3, pupils will receive five hours of education each day, consisting of form time activities and learning set in five different subjects. The work pupils complete will include both recorded or live direct teaching, and time for pupils to complete tasks and assignments independently.
At Key Stage 4, pupils will receive between five and six hours of education each day. Pupils will engage in form time activities and will continue to study their core and option subjects. The work pupils complete will include both recorded or live direct teaching, and time for pupils to complete tasks and coursework independently.
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
Dean Trust Ardwick will use Google Classroom to aid the delivery of the curriculum whilst pupils are working remotely. Google Classroom allows the school to distribute and assign work to pupils and to enhance interactions with pupils.
Additionally, the school uses a variety of external resources and tools to support teaching and learning, including:
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
Dean Trust Ardwick recognises that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home and we will take necessary steps to support those pupils to access the curriculum remotely.
The school will remain cognisant of families who do not have access to the resources required for remote education, and will ensure that an up-to-date record of which pupils do not have appropriate devices or internet access is maintained. This record is updated daily when our communication team contacts home or pastoral teams are contacted via email.
If your child is having issues with digital or on-line access you should contact the school as soon as possible, by emailing their Head of Year or contacting reception. Within the ‘remote learning’ area of the school website, there is a ‘request a device for your child’ section that you can read to see whether you qualify to request a device and how to do so. Following the process outlined on the website will trigger our system for ordering and preparing a device should your child qualify.
We ask that parents and guardians are patient in receiving further communication as we are experiencing delays in the delivery of devices to school, and are waiting to hear whether the Local Authority and the Government are going to provide further devices for our pupils. However, If a device is not readily available the school will provide in-school provision to ensure your child has full access to the curriculum.
Before distributing any devices, the school will ensure:
Once devices are ready for collection, the school will either arrange for them to be collected by pupils or their parents from school, or delivered to pupils’ homes, ensuring infection control measures are adhered to as part of this process.
How will my child be taught remotely?
The school recognises that interactive lessons are most effective in aiding pupils’ motivation and academic progression and, to this effect, teachers will ensure they regularly recreate aspects of in-person interactivity, e.g. live classes with questioning, eliciting and reflective discussion, to the best of their ability.
The school will use a range of different teaching methods to help explain concepts and address misconceptions whilst delivering the curriculum remotely. For the purpose of providing remote learning, the school may make use of:
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?
During remote learning your child is responsible for:
Parents and guardians are asked to support their child during remote learning by:
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
Systems and processes are in place to ensure high levels of pupil attendance and engagement. Pupils must register in the morning online via form group Google Classrooms by 9am. At 9.15am, text messages will be sent home to you if your child has not yet registered online (in line with regular school attendance procedures). If your child is absent on numerous occasions you will receive a phone call and, in some instances, a home visit.
Once a week all your child’s teachers will record if work has been completed to an appropriate standard. The school will then update you on your child’s engagement with their remote learning. If they have completed all of their work, you will receive a text praising your child. Teachers or Heads of Faculty will contact you if your child has incomplete or missed work in their subject. A member of the pastoral team will contact you by phone if there is a serious concern over your child’s engagement with their remote learning.
Furthermore, calls will be made on a weekly basis to all parents/carers to check on the welfare of your child and to ensure they are able to fully access the curriculum.
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:
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 to ensure that the curriculum remains fully accessible and inclusive via remote learning.
All pupils with a SEND need have been offered a place in school to enable them to access the curriculum with support from specialist teachers and staff. The Inclusion faculty will provide additional support to those individuals who do not wish to accept this place. Support provided to pupils will include:
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?
When pupils are unable to attend school due to self-isolation, work will continue to be provided so that pupils can continue to have full access to the curriculum. The pupil’s teachers will be responsible for uploading work for each subject they study in line with the child’s timetable.
Where possible, teachers will still aim to recreate aspects of in-person interactivity to the best of their ability. For example, communication between teachers and pupils can take place either during a live lesson if a teacher has the ability to stream or during the chat function on google classroom. This will give pupils to clarify anything that they may be unsure of with regards to their work set. Pupils are strongly recommended to ask questions if they require clarification, or if they are encountering difficulties.