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 where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.

For details of what to expect when 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?

Work will be made available on the VLE (https://lessonboard.uah.org.uk/). Homework will be available as normal on Edulink. Teachers will also be in touch over email.

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, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, our practical subjects will become theory based.

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 take pupils the same amount of time as within school, five hours a day. This will be a mixture of Teams teaching and independent study.

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

We will use Microsoft Teams, alongside the VLE and Edulink. IT will also use Google Classroom.

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:

•             Where possible, we will lend devices to students

•             We will make paper copies of work available, this will be posted home or collected from school. Work will also need to be sent back to UAH so that it can be marked.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

•             live teaching (online lessons) via Teams

•             printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)

•             textbooks and reading books pupils have at home

•             commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

•             long-term project work and/or internet research activities (as per the schools full opening guidance, schools full opening guidance, schools are expected to avoid an over-reliance on these approaches)

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

We expect pupils to be full engaged with their remote education. Parents and carers can support this by setting routines and encouraging your child(ren) to complete work.

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

Teachers will ensure that work is being completed. If it is not, texts will be sent home on the first occasion. If there is still no improvement, then phone calls will be made home.

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.

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.

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.