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Remote Education Provision: Information for Parents

The aim of this document is to outline Kings Academy's key procedures relating to online provision in the event of national restrictions or the need for the self-isolation of bubbles. Kings Academy is committed to providing and delivering the highest standard of remote education. This remote education consists of a blend of online tasks and live lessons.

Kings Academy uses Firefly as their virtual learning platform, allowing a range of lessons to be set and resources shared with students.

All live lessons will be delivered using Microsoft Teams.

Isolation of Year Group Bubbles

If the Academy needs to take action and isolate a year group bubble, the following provisions will take place:

• All pupils will continue to be taught remotely in-line with their normal timetables
• Tasks will be set on Firefly the day immediately following a full bubble closure
• Lessons will be delivered using a blend of Firefly tasks and live lessons for the remaining time of a bubble's self-isolation
• A minimum of 50% of lessons delivered will be live for full year group bubble closures
• Where part-bubble closures are in place, our aim will be to deliver as close to 50% of live lessons as possible

In the event of national restrictions being implemented resulting in a full lockdown, the following provisions will take place:

National Restrictions: Full Lockdown (Online Provision)

• All pupils will continue to be taught remotely in-line with their normal timetables
• Tasks will be set on Firefly the day immediately following a full bubble closure
• Lessons will be delivered using a blend of Firefly tasks and live lessons
• A minimum of 50% of lessons delivered will be live

National Restriction: Full Lockdown (In-Academy Provision)

• Students attending as part of the key worker/ vulnerable student group will receive a full curriculum
• These students will access the remainder of their curriculum remotely using the Academy's ICT facilities
• Students will not be able to engage in the practical aspects of some subjects

For all students, both at home and in school, a morning tutor programme will continue, delivered live.

In the event of staff illness or absence we will endeavour to continue to provide live lessons and tutor time.

Remote Teaching and Study Time Each Day

How long can I expect my child to work each day to complete the work set?

Below are the number of hours we would expect a student to be working each day in relation to their key stage.

KS4 (Years 9-11): All students would normally have five one hour lessons every day, plus tutor activities. The expectations of student workload each day will be in-line with this.

KS5 (Years 12 and 13): All students will follow their normal timetable. An additional hour of independent study for every hour of directed time is expected. Tutor time and associated activities will continue.

If the work set on a daily basis is taking your child significantly longer, please contact your child's Tutor.

Accessing Remote Education

How will my child access the remote education provided by Kings?

Kings Academy uses Firefly as their virtual learning platform, allowing a range of lessons to be set and resources shared with students.

All live lessons will be delivered using Microsoft Teams.

For many subjects, the instructions and lesson guidance placed on Firefly provides links to secondary resources/ learning platforms.

All students will be provided with a home-learning exercise book.

Where appropriate, some subjects will have paper-based resources to complement their online provision. Where this is the case, all materials will be posted home. Unless otherwise indicated by the instruction given, all work should be completed in the students' home-learning exercise book. If your child requires a new home-learning exercise book, please email the school office (office@kowessex.co.uk)

How will my child be taught remotely?

Live lessons are delivered via Microsoft Teams with staff continuing to recap on prior knowledge, explore new ideas and concepts and then assess understanding. Remote lessons are set on Firefly. These tasks may take a variety of forms including:

• Presentations for students to view and complete embedded tasks
• Worksheets for completion and submission where appropriate
• Pre-recorded lessons or directions on how to complete tasks
• Assessment tasks requiring marking and feedback
• Literacy tasks
• Online quizzes

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will Kings support them?

We recognise some students will not have suitable online access at home. We will take the following actions to support these pupils with their remote education:

• Parents/carers who are experiencing difficulties accessing the online curriculum, or do not have the necessary devices, can email the school office (office@kowessex.co.uk) or telephone the school office (01934 742608) to advise us of their current situation
• All students will be contacted by their Tutor or a member of the Pastoral Team so they can discuss any difficulties they are having accessing remote education
• Paper based/ hard copies of work will be distributed where necessary

Engagement and Feedback

What is Kings' expectation in terms of engagement and support from parents and carers?

In order to allow parents and carers to support their students' remote education, teachers will schedule live lessons the day before in the Microsoft Teams calendar. Work set on Firefly will be posted by 9.00am on the relevant day.

To facilitate your child to perform to the best of their ability, please consider the following.

Your child is:

• encouraged to establish a daily routine and complete their work, if possible, in a quiet well-lit space away from distractions
• expected to have the following equipment available to them; pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, calculator and pencil sharpener
• expected to fully engage with their remote education, attending live lessons and completing the tasks set by their teachers to the best of their ability
• expected to attend tutor sessions each morning at the beginning of the school day as part of the Academy's welfare provision

Parents and carers can contact their child's Tutor or member of the Pastoral Team to discuss any issues with engagement or welfare. They can also email the school office (office@kowessex.co.uk) and their correspondence will be passed onto the relevant member of staff. Students can also contact their subject teachers via email to discuss any issues with the work set.

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

Attendance is recorded and will be taken for all live lessons. Students who fail to attend will be contacted by a member of the Academy's Pastoral Team. Their engagement will then be monitored, and further contact made if engagement fails to improve. If there are any concerns with individual subjects, contact will be made home.

Parents and carers are able to track, via Firefly, the work which has been set for their child and the tasks which have been completed. Parents and carers may also wish to monitor their child's home- learning book.

How will Kings assess my child's work and progress?

Students will submit assessment/independent learning tasks on a regular basis so that teachers can monitor the standard of work completed and give feedback where appropriate.

Formative feedback will be given to students so that errors or misconceptions can be addressed, and improvements can be made. Summative assessment tasks will continue to take place which may result in providing students with grades or scores. Many subjects may still use designated improvement time within lessons giving students the opportunity to reflect upon and improve their work.

Additional Support for Pupils with Particular Needs

How will Kings work with me to help my child, who needs additional support from adults at home, to access remote education?

Students requiring recognised support with their learning will be invited to attend school throughout any period of national lockdown.

In the event of a full or part closure of a bubble, affected students who have a specific need will be supported with clear differentiated tasks and resources. During this period of time increased contact will be made by the Pastoral and Learning Support Team.

Parents and carers can contact their child's Tutor or a member of the Pastoral Team to discuss any issues with engagement or welfare. They can also email the school office (office@kowessex.co.uk) and their correspondence will be passed onto the relevant member of staff. Students can also contact their subject teachers via email to discuss any issues with the work set.

For general guidance on using Firefly see @Parents/Firefly&ParentsEvenings