Remote Learning Overview
Remote education provision: information for parents at Darwen Vale High School
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.
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For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.
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The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
All pupils in all year groups to have access to full provision throughout lockdown. This consists of full school timetable delivered by teachers through Microsoft TEAMs. Pupils without ICT provision have all been provided with a laptop from DVHS or internet SIM cards and dongles. If you are in need of a laptop or internet access please contact school ASAP and speak to your relevant Assistant Head of Year or Mrs Cull, Vice Principal @ Ruth.Cull@darwenvale.com
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What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?
All year 11 students will be taught the full timetable from the first day of lockdown; 4th January 2021, to allow for staff training on our online learning platform Microsoft Teams all other year groups will be provided with a full timetable of lessons published on class charts and will be taught live from Tuesday 5th January in line with the pre lockdown school timetable.
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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 teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, our Vale Values course delivered through tutor time has been adapted to move the RSE component in line with government advice. We still offer tutor time and deliver PHSE within this and offer a full program of weekly assemblies. We still offer core PE to KS3 through Microsoft Teams although this has been adapted for online delivery. Many other adaptations had already been implemented before lockdown to ensure the school environment was Covid safe; for example the replacement of science experiments with demonstrations and other learning activities.
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Remote teaching and study time each day
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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:
KS3 and KS4 - Students will receive 5 x 1hour lessons each day. All students will have access to a 25-minute Tutor time session each day. Students in Years 10 and 11 will have the additional 45 minute period 6 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and an extended period 5 lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Accessing remote education
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How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
The vehicle that DVHS is using to provide online teaching is Microsoft Teams. Please see the guide to using Office 365 and Teams for a simple explanation of how to access online lessons. We are also continuing to use Class charts to reward students for their efforts and publish the self-contained PowerPoints delivered for each lesson to enable students to complete work when it is convenient.
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 pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:
A Microsoft form was sent out to find out which students needed ICT and internet support . This has been subsequently resent on several occasions. We believe that all students who require a laptop or internet access have been provided with this but if you have not please contact school as indicated below. Students who need a laptop can collect these by appointment from the school office. Pupils without ICT provision have all been provided with a laptop from DVHS or internet SIM cards and dongles. If you are in need of a laptop or internet access please contact school ASAP and speak to your relevant Assistant Head of Year or Mrs Cull, Vice Principal via Ruth.Cull@darwenvale.com
Any printed resources that pupils may require – for example English mastery curriculum booklets have been dropped off at student houses by our minibus service.
Students should submit work online; either by email, Teams, or through a range of platforms indicated by individual subject teachers; for example Century English, maths and science, mathswatch or Dr frost maths.can submit work to their teachers if they do not have online access.
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How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
Some examples of remote teaching approaches:
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live teaching (online lessons) for all year groups, following the normal school timetable
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recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers used in Maths Mastery lessons)
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printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. mastery booklets for English, Maths and Geography)
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textbooks and reading books pupils have at home (all revision guides for KS4 for every subject are available on our website at revision guides)
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commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences (e.g Century English, Maths and Science, mathswatch and Dr frost maths).
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long-term project work in GCSE Art, Enterprise and Marketing, Drama, Dance, Sport and Creative iMedia lessons to complete the coursework element of their KS4 qualifications.
Engagement and feedback
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What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
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The expectations of behaviour and engagement during remote learning are identical to the expectations we have when students are present in school. Students should:
Work hard and to the best of their ability
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Use Microsoft TEAMs as if it were a physical classroom – language and behaviour expectations are the same.
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Engage with the lesson, teachers and other pupils.
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Contribute to lessons by answering and asking relevant questions
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Seek clarification on topics you are uncertain on, raise your hand in TEAMs to ask a question.
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Submit work/homework when requested by your teacher
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Ensure your camera is turned off at all times.
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Let your teacher know if the pace of the lesson is too fast/slow to allow maximum engagement at all times
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Use direct messages in TEAMs to communicate with staff if you are unsure about contributing in front of the entire class.
The expectation of the parent/carer is as follows
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Ensure the student is up and ready for learning at the appropriate time.
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Ensure students are engaging with the lesson.
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Make sure there are clear routines which are followed on a daily basis
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Contact the school should you have any issues.
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How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
Daily checks will be taken to ensure all pupils are engaging with remote education. These checks will be carried out by:
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Lesson registers recorded during each of the 5 lessons per day
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Parents of students who are not engaging in period 1 lesson will be contacted by the pastoral team during period 2
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Any parents of students who are unable to be contacted will be texted during P3 to report their child’s absence.
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Parents of students who frequently miss online lessons will be contacted by a senior member of staff and invited into school for a discussion.
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Student work submissions will be checked on a weekly basis by the students relevant Director of Progress.
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Those students not submitting work will have their parents contacted in the first instance, then invited into school for a discussion should work submission rates not improve.
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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:
Pupils will still receive feedback whilst they learn remotely. The methods used will follow our in school feedback and assessment systems and will include a combination of:
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Live feedback in lessons
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Annotated work that you have submitted with comments (via email or your one drive file)
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Results, with feedback of online quizzes and tests in the shape of Microsoft Forms, including exit tickets, to identify what learning has taken place in the lesson.
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Monitoring of work completion on Century as this allows us to close gaps in your child's knowledge and understanding
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:
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Pupils with EHCPs and IPRAs are invited to attend school and parents can contact the SENCO to discuss this.
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Every pupil on the SEND Register has been allocated with a keyworker teaching assistant who will contact you and your child either by phone or email each day or week depending on the difficulty your child has. They will support you and your child with remote learning, differentiate work and expectations and liaise with teaching staff on your behalf.
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Pupils who have severe difficulties with online learning can be invited in to school as a vulnerable learner at the SENCo's discretion.
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?
Pupils who are self-isolating are still taught following the planned curriculum that is being followed in school. This is achieved by pupils receiving the IT equipment needed to access lessons at home and they are expected to attend all live lessons via MS Teams unless they are unwell. Teachers are notified in advance of pupils who are self-isolating and therefore understand to set up a Teams lesson that they deliver to their normal class and via MS Teams at the same time. The resources for that lesson are also uploaded to class charts for the self-isolating pupil to follow either during the lesson or afterwards in catch up (if they are unwell)
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Feedback is still provided following the same means as above.
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