Remote Learning FAQs for Parents

When school is open as usual, and if your child is in good health but cannot attend school due to Covid-19, we expect them to continue with their learning from Day 1. This means that your child will attend online lessons and produce work on the very first day of their absence. They will receive Teams invites to the lessons they are expected to attend and further tasks will be set using Google Classroom.

Yes - all subjects have made arrangements so that absent pupils can continue learning at home. Your child will learn the same things at home as they would if they were in school. Where possible, they will be taught by the same teacher. This is true both when the entire school is closed and when school is open but your child is away.

We expect your child to stick to a good routine, in line with the usual school day. If your child is away but school is open, then we expect them to attend lessons as per their normal timetable.

During complete school closure, on line learning will take the form of 5 x 50 minute lessons. We have provided guidance to pupils on how to manage their time at home, including taking breaks and exercise.

Homework will continue to be set on top of classwork.

Our remote learning timetable is as follows:

• 9am - Tutor time
• 9.30 - Period 1
• 10.30 - Period 2
• 11.45 - Period 3
• 12.45 - Period 4
• 2.15 - Period 5

During school closure, homework will also be set with the following structure:

1. At least one hour of Hegarty Maths per week

2. At least one hour of Tassomai science per week

3. 15-20 minutes reading per day at a time of the student's choice – five daily links to this Daily Reading Programme will be put onto Google Classroom by Heads of Year on the Friday afternoon for the following week

4. Additional homework for some subjects as determined by the class teacher (using dept policy)

We deliver our live lessons through Microsoft Teams. Access to lessons on Teams is provided even if school is open but your child is away. Please go to the online learning section of our website, found under our ‘curriculum’ menu, for step-by-step instructions on how to access lessons, complete and submit work. You will also find guidance on how to stay safe and contribute to lessons appropriately online.

We deliver resources other than live lessons through Google Classroom.

Where possible, students will be able to follow their usual lessons which will be available online in real time through Microsoft Teams.

Where this is not possible, we will set pre-recorded lessons for pupils to watch as videos or assignment work on Google Classroom.

There are some variations by year group and subject, and our approach will also depend on whether individual pupils are isolating or if a whole class, year group or the entire school is studying from home.

Our top priority since March has been supporting students in getting online at home so that they can work productively. If you have concerns that your child is still unable to study online at home please let us know by contacting zaf.rehman@walthamstow-academy.org. We are able to provide laptops and wi-fi access where this is a barrier for our students.

We appreciate how challenging it can be to keep on top of your child’s remote education. We don’t expect you to act in the role of teacher – there is strong evidence that the most powerful thing a parent/ carer can do for their child is show an active interest in their schoolwork. We therefore ask you to:

• Discuss the Walthamstow Academy remote school day with your child and agree what support they need from you to keep to this.
• Ask your child to show you how they access online lessons.
• Occasionally look at the work your child has completed, to provide another source of recognition and praise for their efforts.
• Ensure your child is reading for pleasure every day, if they are in Years 7-11 they can access the Daily Book Club in the year group area of Google Classroom
• Read our regular engagement/attendance report with your child, agreeing targets for improvements and identifying further support they may need.
• Contact us straight away if you have any questions or concerns so that we can help, and ensure your child does the same.

During any period of school closure, we will provide a weekly engagement & attendance report. This report will be sent to you using the School Comms system and will show you how well your child is engaging with their remote education.

If there are any specific concerns relating to your child, then a member of academy staff will contact you immediately to discuss and resolve these.

Assessment and feedback play a key role in learning, and we’ve supported our teachers in providing effective feedback remotely. The exact mode of assessment depends on the subject and year group but all our teachers are using a blend of:

• Seneca Learning
• Online quizzing platforms such as Hegarty Maths, Tassomai Science and Language Nut
• Self Marking Quizzes set on Google Forms / Microsoft Forms
• Photographs of work uploaded to Google Classroom
• Verbal feedback during live lessons
• Teacher commentary on Google Docs created during lessons
• Other forms of feedback bespoke to the subject being taught

We recognise that some students, for example some students with SEND, may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We will work with parents and carers to support those students in the following ways:

• Our teachers will make their online lessons as accessible as possible
• Our SENCO and the SEND team will continue to adapt resources and provide personalised support so that students with SEND can access their learning
• Our LSA team will make regular contact with SEND students who are finding on line learning difficult, so they can ensure barriers to learning are removed.
• Our in-school provision will be available to all those on the SEND register who are finding learning very difficult at home.
• If you would like to discuss this further please contact our SENCO: tijen.adem@walthamstow-academy.org

If school is open and small numbers of students are self-isolating, their classroom lessons will be streamed through Microsoft Teams so that they can be accessed at home. Self isolating students will receive Teams invites to their lessons and specific guidance on logging on.