Alderman Peel

High School

Remote Education

Remote Education provision: Information for parents/carers

The information on this page is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents/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. 

Please contact Mr Hardman (Vice Principal) on mhardman7hr5@nsix.org.uk if you have any questions about Remote Education.

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. Work will be immediately available using 'Century Learning' for all students to access.

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

  • English, Maths and Science work will be immediately available on 'Century Learning' for all students to access.
  • GCSE revision material will be immediately available via 'GCSE Pod' for all GCSE subjects for students in Years 10 and 11.
  • Work in all subjects will then follow after a short period of planning and preparation.
  • All work will be communicated to students using ClassCharts.

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 will continue to teach the same ambitious curriculum across the full breadth of subjects. 
  • In the case of some practical subjects, such as PE, Drama and Music - or those which require specialist equipment, such as Design Technology, Science and Art - alternative theory work or modified work may be set.
  • Work will be provided for students according to their normal timetable for that day.
  • We aim to provide work equalling the same length of time that is allocated to each subject across the normal curriculum.

Remote Teaching and Study Time 

How much time should by child spend completing remote learning each day?

  • Students across all year groups (7 to 11) will have work set which should last 5 hours per day.
  • Year 10 and 11 students should also dedicate some additional time to ongoing revision as normal. 
  • If you find that your child is spending considerably less time working than this each day, please ensure that they have checked 'ClassCharts' for all set tasks and that they have completed work to a good standard.
  • If have any concerns about the amount of time that your child is spending working, please contact the relevant member of staff using the communication guide or the staff email address on each subject pages.

Accessing Remote Education

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

  • All work will be set via ClassCharts.
  • 'ClassCharts' can be accessed via the student app and/or parent app, but also via the ClassCharts web page.
  • Full instructions of where to access work (e.g. Google Classroom) for each subject/lesson each day.
  • 'ClassCharts' login codes for parents and students have been published as a report in the SIMS Parent App
  • if you still require support accessing ClassCharts please contact datamanager@aldermanpeel.norfolk.sch.uk
  • A full list of Google Classroom logins can also be found at the bottom of this page. 

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:

  • We have provided school laptops to all families who did not have access to a laptop/PC at home.
  • We have provided school laptops to some families who only have one shared laptop between all members of the family.
  • We have provided wireless Wifi dongles to families without Internet.
  • We have provided 4G sim cards to families with limited data.
  • Where possible, we have prioritised the use of Google Docs or PDF resources which do not require MicroSoft Office to open.
  • Work set by teachers should not require printing at home. However, we can provide printed versions of work upon request.
  • If you have an Xbox or Playstation, many aspects of our remote curriculum can be accessed using these devices. Please see the guidance document below. While the controller can act as a mouse, if you require a keyboard please contact us. 
  • If you feel that you can require any of the above, please contact Mr Tawana (Assistant Principal) at btawana8nrg@nsix.org.uk

How will my child be taught remotely?

During the Autumn term, we surveyed all parents to identify any ICT and Internet barriers in each family home in the event of further lockdown situations. The main findings of this survey were:

  • Only 26% (approximately 1 in 4) students have their own laptop/PC.
  • The vast majority of students share laptops/PCs at home with siblings and parents.
  • 10% (approximately 1 in 10) had no access to a laptop/PC at all.
  • While 99% of families have Internet installed, a large proportion of the Internet service is considered to be slow or unreliable.

Therefore, the use of extensive live lessons would be inaccessible to the majority of our students and further disadvantage those with the least access to ICT and Internet provision. We have therefore developed a Remote Learning strategy that includes:

  • Pre-recorded video: a pre-recorded lesson saved as a Loom video. This may also involve an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. You child can watch, pause, or re-visit this video at any point.
  • Pre-recorded audio: A lesson PowerPoint presentation with a teacher voice-over explaining the key concepts and setting independent tasks for students to complete. You child can watch, pause, or re-visit this video at any point.
  • High quality external video: some lessons may involve watching pre-recorded lessons from high-quality external providers such as Oak National Academy. You child can watch, pause, or re-visit this video at any point.
  • High quality learning platforms/apps: Such as GCSE Pod, Century Learning, PiXL Apps, MathsWatch, and Kerboodle. These platforms also provide instant feedback to students via automated marking. 
  • High quality external websites: these may be used to support teaching in some subjects (such as BBC Bitesize or subject-specialist websites).
  • Low-stakes testing: a quiz that your child must complete and submit to their teacher (or self-assess) to demonstrate their understanding. This may come in the form of a Google Form/Quiz, Quizlet or Cahoot.
  • Independent practice: in most lessons, your child will be required to complete work independently. This opportunity for practice is crucial for effective learning.
  • "Subject: Live" sessions: Regular sessions with the teacher of each subject to maintain positive relationships with your teacher and classmates; discuss whole class feedback and misconceptions; and provide students opportunities to ask questions.
  • Live Assemblies: These will be delivered in year groups to ensure ongoing education in wider societal issues and character education.

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 expected to log in to 'ClassCharts' to complete set work on every school day. 
  • Students should log in using their students account (via the student app or website) and parents can monitor the tasks they complete using the parent account (via the parent app or website)
  • We recommend that students try to follow their normal school timetable in order to maintain a sense of routine, however, our remote education approach this to be more flexible so that devices can be shared between famiy members as required.

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

  • We are able to monitor who has/has not logged into ClassCharts on a daily basis.
  • While students can mark work as "completed", it will only be considered complete once a teacher marks it as "submitted" in the ClassCharts submission system. Parents and students are then able to easily se which work has been recieved.
  • Achievement points will be awarded for each piece of work that has been "submitted" with further achievement points awarded for work which is of a high standard at each teachers discretion.
  • Where we have concerns about a lack of engagement, we will contact parents by phone and email. Please check your emails or the SIMS parent app regularly for updates.
  • Tutors will also be making regular video contact with the parents of their tutees using our  virtual parents evening system.

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:

  • Written comments attached to sections of students work, for example on Google Docs.
  • Emailed feedback to students.
  • Voicenotes and audio recordings of feedback on students work online
  • Recorded videos to a whole class or individual
  • Achievement points and praise
  • Students may be asked to self-mark work again clear marking criteria.

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/carers to support those pupils in the following ways:

  • Setting work of an appropriate level of challenge for students. Where possible this may also include ways to make the work easier or harder.
  • Making use of online dictionaries to help students understand unfamiliar words
  • Promote the use of online reading and writing software for students who usually receive this type of support
  • Promoting the use of coloured screen filters and accessibility features to make text appear larger for those who need it.
  • Prioritise the use of video and audio recordings where possible to help explain difficult concepts.

Every young person with SEND is different so here are some very general suggestions that may help:

  1. Agree a timetable or plan for the day.  Talk openly about what feels manageable. Plan the breaks and the nice things you can do when the work is done. 
  2. Have a well organised and calm, quiet space to work in that is away from distraction wherever possible.  
  3. Tackle one task at a time and help your child by breaking down the instructions as much as possible. Speak slowly and give them take up time (this is where knowing your young person best can help). For more complex pieces of work -it may be helpful to write a really simple TASK LIST down. You may need to suggest timings or agree them together. Again -visuals can really help. Some students find countdown clocks/ apps useful, but they can make other students anxious. 
  4. Work out a way in which you will check they understand. Give them plenty of processing time. Some students will be confident to say that they find it hard.  Others may need constant checking. Again, keep it visual, thumbs up/ down etc but encourage them to have a good go at the task before they ask for help.  This is something we encourage a lot in school with up to thirty students in the class so they will be used to it!
  5. Praise them when they make a good attempt at the work
  6. Make use of any brothers and sisters (especially older siblings) to give support and advice

If your child has additional needs and you do not feel able to support them in their learning at home, please contact Mrs Norman (SENDCo) at knorman5yrt@nsix.org.uk to discuss this further. 

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?

  • All work is set in the same way as described above and all students should check ClassCharts daily.
  • Work is more likely to be set as an 'announcement' in ClassCharts rather than a 'Homework' but will take the same form. Students should be sure to check both tabs on a daily basis.
  • In this scenario, teachers would also be teaching their normal classes "face to face", so there may be lesson opportunity to produce recorded video or recorded audio lessons. 
  • Work will be set for each lesson of that day, but may be posted slightly later than the start time of the timetabled lessons.
  • Where possible, the work set will be the same as the work completed by the rest of your child’s class.
  • If it is not possible to set the same work (for example, because specialist equipment is required, or because of safety concerns), an alternative meaningful task will be set for your child (for example, independent practice of already-learned knowledge and skills).
  • If a child is unwell, we would not expect them to undertake remote learning until they are well enough to do so. At which time, they should do their best to catch up but only do what is manageable. Please discuss this with us if you have any concerns

Please ensure you follow government regulations and guidance at all times.