2^nd October 2020

 

Dear Parents

Friday 16^th October

You will be aware that there has been consideration given to a ‘circuit breaker’ as a preventative measure to combat the second wave of Covid 19 infections. 

This letter outlines the processes for how we will ensure that our learners can access a high-quality education should they be required to work remotely. It also details the procedure if a student is required to self-isolate.

To provide staff with appropriate training to be able to offer students online learning there will be an Inset Day on Friday 16^th October.  Students will, therefore, not be required to attend school on this day, and will be set work on ShowMyHomework (SMHW) that they will need to complete on the day. 

The following paragraphs outline how students can access their education through a number of scenarios. We will also be producing a video outlining these plans that will be posted to our website.

If a student is self-isolating:

• Parents should inform the attendance line as normal
• Students should check SMHW each day for classwork and homework
• Additional work will be set for English and maths

If there is a partial or full closure:

• Students should log into Teams each day. Attendance will be monitored throughout the day
• Lessons will take place in normal classes with their usual teachers
• The lesson timings will be adjusted slightly
• Classwork will be uploaded to SMHW
• Students will be provided feedback following the academy Marking and Feedback Policy

Self-Isolation

Students may have to self-isolate for a number of reasons. Whilst it is essential they self-isolate if they become unwell with COVID-19 themselves, they may have to self-isolate if someone they have been in contact with tests positive despite them showing no symptoms themselves.

In order to provide learning to our self-isolating students:

• Teachers will set their classwork via (SMHW) for students to access. Students can access SMHW using their normal school logins. Parents can access SMHW without logging in using the link below then filtering to find the right year/class

https://thebishopofwinchester.showmyhomework.com/

• Homework will continue to be set using SMHW
• In order to fill any delays in work being set, English and maths will set additional work in the form of reading and Hegarty Maths activities

By streamlining the distribution of work via SMHW, parents will no longer be sent multiple emails from each of their child’s teacher.

Remote Teaching

In the event of either a partial or full closure, our teaching will transition online via the use of Microsoft Teams. Teams is free software that can either be downloaded (to a computer or smartphone/tablet) or accessed online at https://teams.office.com. Students can then log in using their normal school login, and access their lessons via the Teams tab on the left.

We will be producing a student guide video to help students access their lessons. This video will be posted to the website when produced.

These online lessons will, as much as possible, be taught by your child’s usual teacher, and follow the curriculum map that we have crafted for your child’s studies. These two things are vital to ensuring that your child continues to have access to a high-quality provision.

In order to ensure these lessons start and end purposefully, if we have to transition to online teaching we will also transition to the lesson timings outlined below. This allows for time for staff to set up lessons, and students to join, without losing learning time.

Monday – Thursday			Friday
Mentor	8:30-8:55		Mentor	n/a
Period 1	9:00-10:00		Period 1	8:30 – 9:25
Period 2	10:05 – 11.05		Period 2	9:30-10:25
Period 3	11:25-12:25		Period 3	10:30 – 11:25
Period 4	12:30-13:30		Period 4	12:05 – 13:00
Period 5	13:55-14:55		Period 5	13:05 – 14:00
Period 6	15:00-16:00

For these lessons, students should ensure their webcams are off and microphones are muted. Teachers will be using the message box and digital forms to gather feedback from the class during the lesson.

Regardless of the challenges we encounter in the future, we will ensure that we continue to provide a high-quality education. We hope that this letter has helped you feel more prepared and informed of what to do in the case of self-isolation or remote teaching.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes

Paul Mc