7th January

Dear Parent/Carer

Remote Learning Plan

Whilst we are disappointed that schools have had to close, we are now committed to delivering remote learning that allows students to engage with ambitious, well sequenced and versatile lessons, in line with the curriculum. We understand that a variety of approaches to remote learning best suits the broad curriculum we offer.

Assignments – Teachers will set assignments in Microsoft Teams. These will have a due date by which they need to be completed. Assignments will consist of clear instructions outlining what the student should do. This may provide a link to an external resource (see below) or ask the pupil to produce a piece of work and upload it via the +Add Work function in every assignment (see the school website for further details).

Microsoft Streams – These are videos (max 15 min) produced by the teachers that may be part/support an assignment or be part of a live lesson.

Live Lessons – Teachers may calendar lessons for students to access ‘Live’. Staff will deliver the lesson content and students will have the opportunity to interact, ask questions and receive feedback through the ‘chat’ feature within the video call. Live lessons will appear as a meeting request on a student’s subject team, on the main ‘Posts’ page.

Pre-Recorded Lessons – Teacher may use pre-recorded lessons, allowing students to pause the video to complete tasks, rewind to recap or check their understanding and work at a pace that suits them. Students will be able to ask questions on the ‘Posts’ page underneath the pre-recorded lesson and your child’s teacher will be available to answer questions during the lesson slot.

External Resources – Throughout the first national lockdown, a wide range of lessons, resources and videos were created by a number of organisations such as Oak National Academy and BBC Bitesize. Other external platforms, such as Seneca Learning and Hegarty Maths, are already well embedded within our school home learning curriculum. These platforms may be used as lessons for your child or to supplement assignments, streams, live or pre-recorded lessons. Your child’s teacher will be available to answer any questions during the lesson slot on the subject Teams page.

Lesson content will be delivered to students across each key stage and year group as follows:

Structuring the day

Students should follow their normal school timetable throughout the lockdown period. Your child’s teachers will be available to support with learning during their normal lesson times and the school day will run as follows for all year groups:

*LL = Live Lesson Times

Monitoring Engagement and Providing Support

During this remote learning period, we will be continuing to cover the same curriculum content that students would have accessed in school. It is therefore important that students actively engage in all of the lessons and upload/submit to receive feedback. We will be monitoring student engagement daily and we will be asking all students to complete a short Microsoft Form as part of each lesson.

Through the use of ClassCharts, parental contact will be made for any students who are not engaging with learning or students who are struggling to access all lessons, to look at any support that may be needed moving forward.

Communication

Microsoft Teams will be the key platform for setting work and all communication about lessons. All tasks and activities for students to complete will be shared through Teams. In addition to this, staff will regularly check their emails. If you do have any questions, then please contact Progress Leaders/Assistant Progress Leaders through the following email addresses:

Year 7 – jcaldwell@halewoodacademy.co.ukrmanley@halewoodacademy.co.uk

Year 8 – smurphy@halewoodacademy.co.ukmlemarrec@halewoodacademy.co.uk

Year 9 – jgray1@halewoodacademy.co.ukjanderson@halewoodacademy.co.uk

Year 10 – mirons@halewoodacademy.co.uknnewton@halewoodacademy.co.uk

Year 11 – vtraynor@halewoodacademy.co.ukjcourtney-ward@halewoodacademy.co.uk

Social media Platforms

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HalewoodAcademy/

Twitter - @halewoodacademy

Instagram – Halewood_academy

We will continue to review our remote learning offering regularly so that we can best support students in engaging with lessons and making progress. Any updates will be shared through social media platforms, our school website and Classcharts.

Electronic Devices

We have provided lots of laptops to students who are in need of devices at home.If your son/daughter is in need of some support, please do not hesitate to get in touch with their Progress Leader/Assistant Progress Leader.If your son/daughter has a console (PS/XBOX) they should be able to access remote learning via this.

Children of critical workers and vulnerable children

May I remind you that following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4 January 2021, only children of critical workers and vulnerable children and young people should attend school or college. All other pupils and students will receive remote education.Parents whose work is critical to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU transition response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined on the government website. Children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can go to school or college if required. Where possible, and for the safety of your child/children and staff, parents and carers should keep their children at home if they can.

Parents/carers of Year 11

In the newsletter back in October, I wrote to you regarding the 2021 examination series, informing you of the extended curriculum for Year 11 consisting of sessions taking place after-school, on Saturdays and during the holidays. I asked you to encourage your son/daughter to attend as many of these sessions as possible, as this would consolidate their learning, bridge any gaps and build evidence of their current working level as they prepare for their 2021 summer examinations. I also stated that I would like us to be ready as a school if we did happen to go into another lockdown, this would allow us to continue to support son/daughters progress. Now that we are in lockdown, it is imperative that you encourage your son/daughter to engage in the remote provision we have in place, as this will be used as part of the evidence to fairly grade your son/daughter.

Year 11 students

I understand you must feel frustrated by the whole situation, upset you will not have an opportunity to sit your examinations and possibly, let down by the decisions which have been made for YOU.Please do not lose faith in education, momentum in your studies, and become disengaged with school. YOUR teachers are here to teach you.We are here to support you academically and emotionally.Engage in the remote learning provision we have put in place for you.Your parents/carers/teachers can only support you in this process.This will help you to gather evidence to inform your overall grades. Please remember - “You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety.” Abraham Maslow

Thank you for your continued support and understanding during this time.

Yours sincerely

Ms J Gallagher

Interim Principal