The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home?

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

Our short-term remote provision will not be any different than our standard remote provision,  as our Teams infrastructure is fully primed for immediate implementation should this mode of learning be required at short notice.

Resources for all pupils’ lessons are available in their class’s Teams channel for the upcoming week. It should be noted that if the school has to close partially, for bubble self-isolation purposes, we will then immediately offer a ‘blended curriculum’. This involves our teachers delivering a combination of normal in-school lessons and remote lessons throughout the school day.

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 Remote teaching appropriate. However, we have needed to make adaptations in some subjects.     

Logistically our practical subjects are affected the most in this context and we are having to be as innovative as possible in these areas. For example, our PE lessons are delivered through a weekly newsletter, which reduces screen-time and supports physical activity. We have also had to make addendums to our Science, Technology, Art and Performing Art curricula, replacing the usual diet of specialist, practical work with theoretical equivalencies.

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

Pupils across all 3 key stages will follow their usual school timetable when working remotely including form time, lunch and end of school day. We believe that this provides our pupils with a sense of normality, vital for the maintenance of well-being. This equates to 5.5 work hours per day. Unless there are significant extenuating circumstances, all lessons within our remote curriculum are taught in a ‘live’ manner. We encourage that between 20-30 minutes of the total hour lesson involve our pupils undertaking guided independent learning.

However, this may vary depending on the nature of the lesson’s focus. We discourage setting work outside of the curriculum for our pupils when the full remote curriculum is being followed, in order to reduce screen time and support physical activity.

 

Accessing remote education

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

The Abbey School uses Microsoft Teams as our online learning platform. All pupils have free usage of the platform, linked to their school IT account. This is also linked to their school email account, which provides our teachers with a further opportunity to communicate with, support and share resources with our learners. As previously mentioned, all resources are uploaded into the Teams platform a week in advance of lessons to allow for preparation time and provide pupils with the opportunity to engage with lessons should they be absent for any reason.

All lessons are also recorded and are available for pupils to watch for a significant amount of time after its completion.

 

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

The school has taken the opportunity to engage with the DfE’s free laptop scheme, supporting accessibility for our disadvantaged pupils. We have audited current family IT provision through parental questionnaires and diverted our support accordingly. If you are still having issues accessing our remote curriculum, please contact our pastoral team for added support. In extreme individual cases, we do have the capacity to deliver printed work and collect completed work for assessment purposes.

 

How will my child be taught remotely?

• Live teaching in all lessons following each pupil’s normal school timetable unless there are significant extenuating circumstances. In these instances, the pupil is directed to the appropriate learning resources through email contact.
• Live lessons always recorded, so available on class’s Teams channel for future viewing. 
• Resources provided a week in advance of all lessons and made available on the class’s Teams channel.
• Teachers also use school email accounts to further share resources and provide support. 
• Pupils provided with pastoral support each morning through live tutor periods.
• Weekly core PE bulletin provided to support physical health & well-being.

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 should punctually access each lesson following their school timetable. 5 – 10 minutes is usually provided to support this upon the conclusion of the previous lesson.
• When in the lesson pupils should follow the online behaviour expectations set out by the teacher revolving around the use of mics, chat box facilities and lesson engagement.
• Pupils should engage with the lesson in a similar manner that would be the case under usual conditions. They should remain at the workstation throughout the lesson and contribute when directed. If there are any technical issues that may prevent this, pupils should communicate this to their teacher in advance, wherever possible.
• Work/assessments should be submitted by pupils in line with teacher expectations using mediums such as email or uploading work onto class Teams channels.
• Parents/carers should provide pupils with the most functional work environment possible within their home context. This should include consideration of noise levels.
• Parents/carers should not directly engage with teachers in live lessons. Any issues should be directed to the Head of Year or Head of Learning by directly telephoning the school switchboard or through email, if the relevant address is known.

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

As part of our school teaching expectations, assessment for learning is a prominent part of all lessons taught at The Abbey School, whether this is remote or otherwise. This allows our teachers to determine levels of engagement on a lesson-by-lesson basis. Should there be issues in this respect home contact will be made by the teacher or a member of our middle leadership team. 

In line with our school assessment policy, all pupils engage in one significant piece of assessed work in each subject every term. Detailed feedback on this work is given to the pupil and this facilitates their improvement and formulates our reporting process. This continues to happen throughout the delivery of our remote curriculum.

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

• A full commitment to assessment for learning in all lessons.
• Progress constantly gauged in relation to the lesson’s Big Question.
• The use of low-stakes quizzing and drilling.
• Teacher questioning and verbal feedback.
• The use of the ‘hands-up’ and ‘chat box’ facilities on Teams platform.
• Resources and delivery revolving around self & peer assessment.
• Termly formal assessment and PIT in every subject.

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?

If your child is classed as vulnerable or has an EHCP then they can physically attend school on a daily basis. In such cases, these pupils will complete their usual remote curriculum with the added real-time support of the SEND co-ordinator and their team.

If there are other SEND factors that are limiting your child’s access to their remote education, then please contact the school office and we will endeavour to provide any specific support that may be required.

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

If your child is self-isolating as part of a class or year-group bubble they will receive an identical provision to that described throughout this document as part of the ‘blended curriculum’ model. Should your child be self-isolating as an individual they will have access to all lesson resources on their classes Teams channel and will be able to source more detailed support from the teacher through email, should this be required.