Remote Learning at SGS & Catch-Up Premium Information

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 help in getting started on Teams please please see guide below:

Getting Started on Teams

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

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?

On the first day of your child being sent home you should receive an email outlining the school’s remote learning provision and the expectations that we have of students’ engagement and behaviour.

The first lesson scheduled should be ‘live’ online where the teacher can set out the plan for learning over the next fortnight of lessons.  Information about which will require online attendance and which will not.

There will be an opportunity to liaise with your child’s Head of Year to establish any IT needs to enable remote online learning.  The IT service department will be available to remedy any issues with logins and permissions.

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.

Practical and performance subjects will have rearranged their curriculum topics to address more theoretical aspects while online (they will hope to address the practical aspects on return to school).  Science will have changed some delivery that may have included practical experiments to demonstrations or videos. General PE lessons are an opportunity to discuss and encourage participation in the fitness challenges set.

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 mirror the school day.  Students follow the same timetable as a school day and should receive homework commensurate with their Key Stage of study.

Accessing remote education

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

The platform that we are using to provide our online interaction is Microsoft Teams, the students and staff have an integrated account through the school.

We are also using Show My Homework (Satchel One) as a means to set tasks and communicate with students.

The school has also created premium accounts for students in Seneca Learning.

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:

If students do not have the IT equipment to access the remote learning the school is loaning Chromebooks for student use.

If you require the loan of a Chromebook you should contact your Head of Year to arrange this.

If there are computer issues related to access you should contact IT support : it@suttongrammar.sutton.sch.uk

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

Live teaching (online lessons)

Recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)

Textbooks and reading books pupils have at home

Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

Resources shared electronically (worksheets, scanned material etc.)

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?

Students are asked to ‘attend’ registration at 8:30am.

As a school we have the same high expectations of student behaviour, engagement and completion of work during remote learning as we have at any other time. We have uploaded onto SMHK the school’s expectations for student behaviour online for your reference. We expect students to adhere to these at all times. We would ask that you reinforce and support such expectations at home.

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

Class teachers will monitor student engagement and may contact your child or you if there are issues.  Class teachers will report issues to their Head of Department and in turn these will go to Heads of Year. If there are issues with more than one subject the Pastoral Team will be in contact with you by email or by phone.

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:

Teachers will monitor work and feedback to students in ‘live’ lessons much as they would in school. There will be questioning, short tasks, use of digital whiteboards, use of the chat function and many other checks of understanding.

Online platforms, such as Seneca, offer computer marking to student responses that can be monitored by teachers.

Homework and other tasks can be set and submitted via Show My Homework and teachers will post feedback in response.

As we are closely following our normal curriculum, we intend that our assessment and feedback will follow its normal pattern where practicable.

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:

We have contacted all of those students who are on our SEND registers to ascertain the support they need.

The SEND Team are monitoring and supporting those that require support remotely.  If a student is better served by being on site then there is the opportunity to attend the school site to receive support from the SEND Team.

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?

On the morning of the day of the lesson the student would have attended, work is set by Show My Homework. This should include work set (classwork and homework), PPTs and/or other resources used. Where appropriate alternative sources of explanation should be provided or referenced (videos, articles etc.). Marking and feedback from any work should be shared, by SMHW, with the same regularity as the class in school are receiving.

Alternatively, the lesson is ‘broadcast’ through Teams so that students who are self-isolating can watch live.  Marking and feedback from any work should be shared, by SMHW, with the same regularity as the class in school are receiving.