Remote Education and Catch Up Funding
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 where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts to remain at home. It is statutory for schools from 25 January 2021 to provide this on their website, however, we recognise that parents or carers and students will prefer to reference our remote education through our letters and resources section of the website.
For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.
Vision
We are committed to ensuring, wherever possible and reasonable, continuity in the education of our students. We recognise that there may be occasions where extraordinary circumstances (such as the Covid-19 pandemic) dictate the closure of the school site for a period of time, with all students required to stay at home.
We want our students, families and staff to be able to rise to the challenge and manage the demands of remote learning, whilst maintaining a good continuity of education, whilst ensuring that all members of the community remain safe.
The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
A student’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. As we have demonstrated previously, we will regularly review different periods of remote learning and refine this based on the feedback from all of our stakeholders.
What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?
Students will be able to continue to access the normal school curriculum through their designated Google Classroom for their full timetable, all lessons are provided on the Google Classroom in advance with full resources as part of our normal offer.
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, some of the practical elements of lessons such as whole class practical’s in Science will not be possible but will try to be replaced with demonstrations).
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 (This may be averaged over a week for our whole curriculum):
Key stage 3 & 4 – five hours each day
Key stage 5 – 7 hours per subject per week
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
As a Google Worldwide Reference School, all of the remote education is accessed through G-Suite for Education, through Google Meet and Google Classroom.
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
As part of the school’s digital strategy, we have worked hard to ensure that all families have a form of access. If even in a temporary situation or your personal circumstances changes then please contact us support@dhsb.org and we will do whatever we can to solve each personal situation.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
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Students will access all of their normal curriculum offer through G-Suite for Education – for example Google Meet and Google Classroom. All lessons will be live through Google Meet and additional resources/learning provided through their individual Google Classrooms.
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?
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All students when engaging in remote learning must follow their normal school timetable from home. Attendance online through Google Meet will be compulsory each lesson. The class teacher will deliver the lesson online remotely and will be available to provide instruction and support.
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We would ask that parents ensure that there is a suitable space for remote learning to take place at home and that all students get back into the routine of the school day.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
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Engagement will be checked each hour of remote learning.
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Any concerns will be logged for a lack of attendance or a lack of engagement, this will be reported daily to parents through our behavior and attendance reporting through ClassCharts.
How will you assess my child’s work and progress?
There are a variety of ways within each lesson and each week where teachers will assess students work. These will follow where possible their normal school-based routines and
approaches.
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 provide personalised additional support to all students who may struggle with remote education, please do contact your child’s tutor for more support or our family support advisor. For students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) please do contact Jo Weaver our SENDCO for any additional support when needed.
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?
Students will be able to continue to access the normal school curriculum through their designated Google Classroom for their full timetable, all lessons are provided on the Google Classroom in advance with full resources as part of our normal offer.
Catch Up Funding Summary
At DHSB we received catch up funding for the Covid lockdown and have the ability to support various interventions across the school in order to support our students:
Our allocated funding = £72K based on £80 per student in Years 7-11 (see breakdown below)
We have now been allocated a further £22K based on the DfE and Government calculations to support the students at the school.
We can direct this funding as appropriate with accountability. We decided on a strategy to spend this over three years so every student who has been affected by the pandemic will be supported. This range of support will differ depending on individual circumstances and needs.
The first focus of the spending is to equip departments with the resources they need to bridge any gaps in learning. This funding support strand has the widest impact on effective teaching and learning with targeted support for all year groups across the entire school.
The second strand focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of our students. We have seen from the PP funding that spending on counsellors and support workers has had a positive impact on closing the gap. It makes sense to target some money to increase support where necessary.
Finally the third strand of this funding is to support extra teaching support (bespoke groups / individuals) this also includes buying in tutoring from the national tutoring scheme if needed. This is to support specific individuals who may have the widest gaps in their learning.
Over the three years this will be reviewed to make sure the funding has been directed to have the biggest impact on closing any gaps students have within their learning.