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 if 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?

During the first day or two of being at home pupils will be asked to check Google Classroom for any incomplete assignments and any new lessons and assignments that have been uploaded. They should check that they have joined a virtual classroom for all of their subjects and make contact with the school if they notice they are missing any subjects. It’s important to remember to check the class streams for announcements, particularly the year group class stream.

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. In some subjects the order of topics taught may be adjusted slightly, but the curriculum content remains the same.

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 be the equivalent to the core teaching pupils would receive in school. This includes both recorded and live direct teaching as well as time for pupils to complete tasks and assignment independently. Pupils should expect to spend a minimum of 5 hours per day completing the work set.

Accessing remote education

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

Students can access their home learning in Google Classroom. This is a safe and secure place to receive and share learning, and a place to connect with school staff and classmates. Google Classroom is accessible from any digital device with internet access and a web browser. Many subjects are also using Seneca; links to any tasks set in Seneca will be shared in Google Classroom. You can find out more about Seneca here.

We understand that parents and carers may be concerned about the amount of screen time children are being exposed to already. Assignments can be completed on paper and then a photo of the learning can be submitted on Google Classroom (this tutorial explains how to do this).

How to Login

- Go to Google Classroom https://classroom.google.com

- Use your LGfL Email username followed by "@notredamerc.school" (e.g.: billj001.210@notredamerc.school) and your usual LGfL email password.

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:

Over 200 Laptops have been bought by the school and issued to students who did not have devices at home. This is in addition to the laptops given for specific students by the DfE. We expect more from the DfE soon. If you require a laptop for your child please e-mail a letter to Sr. Anne-Marie with your request - admin@notredame.southwark.sch.uk
If parents find they have issues with WIFI/ 4G they should complete the following form online https://forms.gle/NnjbSAsymMbnJ8a46
Students who are not able to access online resources at all will be sent paper resources and will be contacted by phone to see how they are progressing. Please contact the school for further information.

How will my child be taught remotely?

Meaningful and ambitious assignments will be set each day in a range of subjects (for KS3 this will follow their home learning timetable, for KS4 they will follow their usual school timetable). We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

Assignments set will include the following remote teaching approaches:

Frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher or through high quality resources. This could take the form of pre-recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers), Presentations (e.g. PPT/ Google Slides) with explanation or live lessons
Opportunities for interactivity and reflection – e.g. class discussions via the stream
Providing scaffolded practice and opportunities to apply new knowledge – e.g. writing frames to complete within Google Docs
Long-term project work and/or internet research activities (these will be used occasionally)
Some live lessons/ virtual check-ins using Google Meets (video calling). Please note, live lessons will be recorded by the teacher but the videos will not shared with anyone outside of the organisation.

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?

Pupils are expected to:

Check Google Classroom every day to view new assignments.
Complete their learning online by either completing it on a digital device, using Google apps, or by doing it in their book/on paper and submitting a photo of it (or other file, such as video or sound clip, if required).
Complete the learning provided to the best of their ability.
Remember to submit learning by clicking ‘Turn in’ on Google Classroom and uploading the work. (If they have completed the work in their books they should upload a photo of their work and upload this.)
Check and respond to any feedback they may have received.
Ask questions about their assignments (but do not expect teachers to be able to respond immediately/ outside of school hours.)
See remote learning user agreement

Parents and carers should:

Take an active interest in your child’s learning.
Establish a daily routine.

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

If assignments are not completed by the deadline their class teacher will send them a reminder.
A record will be kept of which pupils are engaging with remote education in each subject. This record will be updated daily (the day after deadlines have passed) and monitored by the Head of Year.
Parents should continue to use the SIMs Parent App to monitor achievement points and conduct points.
If it becomes clear that engagement is a concern, parents will be contacted to find out if there are any issues and what can be done to help.
Pupils who are not able to engage with remote learning may be considered as vulnerable and would therefore be eligible for onsite provision. This will be decided on a case by case basis.

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

Pupils will be given timely and frequent feedback on how to 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 uses a combination of the following methods:

A quiz or tasks where instant feedback is given.
Some departments use platforms with instant marking – e.g. in Maths the MathsWatch lessons will be marked automatically and monitored by the teachers so advice and feedback can be given online.
Written tasks where the teacher will provide feedback via the private message function in Google Classroom and/ or annotate the work.
Mark schemes will be applied to exam questions where appropriate and pupils will be able to see these as they are completing the tasks.

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:

All students with Education, Health and Care Plans who are not attending the school site for educational provision shall be contacted once a week by the school's SENCO. The SENCO will enquire about the student's wellbeing and also ensure that she is able to access and undertake the tasks set on remote learning. In addition, the SENCO will liaise with outside agencies such as the Speech and Language Therapist and Educational Psychologist to ensure that the student's entitlements as set out in her EHCP are being met.

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?

Pupils will be able to access the resources used in the lessons in school via Google Classroom. They will be set personalised assignments which will help them to continue studying the curriculum from home. Key Stage 4 students will also be encouraged to use their revision guides. They should submit their work in the same way that they usually submit their home learning via Google Classroom. Feedback will be given via Google Classroom.

Firm Foundations Learning Platform

We now have a subscription to Firm Foundations which can be used to further support and enrich remote learning, particularly in PSHE and core subjects. One of the key benefits of this learning platform is that once downloaded, the iPhone App or Android app can be used offline (so no need for wifi/ 4g once the app is downloaded). The resources available include extensive PSHE and citizenship materials, core curriculum support (e.g. for English and Maths) as well as providing extra reading opportunities. Pupils will be sent their usernames and passwords via e-mail. They may be asked to use some of the resources as part of an assignment (in which case they will be told via their class teacher in Google Classroom), they can also independently work through the courses. Please see the attached poster for information on how to log in.

Any Issues or Questions?

If you have any further issues or other questions not covered here please email:

remotelearning@notredame.southwark.sch.uk