Remote Learning Provision at Cardinal Newman Catholic High School

Aim

The aim for our remote learning provision is to ensure that all students are able to continue their learning and have access to a broad and balance curriculum during periods of school closure.

Guidance for Students, Parents and Carers

The information set out here is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students, parents and carers about our remote learning offer. Our remote learning offer aligns as closely as possible with in-school provision to allow all learners to receive high quality teaching and learning. We have established effective procedures and systems to deliver and monitor remote learning and detailed support and guidance can be found on this webpage.

Accessing Remote Learning

Our remote lessons are delivered through Microsoft Teams which is significantly more secure than other online platforms and lessons are accessible on any device. A guide on how to access live lessons has been shared with students and can still be accessed by clicking on the link below. Alongside Microsoft Teams we continue to use Satchel One as our online platform to set independent learning tasks, quizzes and to enable student submission of work. It is important that all students have access to suitable devices for learning, but we fully appreciate the constraints that many families will face and that some students may not have suitable devices or online access at home. Information on how to use PlayStations, Xboxes and Smart TVs to access remote learning was shared with students and means that more of our students now have a device on which to join the live lessons. Parents and carers can contact enquiries@cardinal-newman.co.uk if, despite these new avenues of support, device or internet access still present any difficulties.

The Remote Curriculum

The content of the remote learning curriculum mirrors the one delivered in school, wherever possible and appropriate. However, in some practical subjects the curriculum maps and/or lesson activities have been revised to accommodate remote learning. In PSHE some topics are more suitable to be taught face-to face with the teacher facilitating class discussion and therefore these sessions will be covered by collapsing the timetable for a morning once students return to school.

Behaviour and Attendance

All students are expected to adhere to the school’s behaviour policy during live lessons and attendance in these lessons is compulsory with students to be logged on for 9am. Pastoral staff are monitoring attendance and parents and carers will be contacted if their child is not attending live lessons. Parents are to inform the school office if their child is unable to attend live lessons for any reason.

Remote Lesson Delivery

Class teachers use a variety of approaches to teach students remotely including live or recorded lessons and follow the same curriculum content remotely as they do in school wherever possible and appropriate. As a general rule, remote lessons will contain approximately 30-40 minutes of teacher input or support, often followed by an opportunity for students to apply their learning. Students at KS4 may also have additional work to complete for formal qualifications e.g. coursework or revision for assessments and this work may need to be completed in addition to the normal working school day.

Student Engagement

Lesson attendance and student engagement will be monitored in the first instance by class teachers and pastoral staff. Certificates to celebrate students’ achievements will be e-mailed each week to those students engaging fully in remote learning. Parents or carers of any student whose engagement raises concern will be contacted and appropriate support put in place to improve engagement with remote learning.

Feedback and Assessment

Students and class teachers will be able to communicate directly using Microsoft Teams and Show My Homework as well as having the option to share and upload files. In order to receive timely feedback, students are responsible for submitting their work on or before the deadline set by their class teachers. Valid and effective methods of assessing students’ understanding and/or providing remote feedback may include individual written comments, verbal and/or written feedback on the ‘chat’ during live lessons, whole-class feedback addressing common misconceptions and/or areas for further development, learning checks marked automatically via digital platforms e.g. Educake, Active Learn, Google forms, GCSE Pod.

Online Safeguarding and Remote Learning

The remote learning provision for students by Cardinal Newman High School staff is an extension of normal school provision and therefore the existing school expectations and rules still apply. When learning online we recognise that students, staff, parents and carers find themselves in a range of different situations due to the amount of online resources and digital platforms they may be using. The document in the link below aims to provide guidance on how students should engage safely with online learning.

Guide to Online Safeguarding and Remote Learning

Supporting your child

One of the most effective ways in which parents and carers can support their child with remote learning is to provide them with some structure at home e.g. encouraging them to establish usual school routines, to participate in live lessons and to complete tasks to the best of their ability. Talking to the child about their learning experience is also of great benefit to the learner, encouraging them to explain the tasks often helps to reinforce the learning.

Additional Support for SEND or Vulnerable Students

We recognise that some students, for example some students 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 aim to work collaboratively with parents and carers to support those students. During periods of school closure or self-isolation our teaching assistants and pastoral staff regularly contact SEND and vulnerable students to offer support and to check on students’ well-being. In the event of school closure EHCP students are encouraged to attend our key worker provision and discussions take place with parents and carers who have consented for their child to work remotely. If parents and carers have any concerns over their child’s ability to access remote learning they should e-mail enquiries@cardinal-newman.co.uk

Useful websites and online resources

There are a number of digital online learning platforms and resources that are often used in school and that can also be accessed from home. Students can find the various links on our homepage under Remote Learning Websites by clicking on the link below.

Remote Learning Websites