Remote education for individual students

There may be occasions when your child is, for a limited duration, unable to physically attend school but are able to continue learning, for example with an infectious illness. At such times, we would encourage your child to continue to complete homework set and engage in independent reading, the Book Trust www.booktrust.org.uk has great reading recommendations.

If your child is well enough to engage in further learning at home they could:

  • complete some of the activities in the super curricular booklets.
  • use mathswatch focusing on a topic they found difficult or are yet to cover, https://vle.mathswatch.co.uk/vle/. If your child’s name was Joe Bloggs, their username would be 19jbloggs@tuxford-ac and the password for everyone is circle
  • watch BBC Newsround and write an article based on a current events
  • create revision cards based on their learning so far
  • if in an exam year,  complete past exam papers from the relevant exam board website
  • students may also contact their individual teachers on MS teams and request an assignment

If your child needs further support with home learning please contact their tutor.

Remote education in case of full or partial school closure

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education where national or local restrictions including weather require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.

The remote curriculum – what is taught to students at home

A student’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach. This is because we be taking 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?

Students should complete any unfinished classwork or outstanding homework whilst they await remote learning assignments and live lessons to be set on Microsoft Teams. Additional work is also available at Oak National Academy, Seneca and MathsWatch, and students could also complete wider reading.

Following the first couple days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

Yes, we teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations. For example, assignments and live lessons will not be provided for key stage 3 global awareness and year 10 core philosophy as these subjects are highly discursive and don’t lend themselves to be taught well remotely.

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 students broadly the following number of hours each day:

Secondary school-aged students not working towards formal qualifications this year (key stage 3) Five hours
Secondary school-aged students working towards formal qualifications this year (key stages 4 and 5) Five hours plus possible extra guided learning

Accessing remote education

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

Remote learning will be delivered via Microsoft Teams. For each lesson, students should log into Microsoft Teams and access the relevant class Team. Students will be asked to join some lessons ‘virtually’ using the meeting facility, these live lessons will show on a student’s calendar. If a live lesson isn’t calendared students need to open the assignment for that lesson and follow the instructions.

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 pupils to access remote education:

  • if your child is lacking IT equipment, or struggling with ongoing internet issues, please email parents@tuxford-ac.org.uk and we will be in contact to help
  • we will endeavour to lend laptops or iPads to all students who need them
  • if your child lacks internet access, we can direct parents to the government mobile data increase initiative and may be able to provide SIM cards
  • if we are unable to provide IT facilities to any students, we will work with parents to reach an individualised solution

Will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of approaches to teach students remotely, focusing on providing a high quality teaching and learning experience. Some examples of remote teaching approaches used as part of remote learning include:

  • live teaching (online lessons)
  • independent tasks set via assignments
  • recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
  • printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
  • textbooks and reading books pupils have at home
  • websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences, such as Mathswatch and Seneca

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?

  • We would hope students are able to access a quiet place to study, preferably outside of their bedroom
  • Please encourage your child to stick to the routine of their school timetable, starting the day at 8.40am, and taking their normal break and lunch times
  • For each lesson on their timetable, students should log into Microsoft Teams and access the relevant class team. Students will be asked to join some lessons ‘virtually’ using the meeting facility, these live lessons will show on a student’s calendar. Please encourage students to attend these lessons on time
  • If a live lesson isn’t calendared, students should complete the assignment instructions on the team. When asked to submit work students should do so via the assignment section
  • A live core college time will also be held at least once per week

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

  • We will check whether your child is engaging with their work by monitoring whether they are attending live lessons, positively contributing to lessons, submitting work and completing work to the best of their ability
  • We will inform you of your child’s engagement via phone or Weduc
  • We understand learning from home may be difficult and encourage students to focus on their rewards, celebrating what is going well
  • If your child is unable to complete home learning due to illness or other family circumstances, please report this daily through the usual absence hotline, email attendance@tuxford-ac.org.uk or message the attendance team on Weduc. This will allow us to avoid giving negative points in these circumstances

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

Students will receive feedback in a variety of ways. During live lessons students will receive verbal feedback. Home learning completed on online platforms, like Seneca and Mathswatch, will often be assessed immediately and teachers will be informed of student scores. Teachers will respond to home learning submitted via the assignments. Other pieces of home learning will be assessed alongside regular classwork when students return to school.

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 pupils, for example some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, 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 on an individual basis.