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The Charter School

East Dulwich

Remote Education

Google Classroom

Our virtual learning platform (VLE) has been developed by Google for teachers and students to connect to their class, track their progress and achieve more together.

Google Classroom can be easily accessed by students at home via a PC or laptop or via an app or smartphone or tablet.  They will simply log in using their school email address and school password.

Parents / guardians can choose to set up a regular email of notifications from Google Classroom (either daily or weekly) to keep you informed of all class and homework set for your child. Email invitations to subscribe to the notifications have been issued. Please contact the school office if you have any questions.


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. 

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

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home

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

The School’s established use of Google Classroom for setting homework means that we are able to shift learning online immediately, and all students should expect to access the full curriculum from day one.

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?

The School will offer its full, planned curriculum to all students during periods of remote education such as that required by the National Lockdown.

The timetable for students and staff will remain unchanged; staff teaching classes who are studying from home will do so via Google Classroom. The only exception is that there will be a reduced tutor time / pastoral programme, with students required to attend tutor time only once per week rather than every 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, ie. five hours per school day. 

A majority of lessons will have some element of ‘live’ teaching - this is likely to be 15-20 minutes and focused on the ‘Connect’ and ‘Investigate’ task.  Students will then work independently, sometimes offline, on the ‘Exhibit’ task for the remaining part of the lesson. The amount of ‘live’ teaching offered online will be greater for students closer to national examinations than for students in the early years of the school. 

Accessing remote education

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

The School uses Google Classroom and the wider Google Suite as its platform for delivering online education. Please read the Google Classroom for parents guide on our website.

  • The timetable for students and staff will remain unchanged; staff teaching classes who are studying from home will do so via Google Meet. 

  • Teachers should activate the Meet link at the top of each class in Google Classroom. Students will be directed there for all live online teaching. 

  • Lesson registers should be taken on Arbor in the normal way; it may be advisable to take registers later in the lesson than would typically be the case. 

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:

  • The School has surveyed its pupils in order to identify those with limited connectivity in the home, both due to a lack of a suitable device and due to limited wifi access. 

  • Pupils who we know not to have reliable access to a laptop device or a wifi connection in the home have been provided with these on a contingency basis.

  • Additional measures will be taken to provide for the uninterrupted learning of students who face other barriers to learning in the home. These steps may include producing subject work booklets that can be worked through at home.

  • There will be some overlap between this group and the group of students who are classified as vulnerable and therefore remain in-school. These students can follow the online curriculum under supervised conditions.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

Students and teachers will follow the same timetable as usual:  

  • Students will log on to Google Meet via the link at the top of their Google Classroom subject page.  Teachers will register the students and set the classwork.  

  • A minimum expectation would be that 50 percent of lesson experiences involve some live teaching by an ED teacher. This percentage rises for older pupils. Teachers take registers for all lessons.

  • Reasonable adjustments to live teaching can be made in the interests of workload or student experience, e.g. one teacher taking the lead on classes taking place at the same time; pre-recording sections of lessons that are repeated; curating relevant third party resources (e.g. Oak National Academy, Hegarty Maths, Tassomai); etc.

TCSED practise:

Teachers are expected to:

  • Set assignments so that pupils have meaningful and ambitious work each day in a number of different subjects.  

  • Teach a planned and well-sequenced curriculum, consistent with that offered in-school, so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally and pupils have clarity about what is intended to be taught and practiced in each subject.

  • Provide frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher in the school or through high-quality curriculum resources and/or videos.  

  • Gauge how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum, using questions and other suitable tasks and set a clear expectation on how regularly teachers will check work.  

  • Adjust the pace or difficulty of what is being taught in response to questions or assessments, including, where necessary, revising material or simplifying explanations to ensure pupils’ understanding.

  • Plan a programme that is of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school, ideally including daily contact with teachers.

TCSED effective pedagogy:

  • No one approach is likely to be equally effective for all subjects, but in most cases teachers’ input into lessons will be more restricted than in lessons delivered in-class. 

  • Teachers’ input into ‘live’ lessons is likely to be most crucial during the Investigate stage of learning, i.e. when clear explanation and modelling is required. 

  • Colleagues are advised to allow significant lesson time for deliberate practice, with students working largely independently for the Exhibit stage of learning.

  • Feedback during the Review stage of the lesson are also key sources of support for students, though colleagues should not feel pressure to exceed established School expectations of marking. Examples of effective AfL would include the use of Google Sheets to capture a live snapshot of understanding, e.g. Hi, Sci. Feedback on prior lessons could also be offered at the start of an online lesson or offered in class based on online work.

  • Teachers are encouraged to adapt resources and SoL as little as possible for effective delivery online.

  • Students should be encouraged to work offline some of the time, e.g. by spending more time on Investigate during lessons in-school and leaving more time for Exhibit during lessons delivered online; in Creative Subjects, it may be advisable to set-up activities during the Connect phase of the lesson that can be completed away from the screen; in essay-based subjects, extended writing could be completed in books  

  • The School day will be modestly shorter for students working from home as they will have a reduced tutor/pastoral programme, in part to limit screen time

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?

Please see the TCSED Distance Learning agreement and the Student guide to distance learning documents on our website.

Learner responsibilities:

  1. To follow government guidance regarding ‘social distancing’ and other measures that will keep you safe and well, eg. by not going out or socialising with friends during the lockdown period. 

  2. To establish and follow a productive daily routine that will keep you well and able to learn, eg. going to bed and getting up at reasonable times, taking regular exercise, limiting screen time, setting aside specific hours for schoolwork, etc.

  3. To complete all schoolwork effectively and to the set deadline (see Table 1 below). 

  4. To show the same level of engagement and respect when taking part in lessons online as you would in-school while also keeping yourself safe by restricting participation to voice-only unless asked by your teacher to do otherwise. 

  5. To take part in learning opportunities, events and activities and develop fully as an individual. 

  6. To engage with your parent(s) and other family members politely and respectfully as they try to support your learning.  

  7. To communicate actively with your subject teachers and form tutors; in particular, if you have any concerns that might affect your wellbeing or learning. 

  8. To ensure you make responsible use of social media, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, or SnapChat. 

Parent / carer responsibilities:

  1. To ensure your child(ren) adhere(s) to government guidance regarding ‘social distancing’ and other measures that will keep them safe and well.

  2. To ensure your child(ren) develop(s) a productive daily routine that keeps them well and able to learn, eg. going to bed and rising at reasonable times, taking regular exercise, limiting screen time, setting aside specific hours for schoolwork, etc.  

  3. To ensure your child(ren) can access a designated place in the home in which to complete schoolwork.

  4. To check that your child(ren) to stay up-to-date with their schoolwork (see Table 1 below). 

  5. To share with your child(ren)’s link teacher or relevant subject teacher any concerns you have concerning your child(ren)’s engagement or wellbeing that may affect their progress.  

  6. To access those sources of support available to children who have additional needs, eg. meal vouchers, advice on specific learning needs, counselling support. 

  7. To keep in touch with developments affecting the school’s ongoing provision by reading regular school communications and routinely checking the school website.

  8. To make sure your child(ren) use(s) social media such as  WhatsApp, Instagram, or SnapChat in ways that respect all members of the school community. 
     

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

Teachers are asked regularly to evaluate the engagement of all of the pupils in their classes. This takes place once per week for pupils in Key Stage 4 and once every two weeks for pupils in Key Stage 3. Teachers will consider not just attendance to lessons, but how actively students contribute to class discussions, how they react to feedback and the quantity and quality of the work they produce. 

Minor concerns regarding your child’s engagement in a specific subject will be fed back to you by your child's subject teacher. If more than one teacher has concerns about your child’s engagement, you will be contacted by your child’s Tutor or Head of Year. They will explain the problem, from the School’s perspective, seek your help in identifying any barriers to learning that may have developed, and discuss strategies to re-engage your child and secure their 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:

Students will receive feedback in line with school expectations of at least once every 6 lessons.  This could be in the form of:

  • Self marking quizzes using Google forms

  • Whole class feedback about prior learning delivered at the start of a live lesson

  • Sharing examples of excellent student work

  • Individual feedback using the ‘comments’ box on Google classroom

Students are expected to respond to feedback and act on it immediately using their green pen.

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. Examples of that support include:

  • Differentiated lesson resource provided during or before the lesson

  • Advice on tools and strategies that can be used in the home to support learning

  • Additional support services to enhance learning, eg. Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, etc. 

  • One-to-one or small group ‘breakout’ sessions with a learning support assistant

Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Where groups of pupils are forced to self-isolate, remote education will take the form described above. Where individual pupils need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, the form of remote education will likely differ. This reflects the difficulty of teachers’ addressing lesson simultaneously to pupils in a classroom and studying online. Pupils who are self isolating will be set the same classwork as their peers in school using Google classroom.  In most cases, this will involve pupils following the taught curriculum but working more independently. Where possible, access to lessons will be made available via Google Classroom.