Please complete this Parent Questionnaire regarding your child's Remote Learning. There is a word document attached below if you are unable to access the Microsoft Form.

Additional Information regarding Home Learning and ClassCharts can also be found here.

Karen Martindale, Deputy Principal is overseeing the remote learning for KSA and can be contacted at kmartindale@kingswoodsecondaryacademy.org.

Remote education provision: information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home

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.

Please see below for some frequently asked questions. 

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home? 

In the event of a partial bubble closure pupils will be set work each lesson via Class Charts.  Students will be X coded on the register by the Academy Attendance Manager so that teachers are able to identify that students are at home working remotely.  The class teacher will set the lessons work (PowerPoint, resources and tasks) on Class Charts and click the option for students to return work back to the teacher so that their work can be checked and marked.  This will ensure that students are able to follow the curriculum during their absence.

In the event of a full bubble closure or a lockdown the class teacher will deliver the timetabled lessons online via Teams.  Students will continue to follow their Academy timetable.  One lesson per week per subject will be a full hour, with the remaining subject lessons being a 10 to 20-minute tutorial to complement an independent lesson set on Class Charts.  The tutorial will determine that students understand the task that has been set and are able to access the resources to complete it.  The exception to this is Key Stage 3 Expressive and Performing Arts subjects and PE.  All lessons for these subjects will be 15 minute tutorials with work being set that enables students to develop their creativity and well-being.

All students without IT access are supplied with work packs that can be collected from the Academy however the Academy is working hard to ensure as many students as possible have access to online learning.

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 are very proud of the fact that we endeavour to teach the same broad and balanced curriculum remotely (online) as we do in school wherever possible. However, in some instances we have made some adaptations .for example, Key Stage 3 Art & Textiles focus on drawing rather than painting during remote learning due to the possibility that some students do not have access to the appropriate specialist resources available in school. For Dance & Drama, the focus is on theoretical work with options for practical where safe and possible.  In PE, since team games are not allowed, the focus is on fitness We are working hard to ensure our students are following the full and sequenced curriculum as if they were in school as far as possible and this is reviewed through our robust leadership and management quality assurance evaluations.

 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 the following number of hours each day:

Primary school-aged pupils - N/A

Secondary school-aged pupils not working towards formal qualifications this year; 

All pupils will be engaged in remote learning and independent work for 5 hours a day.

Years 7 and 8 will receive 2 hours and 15 minutes of ‘face time’ with their teacher each day. Each teacher will deliver one full ‘live ‘lesson to each class per week and will facilitate each of the other lessons by introducing the learning in the first 15 minutes. Students will then have one hour’s worth of learning to complete independently in order to consolidate the learning for each lesson. This is also an opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have and for the teacher to use any remaining time to support small groups of learners and feedback to individual learners where required.

Student work completed for  assessment will be evaluated by the teachers and feedback provided.

In addition, all students will have one PHSE session with their form tutor and one remote assembly with their Head of Year per week.

Years 9 and 10 will receive 2 hours and 6 minutes of ‘face time’ with their teacher each day.  Each teacher will deliver one full ‘live ‘lesson to each class per week and will facilitate each of the other lessons by introducing the learning in the first 15 minutes. Students will then have one hour’s worth of learning to complete independently in order to consolidate the learning for each lesson. This is also an opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have and for the teacher to use any remaining time to support small groups of learners and feedback to individual learners where required.

Completed student work for assessment will be evaluated by the teachers and feedback provided.

In addition, all students will have one PHSE session with their form tutor and one remote assembly with their Head of Year per week.

Students will also be provided with access to hundreds of hours’ worth of online lessons provided by Oak National Academy. Recommended by the government as part of the mandatory 5 hours of learning per day.

The combination of face to face live lessons including the 15-minute facilitation to each lesson, the work to be completed independently and the additional lessons provided by the Oak National Academy provide more than the government advised 5 hours of learning time per day.

Secondary school-aged pupils working towards formal qualifications this year;

All pupils will be engaged in remote learning and independent work for 5 hours a day.

Year 11 will receive 2 hours and 6 minutes of ‘face time’ with their teacher each day.  Each teacher will deliver one full ‘live ‘lesson to each class per week and will facilitate each of the other lessons by introducing the learning in the first 15 minutes. Students will then have one hour’s worth of learning to complete independently in order to consolidate the learning for each lesson. This is also an opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have and for the teacher to use any remaining time to support small groups of learners and feedback to individual learners where required.

Completed student work  assessments will be evaluated by the teachers and feedback provided.

In addition, all students will have one PHSE session with their form tutor and one remote assembly with their Head of Year per week.

Accessing remote education

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

Live lessons will be delivered via Microsoft Teams.  Pupils can access this through their school Airhead account (gat.airhead.io) and signing in just as they would if they were at school. All resources for the lesson will be shared with students via Class Charts.  If students are unsure of their log on details, then they can contact their Head of Year who will be able to provide this information. (First initial followed by surname @kingswoodsecondaryacademy.org with no spaces).

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 students to access remote education:

• how you will issue or lend laptops, tablets, routers or dongles to students, and where parents or carers can find more information

• All students are audited weekly whilst in school to determine access to IT and use of laptops / tablets at home as well as internet access.  Parents of students identified as Pupil Premium without laptops are contacted by the year team do determine if they have access to data or WIFI as well as access to devices.  Those without a suitable device to work on are offered a government laptop and this is ordered through the Trust.  An appointment is made for the parent / carer to attend school to collect the laptop.  Photo ID will be required before the laptop can be taken off the Academy site.
• Communication is made to all parents with a flow chart to show who a parent / carer needs to talk to if they have any issues with a laptop or access to school resources/remote learning.

• how students can access any printed materials needed if they do not have online access

Students who do not have online access will be provided with work packs to complete.  Parents will be invited by group call to come to school and collect the packs.  If they are unable to attend school because they are shielding or self-isolating, we will arrange for the packs to be delivered to their home.

• how students can submit work to their teachers if they do not have online access

Once work has been completed by the student it should be returned to the academy, and further work collected from reception.  Our admin assistants will arrange for the work to be sent to the appropriate faculties who will disseminate this to the appropriate teacher for marking.   We will of course continue to work tirelessly to ensure all students have a device and access to online work.

How will my child be taught remotely? 

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

• Live teaching (online lessons) for all lessons.  Each subject apart from Expressive and Performing Arts, PE, Art, Music and Technology will deliver one full ‘live ‘lesson to each class per week and will facilitate each of the other lessons by introducing the learning in the first 15 minutes. Students will then have one hour’s worth of learning to complete independently in order to consolidate the learning for each lesson. This is also an opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have and for the teacher to use any remaining time to support small groups of learners and feedback to individual learners where required. Expressive and Performing Arts, PE, Art, and Music will set creative work for you to complete and will provide 15 minute tutorials only at Key Stage 3.  For GCSE and A Level, they will follow the same format as the rest of the Academy for online lessons.
• Recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers, MyMaths and MathsWatch) are used in some subject areas (English, Science and Maths in particular) to supplement pupil learning.
• Printed paper packs produced by teachers are available to those students who are unable to access online learning or prefer to work from written material.
• Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences are used by teachers e.g. GCSE Pod, BBC Bitesize, Maths Genie and Seneca. Programmes for secondary school students will be on BBC Two, between 13:00 and 15:00.  The Bitesize Daily lessons will also be shown on the Red Button service on TV and all episodes will be available on catch-up, via iPlayer.

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 request your support in ensuring your child maintains the same level of engagement as they would in school.  We would encourage parents to set routines to support their child’s education, this includes providing students with a quiet space and suitable equipment such as a table to write on, a chair and stationary to support home learning.
• We would expect students to attend live lessons on time, following the same positive routines as when they are attending lessons at Kingswood Secondary Academy. They will need to be logged onto their device and have accessed Microsoft Teams prior to the start of the lesson.  It may help you to have a copy of your child’s timetable pinned up at home so that you can support your child in knowing which lessons they should be attending and when.
• We expect students to take an active part in their lessons.  This involves answering questions and asking for clarification or help if needed either through the hand’s up icon or the chat bar.
• All students are expected to engage with remote education.  This may be online or via work packs.  Heads of Year will monitor attendance of online learning and contact parents or carers of those pupils not attending to see if additional support can be put in place to assist pupil’s engagement. 
• If log-in details to Class Charts or Airhead have been forgotten, then you can email your Head of Year who will be able to share these with you. (First initial followed by surname @kingswoodsecondaryacademy.org with no spaces).
• Guidance to help parents / carers support their child’s remote education is shared and available on the Academy web site. 

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

• Student’s attendance for each lesson is logged.  If students are not attending lessons, or not submitting work due to a pastoral issue than the appropriate year team will continue to liaise with the family and contact the relevant teachers so that they are aware that the student is not attending lessons and for how long this will be.  
• For student’s not attending lessons or submitting work (where no knowledge is held by the pastoral team) then their parents will be contacted by the relevant curriculum area to see why there is no engagement with lessons or work being submitted.  This may be via an email or a phone conversation by the subject teacher of by the Curriculum Lead. The purpose of the conversation will be supportive and a means to try and resolve any issues that are preventing the student from participating in the lesson or from submitting work.     
• All EHCP students will be contacted weekly by the Senco to ensure that they are able to continue accessing online learning and are making progress. 

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:

• The teacher will assess and feedback to the whole class during the lesson through questioning and answering, the use of Microsoft Forms, quizzes, thumbs up or down to statements etc.  They will also use Class Charts to give feedback both individually to students and to the class.
• At Key Stage 3 pupils will receive feedback on the KSA Whole Class Feedback Sheet.  This will identify strengths and areas for development and provide an opportunity for pupils to improve their work.
• At Key Stage 4 and 5 pupils will receive individual feedback to set work and assessments as identified in the curriculum plan.  Pupils are expected to act on the advice given by the teacher and submit improvements to the work in red font / red pen as they would if they were in school.
• At Key Stage 3 feedback with improvement work to complete will be given to pupils at least once every two weeks for Core and EBacc subject areas and at least once every 3 weeks for Expressive and Performing Arts, Art, Music, Technology and PE subjects.
• At Key Stage 4 pupils will need to complete an assessment and then improvement work at least once every two weeks in Core subjects (English, Mathematics and Science), and at least once every 3 weeks for other subjects.
• At Key Stage 5 pupils will need to complete an assessment and then improvement work at least once every two weeks.
• Work will be submitted via Class Charts and pupil work can be returned to the teacher using this platform too.  For those pupils unable to use Class Charts they will be able to submit their work via email.
• If submitting work via the work packs then these must be returned to school for marking.  Our admin assistants will forward the packs to the relevant curriculum leads who will disseminate the work to the appropriate teachers to mark and return to reception for collection.  

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 the following ways:

• Students with special educational needs are supported by the pastoral team and the Senco.   The Senco, Heads of Year, Deputy Heads of Year and Form Tutors make regular contact with SEND pupils through phone calls and emails. 
• All teachers have an Inclusive Planning Grid to refer to in their planning for each class they teach.  The IPG identifies which students are SEND, what their need is and what teaching strategies are best employed to help with their learning.
• A central record of each student’s individual needs is kept on-line, and this is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure teacher’s IPG’s are kept up-to-date. 
• SEND questions around teaching strategies or needs of individual SEND children are forwarded directly to the SEND team.  The Senco will either contact the tutor and provide different techniques and strategies to assist the student’s access to the curriculum, or contact the family directly depending on the concern.
• Students with special education needs who find participating in online lessons and contributing too overwhelming are offered counselling sessions, or if needed, external agencies’ involvement.
• All students with Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) are encouraged to come to school and attend the Key Worker Provision.  This will enable our dedicated team of Learning Support Assistants to continue to work with small groups of EHCP students on a daily basis and provide the individual support that they require. 
• If the family decides to keep the student at home, then they receive a weekly phone call from the Senco.  All SEND students have been provided with the direct email to the Senco should any questions regarding Special Educational Needs occur.

Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Where individual pupils 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 pupils both at home and in school.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above? 

In the event of a child self-isolating or a partial bubble closure students will be set work each lesson via Class Charts.  Pupils will be X coded on the register by the Academy Attendance Manager so that teachers are able to identify that students are at home working remotely.  The class teacher will set the lessons work (PowerPoint, resources and tasks) on Class Charts and click the option for students to return work back to the teacher so that their work can be checked and marked.  This will ensure that students are able to follow the curriculum during their absence.