Remote Learning
Tomlinscote Remote Learning Provision
Our blended approach is as follows:
1. Live teaching clinics - Students join virtual classrooms during their normal scheduled lesson time. These sessions take place using Microsoft Teams with student cameras switched on. Students will be expected to have headphones ready to use for such clinics. The sessions last between 10 and 45 minutes for each individual lesson. All live ‘teaching clinic’ content will be recorded. Students will be able to talk to teachers verbally through Teams and also post written questions on the lesson chat. Students will be informed in Google Classroom if they have a live teaching clinic and they MUST attend.
2. Video recorded “Screencastify” or screen recording resources - These are an important tool for teachers and students. These videos can be played back by students to assist understanding and their learning. Students must upload their work on Google Classroom at the end of the lesson.
3. Resources uploaded to Google Classroom - This approach is widely understood by students and they must upload their work on Google Classroom at the end of the lesson. We have asked staff to utilise a mixture of these teaching strategies throughout the week. We sent a remote learning protocols letter to everyone a few weeks ago but here are a few key reminders:
- All students must touch base with their form tutor on Google Classroom before 8.55am. We must have ALL students ready for learning and ready to follow the school structure. We need your help to ensure this happens.
- All students must follow their normal timetable throughout the day. Starting next week, we are going to stop each lesson 5-10 minutes early, so that students get a brief break and a breather between lessons.
- All Year 7, 8 and 10 PSHE lessons will stop for the next few weeks so that students have a ‘Well-being’ time instead. We are asking students to have a break from work and from any screen - make a cup of tea, walk the dog, go for a run etc. Years 9 and 11 currently do not have a PSHE lesson.
- All students must upload work that has been requested by the teacher onto Google Classroom or where directed by their teacher. This is important because the teacher will use these tools to monitor all work completed.
4. Monitoring engagement:
- We will let you know if your child is not making contact with their tutor.
- We will let you know if your child is not completing the work and if they produce poor quality work.
We will inform you each week if the above is the case. This is purely to let you know what is happening and to provoke a discussion at home. There may be circumstances where work is handed in late or after the point of checking and therefore please take this into account when you receive a letter. We also appreciate that there are many external circumstances that may lead to problems with work completion. We request that you try to avoid emailing individual teachers regarding details of missing or incomplete learning. As we are sure you can appreciate, we need our teaching staff to focus their time on planning high quality remote learning and they would have already sent details to the student in Google Classroom. If you do not receive any contact then your child is doing really well with remote learning and is on track.