Remote Learning

Remote education provision at The Holt School: 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.

 

Remote teaching and study time each day

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

Key Stage 3,  4 and 5
  • 8.40am – 3.00pm (including 2 x 30 min breaks)
  • Registration and P1-5 (not including core PE)
  • Lessons as per normal timetable

 

Accessing remote education

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

Online tools or digital platforms we are using, either for delivery or for assessment.

  • MS TEAMS (whole school platform)
  • MS Forms
  • Kerboodle
  • Whiteboard.fi
  • Kahoot
  • Other subject specific software

 

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 students may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those students to access remote education:

  • Laptops are loaned on a needs basis via the Head of Year.
  • Dongles and Vodafone Sim cards are distributed where needed.
  • Additional resources eg stationery is available for pick up on request.
  • All student work is handed in through TEAMS or by email via photos.

 

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

  • live teaching (online lessons) following the students’ timetable
  • recorded/remote teaching (for example if teacher is unwell or on key worker rota)
  • online textbooks/textbooks and reading books students have at home
  • commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

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?

  • The expectation is that students attend registration and on line lessons according to their timetable and complete all home learning as directed.
  • The expectation for parents is to ensure that their children have a suitable workspace, laptop, wifi and stationery.


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

  • The daily attendance register is maintained and parents are notified on the same day if their child is absent.
  • Head of department or Head of Year will be in touch if teachers have concerns about lack of engagement in lessons.


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 students. 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 student work is as follows:

  • Whole class feedback using chat bar, MS insight function and visualizers
  • Quizzes on Forms
  • Assignments returned on MS Teams with feedback
  • Written feedback as per department marking policy.

 

Additional support for students 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 students, for example some students 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 students in the following ways:

  • Close communication with SENCO and the learning support specialists by phone or on TEAMS
  • Some SEN students are invited into school as agreed by SENCO
  • Outside agencies are invited into school where appropriate to meet with students.

 

 

Remote education for self-isolating students

Where individual students 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 students 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? 

  • Teachers primarily teach the students who are present in the class and those students who are self-isolating can remote in via TEAMS.
  • Teachers upload resources on to TEAMS
  • Webcams installed in all classroom on desktops.

 

January 25th 2021

Parent Information