ST. ANSELM’S COLLEGE
REMOTE LEARNING PROVISION
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students and parents/carers regarding Remote Education at St. Anselm’s College.
THE REMOTE CURRICULUM: WHAT IS TAUGHT TO STUDENTS AT HOME
As with the previous period of lockdown we will continue to deliver lessons remotely, with the majority of lessons being delivered via live streaming according to your son’s timetable. The main vehicles for delivering this remote teaching and learning will be Microsoft Teams and Satchel:One. In order for this to work students should be online and ready to learn at 8.40am each day. Your son’s timetable can be found in the timetable section of your Satchel:One homework App.
‘STUDENTS WILL BE TAUGHT BROADLY THE SAME CURRICULUM AS THEY WOULD IF THEY WERE IN COLLEGE’
We teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in College wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, there may be some necessary adaptations to practical subjects such as PE, Art, Science and DT. The structure, learning objectives and tasks for each lesson will be posted on Satchel:One by 8.30am each day.
REMOTE TEACHING AND STUDY TIME EACH DAY
We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take students a similar amount of time as they spent on work when in College. We will provide six lessons of work each day in line with the student’s timetable as well as Assembly and Form Groups sessions. It is not envisaged that students will be listening to their teacher talk for the duration of each lesson nor that all sections of lessons will need ‘screen time’. Teachers may also set extension tasks that students should complete independently.
ACCESSING REMOTE EDUCATION
The main vehicles for delivering remote learning will be Microsoft Teams and Satchel:One. This enables staff to set and deliver lessons online. Students and parents use Satchel:One daily in College and are familiar with this software and Microsoft Teams was used during the last National Lockdown. Students should access the work when lessons would take place with the work set in line with that delivered during normal College days/weeks/terms. This means that lessons will stop during the published school holidays. All live lesson inputs will have their links posted in Microsoft Teams.
We recognise that some students may not have suitable online access at home. If this is the case then we urge parents to contact us immediately either by phone on 0151 652 1408 or email ict@st-anselms.com We will try and make the necessary arrangements to ensure that all students can access the remote education that we are offering.
The majority of lessons will include a via live teacher input. This means that the teacher will be online and oversee the learning in the lesson via Microsoft Teams. This does not mean that the teacher will be lecturing for 50mins. Instead they may start by introducing the lesson and explaining the tasks then be available for the period of the lesson to support with answering questions. The teacher may well then summarise the learning at the end and question students to ensure learning. This will vary from subject to subject and teacher to teacher.
Ultimately, the teacher is there to ensure that the students are following and learning the planned curriculum and guiding students’ learning appropriately.
The tasks and lessons that are set for students may take a number of different forms including (but not limited to):
- Live teaching
- Microsoft Teams Assignments
- Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or topics video clips or quizzes
- Worksheets and written tasks completed in exercise books.
- Working from online textbooks
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
We expect students to attend and engage in all Remote Learning in order for them to access and experience the planned curriculum. We ask parents to:
- provide students with the means to access the lessons using a web enabled device (PC, Laptop, tablet)
- where possible providing them with a workspace that is quiet, safe and free from distractions with an adult nearby if necessary.
- ensuring your child is dressed appropriately
- helping them to follow their normal College timetable of lessons, including taking breaks
- helping ensure that your child only attends all online lessons to which they are invited by their teacher through Microsoft Teams
- having a discussion with your child about appropriate behaviour in a remote lesson for example treating other students with respect and waiting to be invited to speak so that the same standards are maintained remotely as in a real classroom.
- we ask that parents are not present or involved in the online learning in order to support student engagement and independence and to maintain a ‘normal’ classroom environment for all parties.
Teachers will be taking registers at the start of each online lesson. They will correlate this attendance with any missed deadlines and any submitted work that is below the quality of which the student is normally capable. Should the teacher feel that there is an issue regarding any or all of these factors they will message the student in Teams initially. Depending on the number and frequency of these concerns, parents will either be contacted by the class teacher, Head of Department, Form Tutor or Head of Year. This contact will seek to support the student with their learning and re-engage them.
ASSESSING STUDENT 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 student work means that teachers will:
- Acknowledge work posted each lesson
- Where possible question, check or assess for understanding each lesson.
- Feedback regularly on common issues relevant to the whole class
- Feedback on individual issues where appropriate.
We will still be operating the College assessment policy with assessments, reports and parents’ evenings going ahead largely as planned using online alternatives. For more information on assessment please see the College website.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WITH PARTICULAR NEEDS
We recognise that some students, for example those 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:
- By inviting your child to attend College where they will receive additional support from teaching assistants
- Through scheduled remote 1:1 sessions with key workers (EHCP students/students who received 1:1 support in school)
- By sharing advice from SENCO regarding best practice remote learning for different needs e.g. visual and hearing impairments
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. In the case of a child having been asked to self-isolate by the College or NHS the College will do all that it reasonably can to continue to deliver educational services, in line with the planned curriculum. Teachers will upload the content of their lesson to Microsoft Teams as soon as possible making clear the date of the lesson to enable clarity for the student working from home. Where possible/practicable, the College will aim to ‘stream’ some or all of the lessons using audio and screen share capabilities through Microsoft Teams. Students that are self-isolating must:
- Be available during the normal school day (08:50- 15:30) to complete work set on Satchel:One.
- Submit completed work by the deadline set by the class teacher.
- Work on their subjects at the times specified on their timetable.
SAFEGUARDING AND ONLINE SAFETY
Keeping children safe online is essential. Any concerns must be referred to the DSL immediately. Further reading and information can be found in the SG Policy, KCSIE 2021 and Safeguarding and Remote Education during coronavirus (COVID-19). This also includes guidance on GDPR considerations when delivering live lessons.