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

For details of what to expect where individual students are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

Remote learning may also be appropriate in situations when students, in agreement with the school, have a period of absence but are able to work at home, at least to some extent. This may apply in cases such as exclusion from school, or longer term illness, assuming students are able to complete school work at home. Another relevant instance would be if, following an infectious disease outbreak, students are self-isolating at home but are not suffering with relevant symptoms.

There is no obligation for the school to provide continuity of education to students who absent themselves from school, with or without parental permission, in contravention to school or government guidance. This may apply, for example, if parents choose to take students on holiday during term time. Similarly, this would apply if parents made the decision, without prior agreement with the school, to absent their childfrom school ‘as a precaution’, against official guidance, in the event of an outbreak of infectious disease.

Our ambition is to continue teaching our studentsthe same age-appropriate curriculum as if they were in school, albeit remotely. Primarily, live lessons will be delivered by your class teacher via Microsoft Teams. However, in some subjects, the curriculum has been adapted due to learning taking place through the Virtual Classroom. For example, Core Physical Education lessons direct studentsto complete a physical activity in the space they have available at home.In some instances, there may be a requirement for some lessons to be delivered via pre-recorded resources.  When this is the case, studentswill have a series of independent study tasks to engage with alongside the pre-recorded resources.

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

The online platform which we are using for Remote Learning is called Microsoft Teams. This platform is best accessed through a laptop or desktop computer. However, it is also accessible from a mobile phone by downloading the Teams app from the app store. Alternatively, it can be accessed from an Xbox or PS4/PS5.

Microsoft Teams can be accessed via www.tinyurl.com/chsstudentportalwhere a written guide can also be found Instructional videos can also be found at: https://ninestilesacademytrust.sharepoint.com/sites/studentportal/Cockshuthill/SitePages/IT-Support.aspx

As part of our Remote Learning Strategy, all studentshave received training on how to access Microsoft Teams (MS Teams). You can access further information about how to access online learning through the banner on the school’s homepage www.cockshuthill.org.ukor by using the following hyperlink to access the page directly: https://www.cockshuthill.org.uk/student-working-from-home/ If you experience technical problems, please contact Summit Learning Trust’s IT Team:  https://www.cockshuthill.org.uk/2021/01/06/student-portal-support/ 

If problems persist after contacting the Summit’s IT Team, or for any other problems, please contact the school via enquiry@cockshuthill.org.uk

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. For studentswho do not have access to the internet or a suitable device, please contact the school via enquiry@cockshuthill.org.uk. We will work with our parents to make alternative arrangements for their children. Or Call the school: 0121 289 5900

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

• Live lessons where the teacher will teach live via video and screen sharing software on Microsoft Teams. All live lessons are recorded for both safeguarding purposes and so that students can re-watch lessons at an alternative time.
• All work and independent study tasks will be set via the assignment tab on Microsoft Teams for students to complete and turn in to their teachers
• Pre-recorded lessons where necessarily alongside independent tasks on the assignment tab.
• Recorded teaching from professional bodies such as the Oak National Academy and video recordings made by teachers.
• Text books, revision guides and reading books that students have at home
• Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences of interactive tasks.

Please see our principles of live teaching:

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

• Students are expected to be online for live lessons from 9.10am – 3.00pm every day except on Tuesday where students will follow the usual format of the day 9.10am – 2.00pm (please refer to the timetable above).
• Students should follow the school’s behaviour policy and the initiative to SOAR as an online CHAMPion whilst working at home, and we ask parents or carers to support us in monitoring and enforcing these expectations whilst students are studying at home.

See SOAR as an Online CHAMPion expectations below:

The key expectations are:

• Students should check their timetable at the start of every lesson. If a teacher is absent, cover arrangements will be in place and details will be in the students’ online calendar in TEAMS or via the Team Class Channel.
• Students are expected to be ready to start lessons punctually and be fully equipped with any other resources they would expect to use in a face-face lesson at school such paper and pen.
• Students should wait patiently in the ‘lobby’ until access to their lessons is granted by their class teacher.
• Students device cameras must be turned off for safeguarding reasons and microphones muted whilst entering a virtual classroom.
• Students must not use the chat facility unless instructed to do so by the teacher. The chat facility is to be used to either ask or answer a question.  It is not to be used as a chat room. Dialogue and talk within the lesson should be professional in tone. Where studentsrepeatedly fail to follow these guidelines, their chat facility will be removed.
• Respect the fact that teachers are responsible for controlling when students are able to interact using the microphone. Whilst a teacher is explaining the lesson, all studentswill be on mute to ensure there is no disruption to learning. Class teachers will only unmute the microphone to invite individual or class interaction where appropriate.
• Students must not call out to other students in the class.
• Students profile icons must be appropriate to the school setting – any images that are not will be removed.
• Students must engage fully and submit work as directed by their class teachers and aim to complete assignments on time where technology allows.

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

We will be monitoring engagement in each class each day. Teachers will take a register during every live lesson and parents or carers of those students who do not attend will be notified via email. Pastoral managers and achievement leaders will also be contacting parents or carers if your child is found to be repeatedly not attending or submitting work. Any concerns should be promptly reported to your child’s achievement leader or email enquiry@cockshuthill.org.uk

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 students work is as follows:

• Formative assessment in lessons – whole group and individual questioning, answered by students in the chat facility
• Verbal feedback during the lesson from teachers
• Microsoft Forms – self marking quizzes
• Self-assessment by the student using marksheets
• Assessed work submitted, either through individual or whole class feedback
• Praise post cards

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 students, for example some studentswith 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 or carers to support those students. Lessons should contain scaffolding in the form of explanation or frames for thinking / completing tasks. Lessons are recorded so that students can re-watch them.  If, despite these ‘in-class’ adaptations, there are issues with completing work in a particular subject area, please contact the school’s SENDCo, Ms.Molloy via claire.molloy@cockshuthill.org.uk

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

If an individual students or group of students are required to self-isolate the same remote teaching methods from above will still apply. The teacher will join Microsoft Teams during the lesson and teach both the students at home and those within the lesson. Work and independent study tasks will still be available on the assignment tab of Microsoft Teams, as described above. The same expectations will still apply.