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.

For details of what to expect where individual students are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

The remote curriculum – what is taught to students 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 pupils being sent home?

Teams will be used as the vehicle to support all remote learning. In the event of large numbers of students within a year group having to isolate, all work to be completed will be available as an assignment.  If there is a whole school closure, live lessons will run for all year groups and materials to supplement and support these lessons will also be available on teams.

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?

Students will be expected to engage in a broad and balanced curriculum, remote learning will mirror the curriculum that would be covered in school. In minor cases, subject areas may decide to swap the order of topics to ensure that the more challenging content is covered whilst students are in school.

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the academy to take my child each day?

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will broadly take students approximately 5 hours per day as per DfE guidelines, 6 x 50 minute learning sessions.

Accessing remote education

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

Microsoft Teams will be the main vehicle through which the remote learning tasks will be set. Tasks set via assignments may direct students to also use the following to support their learning:

  • Oak Academy lessons
  • Microsoft Forms
  • BBC Bitesize
  • Mathswatch
  • BBC TV
  • Seneca

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 pupils to access remote education.

Questionnaires were sent out at the beginning of the academic year to establish your child’s access to online learning. If your child does not have online access to allow them to complete remote learning please email info@holgate-ac.org.uk  or call 0115 9632104. Please provide details of the barrier to accessing online learning. We have a range of approaches which we may be able to offer including:

  • advice on how to access using the devices that are available
  • laptops
  • dongles
  • increased data allowances for mobile phones
  • SIM cards with data only

In addition to the list above, parents and carers will also be supported to access Microsoft Edge through games consoles if appropriate with the loan of keyboards and a mouse.

Work completed on paper should be retained to support with consolidation and revision.

How will my child be taught remotely?

Students will be expected to attend live lessons via Teams. Once in the lesson they will be expected to:

  • Complete retrieval starters in their day to day books if available.
  • Teachers will check understanding by asking students to contribute verbally, or by asking students to respond using the hand up function or the chat facility

Throughout the lesson students may be asked to:

  • answer questions as outlined above
  •  self assess work
  • work independently
  • follow a pre-recorded lesson (Oak Academy etc.)

At the end of the lesson:

  • RAG rate in day to day book
  • Participate in questioning or quizzes – these could be set on Microsoft Forms.
  • You will need to follow teacher instructions to submit work, a deadline for work will be set.

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?

Our expectations of students:

  • Use the in school training and guides provided to access work on Teams via the assignments function – note a trouble shooting guide to gain access to teams has been provided.
  • Contact the IT department at school immediately if Teams cannot be accessed. Year leader to be contacted if further support is required.
  • Engage with the remote learning offer including lessons and tutor activities.
  • Be ready to learn for live lessons by having equipment packs and day to day books to hand.
  • Complete all work set via Teams and input scores/evidence of completion as instructed by the teacher.
  • Demonstrate manners, determination to learn and teamwork at all times, including following remote learning protocols:
      • Cameras to be off at all times unless instructed to turn on by teachers
      • Cameras should be used with a blurred screen if they are to be turned on
      • Microphones on mute at all times unless instructed to turn on by teachers.

Expectations of parents/carers

Parents/carers are required to:

  • Check that students have access to remote learning resources and guides on Teams
  • Contact the IT department at school immediately if teams cannot be accessed. Year leader to be contacted if further support is required.
  • Monitor e-mails/Weduc to ensure that up to date correspondence has been received.
  • Ensure that students are ready to learn for live lessons by having equipment packs and day to day books available.
  • Remind students of remote learning protocols.
  • Encourage students to engage with the remote learning offer.

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

Teachers will take registers. This will help to identify students who are not engaging with the offer. These will trigger communications to parents – a reminder of expectations for the minority and a praise message for others.

In addition to that above, tutors will deliver a tutor period on Friday. Parents/carers of students not accessing this will receive a phone call home from tutors between Monday-Thursday of the following week.

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 student work is as follows:

Assessment of progress will be made using a variety of sources. These will encompass strategies in the academy feedback policy but will also include ongoing assessment for learning strategies used during live lessons and independent learning tasks.

Additional support for students 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 students, for example those 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 students in the following ways:

  • Making regular contact around whether they are accessing remote learning and whether they require further support.
  • Providing TA support to those students who are in greater need with the use of Microsoft teams ‘break out’ rooms.
  • Supporting EHCP students by providing an additional Hub managed by the SEND team whereby students have access to 1 to 4 support and can discuss SEMH around the pandemic.
  • Use of features in Teams such as immersive reader.

Remote education for self-isolating students

Where individual students need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in the academy, how remote education is provided will likely differ from the approach for whole groups. This is due to the challenges of teaching students both at home and in the academy.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

For partial closures work will be set on Teams via the use of assignments. Work set will mirror the lesson being taught in school and will mainly encompass a combination of the following:

  • Oak Academy lessons
  • BBC Bitesize
  • Mathswatch
  • BBC TV
  • Seneca
  • Quizzes using Microsoft Forms.
  • Academy specific resources.
  • Other online resources may also be used, as appropriate

For individual cases there will be a designated member of staff who will be available for one period a day to touch base with students to ensure that they understand the expectations regarding remote learning, how to access work and for general pastoral support. Students will only be expected to access work if they are well and able.