Remote Learning  at The Dean Academy  

The information shared on this page is designed to support parents and students to navigate the remote learning offer at The Dean Academy. More  in depth  detail has been provided to parents via letters home and videos on the school website, and to KS3 students via training in IT lessons prior to school closures and KS4 students via online videos.    

If you have any questions at all which are not answered below, please contact  info@thedeanacademy.org  and a member of SLT will be in touch as soon as possible.    

What is taught to students at home?  

Students will follow their normal timetable  in order to  access their full curriculum in line with what their lessons would have been if they were in school. Our curriculum will remain broad and  balanced,  however it is accessed.    

Whilst lessons continue, there may be some necessary adjustments made to existing curriculum in more practical subjects, such as PE, Art, Technology and Music. We thank you for your support and patience with this.    

What should my child expect from remote education?  

All students deserve to continue their education, despite the national lockdown and we will work hard to ensure that no student is left without work to do. Students will be able to log into Microsoft Teams and access live lessons from Tuesday 6th  January 2021. Some staff may also choose to  direct students within a lesson to  use other learning platforms, such as  hegartymaths.com or  senecalearning.com  

Throughout all live lessons, students will have access to teachers and Learning Coaches for support and guidance, whether they are working from home or accessing our on-site provision.    

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

Following student,  staff  and parent surveys, we have taken the decision to shorten lessons to 50 minutes, in order to build in time away from screens for all concerned. These periods of time may not all be “on-screen” as independent working tasks may well be set, with staff always on hand via the chat function or break-out rooms to offer support.    

Students will also be set “screen free challenges” on a weekly basis, including those sent from the Senior Student team as well as staff in school.    

Students  will   use  the rest of the time in the school day to  attend tutor time,  revise, engage in wellbeing activities and  speak to staff member when necessary.    

Lesson timings will now be as follows:  

No homework will be set during this time, again to allow students to move away from screens.  

Core PE lessons will not be taught  live, but  will involve a weekly challenge being set. Please take this opportunity to spend time outside, exercising as a family if possible.  

There will be no Period 6 or Victory Hour sessions for Year 11, although there will be a voluntary  drop in  session on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons from 3.15 — 4.00pm run by SLT to support students in Year 11 with applications for further education.  

If my child does not have access to online devices at home, how will you support us?  

In the first instance, where homes have insufficient or no internet access, we can provide  internet codes to enable mobile phones and other devices to become wi-fi hotspots. We are also able to loan  a number of  laptops to those who require them. If we are unable to rectify a problem because of internet issues, then a child without internet or device access  is able to  attend our on-site provision in line with government guidance. For any support with access issues, please contact  info@thedeanacademy.org  for a conversation around school places or use the IT Support function on the school website.  

What are the expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents / carers should provide?  

We expect every student to engage in lessons as they would in the classroom and our staff will be regularly checking understanding in the same manner. This could take the form of online quizzes, marking assignments or other in class engagement. All student  cameras are switched off and students are expected to join lessons with their microphone on mute, although there may be opportunities throughout the lesson to respond to questioning verbally as well as through meeting chat. All lessons are recorded so we can maintain  safeguarding  expectations but also so students can watch any lessons that are missed or revisit work for revision.  

We ask that you support your child by creating a quiet place for them to work wherever possible at home and regularly check on their engagement throughout the day if possible.    

We will be checking in with students during on-line lessons to ensure we have a good overview of their understanding and engagement. If there are any  concerns  we will ensure we are in contact with you as parents and  carers  by telephone.  

How will my child’s work be assessed?  

Your child will be asked to submit one piece of work per fortnight as a minimum in their core subjects (English,  Maths  and Science) which will be marked and to which they will receive written feedback. In subjects where they are taught less frequently, they will be asked to submit a minimum of two pieces of work per half term which will be  marked  and  written feedback provided. This is our minimum offer across the school; you may find students in Key Stage Four are asked to submit more in some subjects.  

How will you work with me to support my child who needs additional support at home to access remote learning?  

We recognize that some students may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home, and that this may place additional difficulties on families. Our Learning Coaches and members of the SEND faculty will work closely with families to support these students and will be in contact at least once a week. Please let us know if your child is experiencing difficulties such as these and we will work with you to find solutions.  

Any student who accesses additional interventions will be contacted and informed if these interventions will continue to run via Microsoft Teams. We are hopeful that  the vast majority of  interventions which are not voluntary or run at lunchtime can continue and will be run as a live lesson, as if they were happening in school.  

How can I  recognise  the work my child is doing at home?  

While staff will continue to use positive points to acknowledge hard work and progress, it is also important that students feel their efforts are being  reconised  at home. For this reason, we have added two buttons on Class Charts, which parents and carers can use to award positive points. You can access this via the  MyEd  app.  

How will my child engage with work if they are accessing on  site provision?  

All students on site for any reason will continue to access their online lessons along with their peers. They will work in the school’s computer rooms and engage with the same lessons from their classroom teachers. Some may also complete interventions with Learning Coaches, as they would if the school was operating on site.  If your child has a PE lesson, they need to wear their warm PE kit as staff are running these lessons in school and engagement is expected.    

How will my child’s work be recognised in school?  

We send out regular updates to parents and carers of those on site, either via email or through the Head Teacher’s bulletin. Staff are on hand to award positive points for effort, as well as their teachers in lessons for their contributions and work submitted.