Group (Class/Year) Remote Learning

If your child is asked to access work from home as part of a teaching or year group, we have developed a consistent approach to ensure the ongoing education of The National Church of England Academy students.

If for any reason students struggle to access Teams, please use the work from SharePoint as a back up.

Information for parents

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home

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, some practical subjects will have theory tasks to support the learning in school.

In years 7 -9 we have carefully matched the Oak academy lessons to our in-school curriculum (supplemented with our own resources) to ensure that when a student return to lessons they seamlessly transition back into class.

In years 10-11 students will have included some oak learning, revision and knowledge-based activities that match our curriculum but may have some elements to catch up on their return. This will be guided by their teacher and the curriculum will be adjusted to compensate for this on their return.

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 the following number of hours each day:

Key Stage 3 and 4

5-6 hours

Students should follow their normal school timetable.

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

This will involve logging into Microsoft office (using their school email address and the password they use to log in on the school premises), and clicking on the Teams app on the left hand side. Students are to work through their usual timetable, clicking on their individual classes where they will be able to access work and talk to their teachers through the chat.

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:

If students do not have suitable IT provision at home then they can contact the Academy and support will be provided.
Students who are from disadvantaged backgrounds have been prioritised, however, laptops have been purchased by the academy and offered to students who have expressed a need.
Internet provision has been provided for disadvantaged families.
If a parent/carer has any issues please contact adminoffice@nationalacademy.org.uk

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

live teaching (online lessons)
In Years 12 -13 this will include all lessons each week.
In Years 10-11 this will include at least one lesson each week in each examined subject.
In years 7-9 this will include some sessions with different subjects/teachers each week.
All students in Years 7-11 will have a live Tutor session each week.
recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
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

In years 7-11 teachers will be available over Teams chat to support their students with these other forms of remote learning.

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?

Students should

Complete work to the deadlines set by teachers
Attend any live lessons they are invited to
Seek help if they need it, from teachers or teaching assistants
Alert teachers if they are not able to complete the work

Parents should:

Ensure they are able to access their child’s timetable on INSIGHT
Make the academy aware if their child is sick or otherwise cannot complete work
Seek help from the academy if they need it – the website is used to provide lots of information

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

If a student is absent from a live lesson the teacher will contact home.
If a student is subsequently absent from a live lesson the Head of Year will contact home.

If a student does not engage with remote learning activities over the course of a week the subject teacher will contact home.
If a student does not engage with remote learning activities for a second week the Head of year will contact 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. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:

Students will receive some immediate feedback to work completed in class via Teams each week.
Students will receive individual formal feedback on their work twice per half term in each 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?

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 in some of the following ways:

Additional contact made with families of students with additional needs to ensure they are able to access work, by the Inclusion team
Differentiated work provided by teaching staff
Additional TEAMS support to ensure students are able to access remote learning
Support offered to any student who has raised concern regarding technology, connection issues.
All students with EHC plans contacted weekly by SENCo.
Additional training offered to staff to ensure that even though we are working remotely, needs can be met through a graduated response.