Home Learning

https://frog.cockburnjohncharles.org/homelearning

Remote Learning Information for Parents and Carers

What is remote learning?

Remote learning is any learning that takes place off school site. In the majority of cases remote learning will be done via electronic devices such as Microsoft Teams, FROG, Hegarty, Educake, Everlearner, GCSE Pod/

Remote Education Provision: information for parents/carers

(this information is for the following scenarios: in the event of a national lockdown, delayed start to a term or where individual students need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school)

The remote curriculum: what is taught to students at home

A student’s first day of being educated remotely will look different from in-school teaching, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching. Work will be assigned via the academy online platform FROG for all subjects on the student’s timetable and this can take at least a day to assign. Live Lessons will also be scheduled so that the student can join the lessons and receive teaching by their class teacher via Microsoft TEAMs and this can take at least a day to assign to students.

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day?

All students are emailed a letter reminding them of how to access their work on the online platform (FROG) and also on Microsoft TEAMs for Live Lesson input. A letter to you as parent/carer is emailed with the same information regarding how to support your child to access school work and what to do if internet access is an issue. This information is also available on the school website.

Students can begin accessing work on FROG usually from the first day of their absence and join their first Live Lesson via Microsoft TEAMs as soon as it is scheduled.

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

If your child doesn’t not have internet access and/or access to a suitable gadget, please contact the school so that we can support with either internet access or access to a suitable gadget or provide a paper work pack.

Student work can be accessed as downloadable work packs from the website and there are instructions for how to download and print the work. This may support families who are sharing IT equipment between siblings. Alternatively, work packs can be requested by contacting the academy by phone or emailing info@cockburnjohncharles.org The pack will be sent in the post along with a letter outlining how to complete the work and details of returning the work to the academy.

How can my child can access remote education and devices if they don’t have these at home?

In order to support your child in being able to access home learning education the academy has a number of laptop devices that are available for students to loan. The parent/ carer will need to phone the academy or learning manager in order to request a device. The academy will then assess the need and ask the parent/ carer to come into the academy to collect the device. As the laptops are signed out as part of a formal loan agreement, the following information will need to be brought in when you come to collect the laptop:

Photo ID (e.g driving licence/ passport)
Proof of address (e.g utility bill)

The academy will monitor the usage of the device and will reserve the right to recall the laptop at any time if not being fully utilised for educational purposes. If parents/ carers require additional data they can follow this link to see the key information on how to access https://cockburnjohncharles.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Accessing-Additional-Mobile-Data.pdf

If my child has to self isolate, what type of home learning provision will my child get?

Teachers should set remote education work for those students who have to self isolate. Teachers will set work for the duration of the self isolation. The work will be set via the online platforms students use to access their subjects. These will be set via:

Hegarty (Maths) , Educake (English and Science), Google Classroom (Creative Subjects, ICT, Business and Media) and for all other subjects FROG. Students should have the passwords for these platforms in their planner. Teachers will be able to check and monitor any work submitted. Parents/ Carers can phone the Academy at any point if they require more work setting or if in some small cases, students require paper copies of work.

In the event of a National Lockdown, following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in the academy?

Yes, we broadly teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in the academy wherever possible and appropriate.

However, we have made some adaptations to subject curriculums specifically for learning at home. Curriculum content that has already been taught will be revisited and revised with higher frequency during longer periods of home learning than in the classroom so that knowledge is firmly embedded alongside new content.

Examples of task adaptions are:

PE, Music, Drama, Dance tasks have been adapted so that students are not required to work in groups, practical tasks have been adapted in some cases and replaced with theory-based tasks to consider limited equipment or practical spaces that students have access to at home;
Maths tasks have been adapted to make greater use of the online platform Hegarty Maths which the teacher sets at the student’s ability level;
Science tasks such as live demonstrations and practical experiments have been replaced with video links to demonstrations;
Art, Photography and Technology tasks have been adapted to accommodate a limited range of materials that students have access to at home.

How long can I expect work set by the academy to take my child each day?

While at home, it is important that your child follows their timetable as far as possible. This is to maintain the excellent learning routine they have in school and not fall behind with their work. When they return to school having completed work at home, the transition back to lessons and learning is straight forward with very little catch up required. Your child’s timetable can be found in their planner and is also available to view on SIMs parent app. If your child does not have their planner at home and you do not have access to SIMs parent app, we can email or post a copy to you.

We expect that remote education, following the school timetable, will take students broadly the following number of hours each day:

Secondary school-aged students not working towards formal qualifications this year

(Year 7 – 10)

Approximately 5 hours (6 subjects per day)

Secondary school-aged students working towards formal qualifications this year

(Year 11)

Approximately 5 hours (6 subjects per day)

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

There are two ways in which home learning can be accessed:

National Lockdown – live lessons via Microsoft Teams
Self -Isolation – work set remotely via FROG or other platforms

Accessing your child’s Home Learning

Your child’s Home Learning has been assigned by their subject teachers which can be accessed via the academy website http://www.cockburnjohncharles.org/home-learning/

Home Learning will need to be completed on a laptop, PC or tablet. Your child will receive Live Lessons using Microsoft TEAMs. Microsoft Teams is a communication platform that allows the teacher to stream their lessons live to the students at home. In our case, this will be what is displayed on the interactive white board, along with their teacher teaching their lesson and answering student questions in a similar way to how teachers work in a classroom. If your child is experiencing difficulty logging into Microsoft TEAMs then please refer to the instructional video Microsoft TEAMs Guide for Students also on the school website or on our Facebook social media page.

The resources for your child’s lessons (example: handouts, worksheets, links to videos) will be assigned on FROG. FROG can also be downloaded as an app on a mobile phone or tablet. Your child will need to log in using their FROG login (their normal school computer username and password), which can be found in your child’s planner. If your child is experiencing difficulty logging into FROG then please refer to the instructional video Frog Guide for Students and Parents also on the school website or on our Facebook social media page. If problems persist please email info@cockburnjohncharles.org

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

Live Lesson input by the teacher to the class through Microsoft TEAMs
Recorded lesson ppts prepared by the teacher
Directed instructions to complete tasks through FROG
Subject-specific powerpoint presentations and accompanying worksheets or workbooklets
Completing practice questions or past papers, particularly for those in examination years
Working through relevant exercises offered by external providers (e.g. Educake, HegartyMaths, GCSEpod)
Watching a relevant video resource and completing tasks based on it
Reading a text, completing exercises or questions from a common subject area textbook, revision guide or electronic resource, making notes on new material.
Completing a listening exercise (eg in MFL or Music)
Written responses to prompt questions, essay plans etc.
Completion of Home Learning work packs.

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

Expectations for Students:

Be prepared to learn by not having distractions around them (TV/ Music/ Social Media on etc)
Be equipped with their planner, pencil case and paper to write on
Check their school email before 8:50am daily to access Microsoft Teams Live Lesson invites and FROG for lesson resources.
Access their email via www.office.com and click on the link sent in the calendar.
Enable access to TEAMs and FROG on any internet enabled device (mobile phone, laptop, tablet, PC computer).
Be punctual for all Live Lessons.
Be respectful to everyone in the online live lesson, do not dominate the chat or ask questions that are not relevant to the lesson.
Not record or share images of the lesson, and adhering to the school’s expectations of appropriate internet use, respecting the privacy of our teaching staff and other students.

Students should email the appropriate year group email address if they are experiencing problems with access and an alternative can be arranged.

Year11@cockburnjohncharles.org Year10@cockburnjohncharles.org Year9@cockburnjohncharles.org

Year8@cockburnjohncharles.org Year7@cockburnjohncharles.org

All emails to year group addresses or subject specific addresses will receive a reply during school hours.

Expectations for Parents/carers:

Ask to see your child’s planner so that you can see their timetable and what lessons and work they will have for that day, their timetable is also available on SIMs parent app.
Ensure your child accessing online Live Lessons using an appropriate device
Ensure your child adheres to the academy’s PDFL policy and updated protocols for home learning shared on the academy website
Ask your child if there’s anything you can do to help with their work or if they are struggling – please refer to the guidance on the website as the solution to the problem might be a quick fix.
Discuss where they will complete the work and remind them to follow the school day including taking regular breaks during the day.
Contact the school without delay regarding any area of concern.

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

We have a number of ways to monitor student engagement with their work.

Attendance to Live Lessons is monitored as a register is taken at the start of each Live Lesson Input. We fully appreciate that students may experience connectivity issues so attendance is checked again at the end of the Live Lesson for this reason. Absences to Live Lessons are followed up with parents/carers and student on a daily basis.
Access to work on FROG and other online platforms is monitored as they allow the teachers to view if the student has accessed the work and also when they have completed the work.
FROG alerts the student that the work is overdue with an icon in the FROG app or PC/laptop view if the deadline is not met. If the work is not completed, this will be followed up with an email to the student and a phone call home where necessary.
Alerts are sent to parents/carers regarding engagement in online learning via the parent app.

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

Feedback can take a number of forms and does not always mean extensive written comments for individual students. Our approach to feedback on student home learning work is as follows:

Students can receive verbal feedback during a Live Lesson on their answers or work they have uploaded.
Students can receive feedback via FROG in the form of written feedback or score depending on what the teacher has set.
Student work is automatically marked on online platforms used for Maths, English and Science (Hegarty and Educake). The student will receive a score and there is also an option for the student to give feedback about how difficult they found the task, the teacher to respond to this in the form of a written reply.
Students can submit work completed on paper-based Home Learning packs in the following ways: by emailing photographs of completed work via a mobile phone or bringing completed work with them on their return to school to their class teacher for feedback.
Parents/carers will continue to receive their child’s Key Assessment Report during the school year containing attitude to learning scores and progress information. Details of student report dates are available on the academy website.

Additional support for students 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 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 will work with parents and carers to support those students in the following ways:

The SENCO and/or the teaching assistant who would normally support the student in the classroom will contact home to provide the opportunity discuss home learning and give further support.
Home Learning work packs can be requested which some students find easier to complete workbooks than online.
Additional resources or modification of resources can also be requested such as reading rulers, coloured overlays, enlarged text, further scaffolding of tasks, additional reading materials, suggest alternative websites for online learning.
Additional resources to support EAL students are also available translated in a number of languages.