Virtual Learning: Remote Education Provision

Students should expect to study their full range of subjects online, via the school’s virtual learning environment, Google Classroom. Teachers will follow the normal curriculum, and adapt the learning tasks to fit the online context. Online learning will start each morning with AM registration at 9.50, and will continue until lunchtime at 13.00. Afternoon lessons will resume with period 4 at 13.30, followed by period 5 at 14.30. Online lessons will finish at 15.30, and there will be no PM registration.

The only exception is where there are Games lessons for students in Years 7-11: Games lessons will not be delivered virtually. Instead, students are encouraged to spend time on the year group Google Classroom pages, where there are daily articles posted to boost students' literacy, as well as a weekly assembly.

Lessons will finish 5 minutes before the scheduled end to allow students a short break between lessons.

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:

To help limit the amount of screen time, students in Years 7-11 will not be set any homework. As students in Years 12 and 13 have 'Study Support' built into their timetable, Sixth Form students should expect to be set an hour's independent work for every hour that students spend in online lessons - so approximately 6 hours in any one day.

All learning will take place via the school’s virtual learning environment, Google Classroom. If students are having problems with their Google password, they should contact Ms Hampton, via enquiries@lampton.org.uk  in the first instance.

Students should ensure that they are logged in and present on the relevant Google Classroom page, and then access the Google Meet via the link displayed at the top of the page. Teachers will be taking a register and attendance will be monitored. Where the teacher is unavailable to deliver the lesson via Google Meet (for example in case of illness), the teacher (or relevant Subject Leader) will let students know via the Google Classroom page. The teacher will also set work in lieu of an online lesson.

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:

During the autumn term we surveyed students to find out how far students were able to access remote education at home. As a result, we have loaned many students laptops and Internet dongles.

However, we are aware that there may still be difficulties accessing remote education, especially where there are multiple siblings expected to be online simultaneously. If your child, or one of your children, will not be able to access online learning, please email enquiries@lampton.org.uk for the attention of Ms Kapila, and we will discuss your options to enable your child to get online. 

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

Lessons will be taught remotely via live online lessons.  Students should access the relevant Google Classroom page, and click on the Google Meet link to join the live lesson. Teachers will be present online at the start of the lesson, to present new information to students and to setup a guided or independent learning activity. This section of the lesson may take 10-20 minutes. During this time, students should be logged on, listening and engaging with any discussion points – students may be asked to contribute either via the microphone or comments.

Teachers will then set an independent learning activity, to enable students to develop their knowledge and understanding of new information, apply this knowledge to new situations, or to analyse and evaluate arguments. Teachers will remain online and available to support students with these tasks via Google Classroom – students should use the comment function to access support from teachers.

Teachers will then set a task with some form of submission by the end of the lesson. This may be using the Classwork tab on Google Classroom, for example to complete a piece of extended writing, or it may be to complete a quiz via Google Forms, so that students gain immediate feedback on their progress. It may also take the form of engaging with a test or activity on another website, such as Ezy Science, Hegarty Maths, or GCSEPod.

During this independent learning phase of the lesson, the teacher will remain on the Google Meet, so that students can ask questions where they are uncertain about any aspect of the task.

Depending on the nature of the subject and learning activity, teachers may also require students to reconvene at a designated time on the Google Meet for a plenary - where there is a further opportunity for students to check and consolidate their knowledge and understanding, or check their progress in subject skills or communication.

Our expectation is that every student should be online for every lesson. Teachers will be covering our normal curriculum - so in other words, introducing new knowledge and helping students to develop understanding, ensuring that students make progress in their subject skills and that students can communicate this effectively. Students are working to the same standard as they would in the classroom, but the mode of delivery has been changed to better suit the online environment.

 As parents and carers, you can support your child by making sure that they are ready to learn each day and present for registration at 9.50.

Please ensure that as far as possible, your child has a suitable learning environment. If there are problems accessing online resources, or your child is ill and therefore unable to access online lessons, please contact the school’s attendance staff as you normally would.

We will be taking a register for registration, and for all other lessons. Teachers will take the register within the first 5 minutes of the session. If students are not present for their lessons, a text message will be sent home to advise parents. Subject teachers may also contact parents and carers by telephone where they have concerns about work completion.

Teachers will also be monitoring where students are not completing their work during the set timeframe. So for example if students are in p.1 and are set a task to complete within 30 minutes and students fails to submit their work, or if the work is far below the expected standard, teachers will record this. Heads of Years will be monitoring work completion, and parents will be contacted where this tracking highlights that there may be issues with students not studying online. 

Teachers will be assessing students' progress both throughout the lesson, and over a series of lessons. 

During lessons, teachers will assess student learning by asking targeted questions of students, or using polls and such features to check understanding. Teachers will also gain an insight into what students are finding difficult from their interaction with students via the independent activity part of the lesson, and during the plenary. Teachers will use this insight to adapt their lesson accordingly, or to inform the next lesson.

Over the course of the half term, teachers will give formative individual feedback on a written task at least once. Students will then be expected to respond to this feedback, for example by redrafting part of an essay.

Teachers will not be setting summative assessments (where the purpose is to grade work) as when the school is operating remotely, it is impossible to regulate the conditions in which students take such tests and exams. For the avoidance of doubt, student work completion during the period of virtual learning will not be used to determine any centre assessed grades (CAGs)  for Years 11 and 13. However, as students will typically be learning 'new' content during virtual lessons, if students do not engage in virtual learning, it is likely that their performance in subsequent tests and examinations will be hindered.

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. Students with EHCPs can continue to come to school, and access support in their lessons in the Study Hub in the library. Learning support staff will be on hand to support students with engaging with the online lesson and completing work.

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.

Where this is the case, teachers will share lesson resources via the Stream on Google Classroom. Students should follow their usual timetable, and complete the work to the best of their ability. Depending on IT access, some teachers may also be able to livestream the lesson via Google Meet, with the link shared on the relevant Google Classroom page.