Remote Learning Guidance

Providing Remote Education – Information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or 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 document.

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.

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

The school will continue to exploit its Google for Education environment to ensure continuity of provision for boys at the point at which they are sent home. Following the school closures during 2020, the school has established clear protocols and effective practices to enable a swift transition to an online remote learning environment. The school will maintain the existing timetable sequence of lessons and deliver live teaching as a component of almost all lessons. The roll out of our one-to-one device programme was accelerated in 2020 to support provision across Yr7 to Yr11 inclusive. Any students who are not able to access remote learning should contact the school at office@jhgs.bucks.sch.uk so that alternative arrangements of support can be offered.

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 teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. This may be to reorder the delivery of topics which would be more appropriate to teach when boys are in school, or which have a practical element that is not well suited to remote learning.

Remote teaching and study time each day

Our school timetable has been adjusted with lessons following the school timetable albeit with revised timings of the school day and lessons of 45minutes duration as follows to allow transition periods between lessons, and a reduction in screen time / rest breaks.

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take pupils approximately seven hours a day, made up of five hours of directed lesson time, and up to two hours homework in line with the published homework timetable for each form group. Boys in the Sixth Form can expect departments to set up to five hours per subject per week as directed learning in addition to time in lessons.

Accessing remote education

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

The school will utilise the G Suite environment. All lesson material and information will be published by teaching staff by 9am on the day of the lesson using Google Classroom, including links to live lessons delivered through Google Meet.

The school’s one-to-one device programme has been rolled out to all boys in KS3 and KS4. Any students who are not able to access remote learning should contact the school at office@jhgs.bucks.sch.uk so that alternative arrangements of support can be offered.

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.

- Where school device stock is available, we will loan a school owned device to any boy whose own device is damaged or otherwise unusable. Parents should contact the school at office@jhgs.bucks.sch.uk so that alternative arrangements can be made.

- In the event that access to learning is restricted or prevented by internet connection issues, the school is able to offer connectivity solutions including supplementary data and wifi dongles to ensure an internet connection. Parents should contact the school at office@jhgs.bucks.sch.uk so that alternative arrangements can be made.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

- live teaching (online lessons) via Google Meet will be our primary teaching and learning approach

- printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets), these will be provided in a digital format wherever possible to minimise the need for printing

- textbooks and reading books pupils have at home, including study guides where issued

- commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

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?

All boys are expected to attend online lessons. Parents should continue to report absence due to illness, appointment or any other valid reason to the attendance team either by leaving a phone message on the attendance line (01494 529589), or email to attendance@jhgs.bucks.sch.uk. If a boy is unable to access online lessons due to ongoing technical issues, we would request that parents report this to the main school office so that staff can be made aware, and support offered where possible.

Aside from the physical presence in school, a significant difference in home learning is the structure and environment of the school day. The revised school day outlined above and scheduled live streamed lessons will help to maintain a daily routine. However, it is important that a suitable learning environment is maintained.

The school issued guidance for effective home learning is available here.

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

Boys will be contacted in the first instance on the first two occasions that a subject lesson is missed and asked to account for their absence. On the third occasion the school will contact parents directly regarding absence.

The school will highlight missed work in Google Classroom. All parents have been invited to receive Google Classroom email summaries for their son(s) which will show any missed work clearly. Parents can support their child and the school by ensuring that these summaries are checked regularly to ensure that boys complete expected work.

If work is repeatedly not completed as expected, parents will be informed by email or telephone.

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.

The tools available in Google Classroom allow staff to mark up and comment on submitted student work. This can be achieved both on digital document submissions (such as Google Docs or Slides files) or on uploaded photographs of handwritten work.

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 and carers to support those pupils.

The learning support department will continue to support students in their live lessons, as well as individually through the perspiration of materials and individual direct contact with students outside of lessons. The requirements of all children differ, and a bespoke approach will be established to best meet the needs of each boy.

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?

Any boys who are required to self-isolate will be invited to join his peers in school via a live stream provided by his teachers through Google Meet. Teachers will use their Google Classrooms to share key resources to enable those who are isolating to participate in the lesson and meet the learning objectives of the lesson.

Covid Catch Up Funding

JHGS has received funding from the Covid Catch-up fund and the 16-19 Tuition Fund to enable small group tuition for those students who need the most help to catch up with their studies. The Advanced Recovery Curriculum at JHGS is targeted at the students in each year group who have been identified by reference to their academic progress, pastoral concerns, and disadvantage, as defined by eligibility to Pupil Premium and 16-19 Bursary funding.