Remote Education

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils, parents and carers about what to expect from remote education. 

Circumstances where it might not be possible for pupils to receive in person education fit into 2 broad categories: 

• school closures or restrictions on attendance, where school access for pupils is restricted. 
• A pupil is on long term doctor diagnosed medical leave (not at home due to illness). 
   

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. 
 

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

Students should expect to log into Google classroom immediately where they will find tasks. 

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, in the practical subjects such as PE.
 

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: 

Accessing remote education 

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

The main resource is Google Suite for Education. In addition, students may be directed to other websites such as GCSEpod, Hegarty Maths, Educake Seneca etc. We have a "Continuous Learning page" which includes links to the above and further resources which can support with learning at home should students finish their work early.
 

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:  

• Parents and Carers should contact their child's year team if they need a laptop. The school have limited laptops available for Pupil Premium students. These are issued to pupils on the basis of need. When the year team confirms that the device is available for collection at school, parent/carer and student need to come in to collect then, and sign for them at Reception.
• The school also has dongles that enable an internet connection. Once again these are available for Pupil Premium students. Please contact the year team to apply for this support.
• If students make their teacher / year team aware which resources they need, these can be prepared for them to collect at school.
• If they do not have online access, students can hand work in at school Reception, making it clear which teacher the work is for.
   

How will my child be taught remotely? 

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

All students are not expected to follow their timings of the school timetable but will receive work for from the subjects they would normally have that day. Students can spread this work out to complete throughout the day to meet their needs.

Some examples of remote teaching approaches being used include:

• Recorded teaching (e.g. QPCS lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
• Printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
• Textbooks and reading books pupils have at home
• Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
• Long-term project work and/or internet research
• Teachers may decide to post a series of lessons at the start of the week scheduling them to become available at different points in the week.
• Resources will be available in Google Classroom and made use of by students who are logging in outside of the timetabled lesson slot.
• Teaching Assistants who usually support the lesson will be invited into the relevant Google Classroom and be given guidance about ways in which they can support the students) they are assigned to.

Parents, Carers (and students) need to make the school aware if there are resources their children need at home, for example art canvases for GCSE. They will be able to collect these from school.
 

The guidance below can help us all make the best of new and sometimes unfamiliar distance learning environments. It can help you be ready for some of the more practical aspects of learning from home. 

1. Establish routines and expectations 
   1. It is important to develop good habits from the start. Create a flexible routine and talk about how it’s working over time. Chunk your days into predictable segments. Help students by prompting them to get up, get dressed and ready to learn at a reasonable time. Keep normal bedtime routines, including normal rules for digital devices. Adjust schedules to meet everyone’s needs but don’t default to staying up late and sleeping in. 
2. Choose a good place to learn 
   1. Your family’s regular learning space for occasional homework might not work for extended periods. Set up a physical location that is dedicated to school-focused activities. Make sure it is quiet, free from distractions and has a good internet connection. An adult should monitor online learning. Keep doors open, and practice good digital safety. Our teachers, counsellors and safeguarding teams will do the same.   
3. Stay in touch 
   1. Questions can be posted in the classroom, but teachers do not constantly monitor this every day as they will be teaching in the classroom. A teacher will post responses during the designated period you have with them where possible. 
4. Help students ‘own’ their learning 
   1. No one expects parents/carers to be full-time teachers or to be educational and content matter experts. Provide support and encouragement, and expect your children to do their part. Struggling is allowed and encouraged! Don’t help too much. Becoming independent takes lots of practice. At QPCS, your child usually engages with other students and any number of adults hundreds of times each day. Many of these social interactions will continue from a distance, but they will be different. You cannot replace them all, and that’s OK. 
5. Begin and end the day by checking-in 
   • In the morning, you might ask: 
   • What classes/subject do you have today? 
   • Do you have any assessments? 
   • How will you spend your time? 
   • What resources do you need? 
   • What can I do to help? At the end of the day, you might ask: 
   • How far did you get in your learning tasks today? 
   • What did you discover? What was hard? 
   • What could we do to make tomorrow better? 
   • These brief grounding conversations matter. Checking in helps students to process instructions they received from their teachers, and it helps them organise themselves and set priorities – older students too. Not all students thrive in distance learning; some struggle with too much independence or lack of structure. These check-in routines can help avoid later challenges and disappointments. They help students develop self-management and executive functioning that are essential skills for life. Parents are good life coaches. 
6. Establish times for quiet and reflection 
   • For families with children of different ages, and parents who work from home, it’s good to build in some time for peace and quiet. Siblings may need to be in different rooms to avoid distraction. Many families will need to negotiate access to devices, priorities for wi-fi bandwidth and schedules throughout the day. Noise-cancelling headphones are an idea. Reading is fundamental. 
7. Encourage physical activity and exercise 
   • Living and working at home, we will all need some room to let off steam. Moving (independently and together as a family) is vital to health, wellbeing, and readiness for learning. It’s a great opportunity to practice exercising ‘alone together’ with digital workouts and online instructors. Set new fitness goals and plan hands-on, life-ready activities that keep hands busy, feet moving, and minds engaged. You may want to think about how your children can help more around the house with chores or other responsibilities. Now’s a good time to think about increasing personal responsibility. 
8. Manage stress and make the most of an unusual situation 
   • We have put in place layers of support for QPCS students, so please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher, school leader or support team if you need assistance or advice. 
9. Monitor time on-screen and online 
   • Teachers will aim to build in variety, in order to find ways to prevent ‘down time’ from becoming just more ‘screen time’. 
10. Connect safely with friends, and be kind 
    • Help your children maintain contact with friends through social media and other online technologies. But monitor your child’s social media use. Remind your child to be polite, respectful and appropriate in their communications, and to follow school guidelines in their interactions with others. Report unkindness and other problems so that everyone maintains healthy relationships and positive interactions.