Remote Education

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 where 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?

In the first few days, students can expect to access work sent via their school email, or via Google Classroom. They will need to log in via their normal school login.

Paper copies can be provided by request - please contact Student Services to do this.

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 aim to teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we may need to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, practical subjects may expect to complete more theory-based learning while working 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 pupils broadly 5 hours each day, which roughly equates to a school day of lessons.

Accessing remote education

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

Students will access remote education online. Most platforms use students’ normal school log ins. If they are unsure where to find their remote learning, they should check the following locations:

Google Classroom
School email account
Sparx Maths
www.senecalearn.co.uk

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. If you need support regarding access, please contact Student Services. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

Providing paper copies of resources
Lending equipment like laptops, headphones, dongles...

These would need to be returned to school at an agreed upon date.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

live teaching (online lessons)
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
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

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 expect students to complete the work they are set by their teachers. They should expect to spend a similar amount of time as if they were learning in school, i.e. approx. 5 hours per day, and students should usually expect to follow their normal timetable. For example, if a student would have lessons in History, Maths, Science, English and Music on their school timetable for that day, they ought to aim to complete approximately one hour’s study for each of those subjects remotely.

At home, it would be helpful to encourage your child to find a quiet place to work, and to remove distractions like mobile phones where possible. It is also useful to help them organise their time and have a routine around when they take a break, have lunch, etc. It could be useful to roughly follow the times of the school day to keep to the normal routine. If they get stuck, please encourage them to contact teachers via email or Google Classroom for help.

If they are struggling with a particular subject, or they are taking significantly longer than a normal lesson (1 hour) on a subject, please contact enquiries@malcolmarnoldacademy.co.uk, marking your email for the attention of the Head of Subject. We will redirect your email accordingly.

If students are struggling with remote learning more generally, and require some pastoral support, please contact enquiries@malcolmarnoldacademy.co.uk, marking your email for the attention of the Pastoral team. We will redirect your email accordingly.

You can find more information about who to contact here:

https://www.malcolmarnoldacademy.co.uk/Academy-Information/

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

When work is set via sites like Sparx or Seneca, teachers can see the scores students have achieved. When work is set via email or Google Classroom, teachers may ask for tasks to be submitted via that method. They can therefore see the work completed and use this to inform future teaching. If students are working on paper copies, they will be asked to return them to school so the teacher is aware of their levels of progress.

Where we have concerns about engagement in remote learning, parents may be contacted by MCAS message.

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

Teachers will be able to see work submitted online, and use to inform future teaching, whether remotely or in person. This will ensure that your child continues to make progress.

Feedback takes many forms and will not 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.

Additional support for pupils with 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 (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 you to support your child as appropriate. Please liaise directly with the Inclusion team to discuss your individual needs. You can contact them via enquiries@malcolmarnoldacademy.co.uk .