Remote Learning Information
The following information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education whilst in a National Lockdown.
During the period of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?
At Hampton Gardens we teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example:
Years 7 & 8 will receive their full curriculum, with the exception of Drama and Technology.
Year 9 will continue to receive their full curriculum so that they can make informed Option choices.
Year 10 will be taught their full curriculum.
PE will be setting fitness tasks for core PE which we would like students to complete to help with wellbeing and fitness. This can be completed during the normal time allocated on the timetable or an as extra-curricular activity. If selected as an extra-curricular activity this will allow students to have extra time to support with catching up work if required.
Heads of Year will be delivering weekly assemblies and this will cover career and wellbeing activities relevant to each year group. Alongside this there will be a weekly Form Time session.
What if my child completes all the learning they have had set?
Some students may take less time to complete their work and as such may conduct independent study using Century, Hegarty, Oak National Academy and other online education platforms. As we have previously notified parents, we have bought in to a very powerful platform called Century. This was recently featured in an article in the Daily Telegraph as an example of how Artificial Intelligence is supporting students in working independently. The more students complete, the more the system will adapt to their individual strengths and weaknesses. Century currently covers Maths, English and Science.
How is the remote learning day organised?
In order to support your child in managing their time and workload our teachers are setting the learning so that they are timetabled when your child usually has the lesson. As with the previous Lockdown, there may be times when students are not able to access online provision at the allocated time due to the sharing of resources etc, please do not put unnecessary pressure on yourselves to meet these times if it is not practical.
We have adjusted the times of the day to the following:
Period 1 9:00-9:50
Period 2 10:00- 10:50
Break 10:50-11:30 = 40 minutes for Break 1 (double the standard school day)
Period 3 11:30-12:20
Period 4 12:30-13:20
Lunch 13:20-14:00 = 40 minutes for Lunch (10 minutes longer than the standard school day)
Period 5 14:00-14:50 = School finishes earlier
We have been very mindful to try and provide students with frequent breaks. To facilitate this we have decided to extend break and lunch time. We have also removed 10 minutes from each lesson, as well as Form Time every day. However, Form Tutors will be making contact with students via email to organise a weekly appointment to talk via Teams.
Some lessons will be scheduled to appear on Teams at the time that the lesson begins rather than being visible before the lesson time. This is to help pupils manage their workload throughout the day.
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
All lessons will be set via Assignments on Teams but may then involve other online platforms such as Century, Hegarty and Oak National Academy.
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
It is expected students should attend their normal timetabled lessons. We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We are currently contacting those students who have identified themselves as being unable to access their learning at home so that we can organise the lending of appropriate devices and internet access to pupils in need. If you require any further information please contact: enquiries@hamptongardens.org.uk
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
- Live teaching (online lessons) set via Teams.
- Recorded teaching (e.g. video/audio recordings made by teachers as well as, Oak National Academy lessons, Century and Hegarty)
- Lessons set on Assignments on Teams using PowerPoint and uploaded resources.
- Teacher available to support and interact with students.
- There will be times when teachers are in school supporting Key Worker and Vulnerable students as part of a rota.
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. Teachers will also be setting more formal assessments with feedback.
What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
As a school we understand that remote learning can be difficult due to access to devices, finding quiet spaces for students to work and providing learners with support. To help assist you, where possible we will support with providing devices. We also understand that working from home and supporting a child with remote learning is difficult. If your child needs help with their work they need to contact their subject teacher. Our teachers are contactable via email and Teams during the school day to provide help and support to learners at home. To help students manage their workload we suggest that pupils establish a clear routine for the day and follow their normal timetabled lessons. Where possible we advise that students work in a quiet area of the house and take regular breaks away from the screen at the allotted times on the timetable.
Whilst we appreciate there may be some difficulties with students completing work, where possible we do expect students to engage with live lessons and the online work that has been set according to their normal timetable. Students should complete the work to the deadline set by teachers. If your child is unable to complete work due to illness please make the school aware of the situation please contact the absence line 01733 246700.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
Student engagement will be monitored and fed back through a variety of methods on a daily and fortnightly basis. In the first instance Teams will send a weekly update automatically. This will inform you of whether students have submitted work, however, it will not inform you of the quality of the work. Teachers will also review and feedback on student work and engagement. In the first instance if there are concerns parents will be notified via email by teachers. If these concerns persist they will then be picked up by the Heads of Department and the Pastoral Team.
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 SEN will continue to have a Key Worker, as they do in school. Depending on the level of need, your child's Key Worker will contact parents/carers via telephone or email to support with any issues with accessing learning, both in relation to any technical/IT difficulties and any potential barriers the child's SEN has on their ability to complete remote learning. The Key Worker will be able to feedback any issues to the relevant staff, in order to resolve them quickly and positively.
The Key Worker will also check on the emotional well-being of the student. The Key Worker has access to a range of non-academic resources that are specific to the child's individual needs, which can be recommended and shared with home for the child to access.
The Key Worker will log the details of the calls on My Concern, so a detailed log is kept.
The sen@hamptongardens.org.uk email address will continue to be checked and Key Workers will continue to be available via email and Teams, and can be contacted by both parents/carers and students with any queries in between the weekly/fortnightly contact.
Students with SEN are expected to complete their individual interventions that help them make progress. The Teaching Assistants have moved all the intervention programmes online to Teams and will update them weekly. Students will be added to their relevant intervention group so they can access their intervention via Teams. The Teaching Assistants will be checking the progress of the interventions weekly.
When students with SEN attend live online lessons via Teams, there will be a Teaching Assistant online, who will be able to support with the lesson content, as they would be in school.Additional support from other support services, external agencies, organisations and charities will be shared via the school's newsletter and social media. Useful resources can be accessed via Pearl Trees.
Where can I find help and support regarding remote learning?
Guides and videos to support with the use of Teams, Office 365, Century and Hegarty can all be found on the school website – click here.
If your child has an issue regarding a particular subject they will need to contact their teacher via Teams or email. However, as teachers will be delivering lessons they will not be able to respond immediately and will not be available outside of working hours.
Guidelines for Remote Learning
Our guidelines for remote learning are available here.
For online learning guides click here
For Student Wellbeing resources click here
For links to useful resources click here
For Additional Independent Learning Resources click here