A specialist SEN school for secondary aged boys with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs

Information for parents between 5th – 10th July:

Due to the number of staff members self-isolating next week we have had to change the school timetable for one week. Your son will receive calendar invites direct to his email address for each lesson. Parents will also receive a telephone call/ text message if your son has not arrived to his timetabled lesson. A copy of the timetable can be downloaded below;

Temporary timetable for week beginning 5th July

 

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.

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 on the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

LWS will continue to remain open throughout for vulnerable students, where parents have identified that they would like to access site provision and attend school as normal.

For parents who have opted for their son to continue learning from home, or if a bubble is required due to Covid 19, high staff absence, or where a student is required to self isolate:

Students will continue to follow their usual timetable from home. Lessons will be conducted on the Google Classroom platform. At the beginning of every lesson, students will receive an email invite reminding them to attend their live lesson which will be held via Google Meet and a register will be taken at the start of every lesson.

Students without suitable IT access will be provided with an appropriate Chromebook and dongle to enable full access to the Google Classroom suite and interactive learning resources for live lessons.

Learning support assistants will support teachers by continuing to monitor attendance and engagement to online lessons throughout the week, following up with text messages and phone calls where students have not attended lessons.

Where a student’s specific learning needs identify that they would benefit from paper copies of work, and parents have notified the school that they do not have access to suitable printing facilities, the school will endeavour to deliver these on a weekly basis and monitor progress, providing that staffing capacity is available to support this.


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?

As LWS will continue to remain open throughout for vulnerable students, where parents have identified that they would like to access site provision and attend school as normal, students will be offered the same curriculum as they would ordinarily receive.

For parents who have opted for their son to continue learning from home, or if a bubble is required due to Covid 19, high staff absence, or where a student is required to self isolate:

Students will continue to follow their usual school timetable from home. Lessons will be conducted on the Google Classroom platform. At the beginning of every lesson, students will receive an email invite reminding them to attend their live lesson which will be held via Google Meet and a register will be taken at the start of every lesson.

Students without suitable IT access will be provided with an appropriate Chromebook and dongle to enable full access to the Google Classroom suite and interactive learning resources for live lessons.

Where a student’s specific learning needs identify that they would benefit paper copies of work, and parents have notified the school that they do not have access to suitable printing facilities, the school will endeavour to deliver these on a weekly basis and monitor progress, providing that staffing capacity is available to support this.

Having received feedback from parents expressing some degree of concern regarding the possibility of eye strain associated with spending time learning online, we have modified our timetable to include a ‘non screen catchup’ slot.

This will replace our existing PSHRE offer, enabling students to complete independent stretch and challenge tasks related to their tutor time, academic subjects and provide opportunities for practical work and exercise in Food and Nutrition and Physical Education.


Remote teaching and study time each day

As LWS continues to remain open throughout, the school will continue to offer the broad and balanced curriculum for all learners who are attending the site or working remotely through Google Classroom and Google Meet from home. This offer includes:

An hour a day of morning and afternoon including structured social activity, combining registration and assembly on a Friday each week, a total of 5 hours per week; and 5 x 50 minute subject lessons following the existing timetable, totalling no less than 19.2 hours per week.

As our online provision will directly replicate our on-site offer, your son should continue to follow his timetable as normal.

All students will also receive one 50 minute Personal Development lesson and a dedicated 50 minute reading lesson per week.

In addition to our normal school day, to support the delivery of practical subjects, such as Art, Food and Nutrition and Physical Education remotely, we have included dedicated ‘non screen’ time for your son to access learning resources and independent activities via the Google Classroom. This may include specific practical tasks encouraging your son to engage in cooking, exercise and creative arts from home.


Accessing remote education

All work is accessible through Google Classroom. Live lessons and online learning will be shared via Google Classroom. This can be accessed online or with the iOS and Android apps. If you wish to look at this, please log in using your child’s email address and password then navigate to the to-do list to see a complete list of their assignments and also of live lessons.
If a pupil needs their password or username complete this form.
To help learners make the best use of Google Classroom click here for a video or here for Student Quick Start Guides.


If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

Our parent blended learning survey has helped us to identify the extent to which parents opting for their son to work from home have suitable IT access.

We define suitable IT access as having:

  • a desktop computer or laptop Chromebook
  • internet with a minimum of 2MBps to enable access to Google Classroom and online lessons.

In the event your child does not have access to Google Classroom at home then please contact the school on the Enquiries email address.

How will my child be taught remotely?

Lessons will be conducted on the Google Classroom platform. At the beginning of every lesson, students will receive an email invite reminding them to attend their live lesson which will be held via Google Meet and a register will be taken at the start of every lesson.

Students can expect a range of different learning styles including:

  • Having access to all their lessons on the school timetable through ‘live’ Google Meets that are delivered by their teachers
  • Collaborative tasks that they can see in real-time with their teacher or with peers
  • Morning and afternoon registration, including structured social activity online
  • Assemblies
  • The Oak National Academy for additional stretch and challenge activities linked to learning in class.

Engagement and feedback

We ask that parents who have opted for their son to continue accessing learning from home support their son to be ready to learn. Learners should be encouraged to have eaten and be dressed prior to the learning time so they can concentrate on the lessons. We would ask parents to help their son find a suitable and comfortable work space where they can concentrate and not be distracted. Where possible, we ask that parents are present during online lessons to support their son engaging. Please continue to report illness as normal.

Students working from home should log in to morning and afternoon registration online and access the Google classroom throughout the day to login to their online lessons, as per the school timetable.

To help learners make the best use of Google Classroom click here for a video or here for Student Quick Start Guides.


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

LWS continues to remain open for students to access provision on site.
Online work monitored daily by teachers.

Teachers will use a range of activities in lessons and if students do not engage tutors will make contact at the end of each day

Morning and afternoon online registration with structured social activity will continue to be a check on welfare and progress.

Where your son does not attend his online lesson, teachers will send a text reminder. Further non-attendance will be followed up by your son’s tutor at the end of the day.


How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

A variety of assessment methods will be adopted including:

  • Apps – these give your child and the teacher real time feedback
  • Google Forms will be used to give students tests which allow some
  • Discussion / Chat / Polls to enable ongoing assessment for learning during lessons
  • Quizzes such Kahoot! that give students instant feedback about their own progress and understanding
  • Marked work via Google Classroom

Additional support for pupils with particular needs

LWS continues to remain open to all learners with ECHP to access on-site provision as normal.

Teachers continue to adapt on-site and online learning to meet learning needs in line with their curriculum planning.

Our staff remain committed to ensuring the welfare and safeguarding of all students where parents have opted for their son to learn from home. Our learning needs index continues to support teachers planning for these needs for students accessing provision online. This is further informed through daily phone calls from tutors to ensure welfare checks are in place and learners with specific needs are supported with additional resources, where necessary.

Additionally, our morning and afternoon registration further assist teachers in identifying strategies to support additional needs.


Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Learners should access their Google Classroom and follow their normal timetable. Lessons resources should be posted here and students are encouraged to try to complete these and email their teachers for support. In the event students require additional work then they can access the Oak National Academy.

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Contact Info
  • LWS Academy, Montefiore Drive, Sarisbury Green, Southampton, SO31 7NL
  • 01489 582684
  • enquiries@lws.gfmat.org

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