This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.
The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
What should my child expect from immediate remote education on the first day or two of pupils being sent home?
On the first day that students are required to learn from home we will switch to a full remote learning provision. We expect students to follow their normal timetable from home and join their lessons live through Google Meet. Teachers will be online to greet and ‘check in’ with students, to deliver content as appropriate and to help students to engage with the learning materials and provide support.
- Online lessons will be approximately forty-five minutes in length.
- Student participation and engagement in lessons will be monitored and follow-up calls will take place where we have concerns.
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, there are a few occasions where we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, in core PE lessons, students are given activities to work through independently, encouraging them to work on maintaining their own fitness. Reading lessons for students in the JLV have been adapted so that pupils continue to have access to eBooks and online reading materials.
Remote teaching and study time each day
How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
Students are following their normal timetable and all of their work will be completed during the normal structure of the school day.
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
All of the links to the live lessons, and the corresponding resources for each lesson are accessed through Google Classroom. We have built a shortcut onto student timetables in FROG that will take students directly to the Google Classroom for each lesson.
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
We will work with families to ensure that students have suitable online access at home. The majority of students at Cramlington take advantage of the Chromebook scheme at the school, and the ICT team are in school everyday offering a support service including repairs. We can arrange to lend Chromebooks to students and supporting devices to enable an internet connection (routers and dongles). Parents should contact the school should they need any support with getting online.
How will my child be taught remotely?
Students will engage with remote learning predominantly through live online lessons, blending together independent learning as appropriate. Teachers will be live and online to meet and greet the students and will deliver any content as required, as they would in the classroom.
Teachers will also use a range of resources and strategies within their live lessons to engage students and help them make progress in their learning. Teachers may draw upon websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips and all of the resources that students need will be available on Google Classroom. Teachers will also make use of effective assessment strategies to help gauge the progress that students are making to help inform support and further planning.
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?
Your child will benefit from home support that helps them establish and maintain a daily routine so that they are ready to follow their normal timetable from home. If your child needs help with their learning, teachers will be online as per the normal timetable to help with queries and are also available via Gmail to follow up with queries. Please let the school know if your child is having any difficulty in accessing their learning so that we can provide the appropriate support.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
The school has developed a work tracker system, which teachers will fill in twice a week. Where concerns have been raised by teachers regarding attendance at online lessons or engagement with their learning, follow up calls to parents and carers will be made by our pastoral team.
How will you assess my child’s work and progress?
Teachers will use a range of strategies to assess student progress and to give effective feedback. Teachers will use technology within live lessons to give whole-class and individual feedback – this may be in the form of quizzes which are marked automatically, or through ‘live marking’ as the students complete tasks.
Key assessments have been identified by departments which will be marked individually and more extensively, with students given effective feedback on how they can improve.
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 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 we will work with parents and carers to support those students in a number of ways.
The designated Teaching Assistants that our young people work with in lessons when they are in school will also join the live lessons, and will set up channels of communication with the student within lessons so they support them with their learning as needed.
Teaching Assistants and teachers will work together to ensure the learning is accessible, appropriate and challenging for every student.
Remote education for self-isolating pupils
Where individual pupils need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, our remote education offer differs 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?
Where students are required to self-isolate at home, we would expect them to follow the normal timetable. Work for each lesson of the school day will be available for students via Google Classroom. Teachers will date each piece of work set so it is clear how it matches to the student timetable, and if students have any difficulty in accessing the work they should send their teacher a Gmail who will be able to help.
Where appropriate, students may be invited to join their normally scheduled lesson via Google Meet. In the instances that students are invited to join their lessons via Google Meet, the camera will be pointed at the teacher at the front of the room so that only the teacher and whiteboard is visible. Teachers have been asked to consider where inviting students would be of benefit and would add value to the set Google Classroom work. Where this has been deemed appropriate, students will be notified in advance and can then join the lesson live via the link on Google Classroom.
Staff with overarching responsibility for remote learning:
- Ken Brechin, Deputy Headteacher
- Damian Clark, Deputy Headteacher