Remote Learning

Remote Learning Policy Update 2022 Pioneers

As you may be aware, when the Government asked all schools to reopen they also requested that all state-funded schools develop a remote curriculum (learning at home) offer which pupils are able to access in the case of future lockdowns or whole-bubble closures. In such an event, we plan to deliver instruction through a virtual learning environment and we need your support to ensure the success of our efforts!

Microsoft Teams is an online communication and collaboration platform that combines chat facilities, video meetings and file sharing. Teams is a part of Microsoft Office 365 and is the chosen platform through which we will continue to deliver remote learning should the need arise.

In the case of enforced whole-school or partial closure, a schedule of lessons will be shared with you via WEDUC at the start of each week, including details of the topics to be covered and any equipment needed for the sessions. The work set will include a mixture of pre-recorded lesson inputs, live lesson inputs, and tasks to be completed after these. Please ensure you have set up and tested WEDUC as soon as possible as it is likely that the instruction to close bubbles may be given at very short notice.

Our live lessons will be conducted using Teams and over the next few weeks we will be showing students how to access and use this. However, we also recommend that all parents and carers have had a go at accessing this before such sessions commence. We are currently in the process of adding a ‘Parent Help’ section to the homepage of our school website with guidance on the basics of using Teams.

What can parents expect?

Pupils will receive daily core instruction through Microsoft Teams (phonics or spelling, plus English & maths). Wherever possible, this will be delivered by Academy staff. This will consist of either pre-recorded and/or live lessons. Once a week there will also be a science lesson and a class ‘story time’.

Non-core learning (other subjects such as history/geography, etc.) may be provided through other means – e.g. your child’s teacher providing a link to the relevant sessions of the National Oak Academy website (the Government’s online learning portal).

Parents should login to WEDUC each day to check for instructions from the teacher. These will be sent out by 9am daily and will outline the tasks for the day, including pre-recorded sessions to watch, any live lessons to attend, and any follow-up/additional tasks to be completed.

Teachers will post relevant supplementary materials to support Pupils with their learning on WEDUC.

Teachers will be available to monitor and respond to student/parent emails from 1pm until 3pm every day, regarding questions about tasks and instructional material. Special email addresses have being set up purely for this purpose. However, during the morning they will have time dedicated to delivering live sessions or pre-recording materials for pupils and so may not be readily available. However, teachers will endeavour to get back to you within a reasonable timescale (same or next day, on weekdays, during term time).

What we expect from our Pupils (health-permitting):

Pupils should login to each of their Teams account on a daily basis.
Pupils should make every effort to complete all required tasks and return these as directed by their teacher in a timely manner on Seesaw.
Pupils should watch the video lesson inputs posted in their entirety and make every effort to attend any live lessons when directed to do so.
Pupils or their parents/carers should email teachers if they have any questions, concerns, or require additional help.

KEEPING EACH OTHER SAFE…

To safeguard our entire school community, Pupils must adhere to our strict guidelines for live lessons as outlined below:

Pupils will only be able to join via their individual Microsoft Teams account. In order to keep our learning community safe, the logins and passwords for this must never be shared with any other person or publicised on social media.
All student cameras and microphones will be disabled by the teacher for live lessons. This means that during a live lesson, Pupils will be able to hear and/or see their teachers, yet Pupils will not be able to see each other. Pupils, or the parents supporting them, will be able to communicate with the teacher through the typed chat function. Only the teacher will allow Pupils to unmute their microphones if they want to ask or respond to a question raised by the student during a live lesson.
Pupils should be logged into the session in a communal area (i.e. not their bedroom) with a neutral background and be appropriately dressed (e.g. not pyjamas). School uniform is not required.
Pupils should be logged onto Teams at least 5 minutes before any live lesson is due to begin.
Pupils need to be prepared, bringing any equipment requested prior to the session to the live session.
When signing in for their live lesson, Pupils must use their full name.
Recording or taking images by Pupils during live lessons is strictly prohibited.
The school will record all live lessons for the purposes of safeguarding and support. They will be archived securely and will not be publicly accessible.
Any pupil misconduct will result in the teacher removing the student from the live lesson. This will then be referred to a member of the Academy’s SLT in order that an appropriate sanction can be given.
Any pre-recorded lessons shared with your child must not be copied or shared with any other person, internal or external to the school.