Remote Learning Policy

1               Policy Statement
1.1          This policy aims to set out Wicklea Academy’s approach to educating pupils who cannot be educated on site. There are occasions where the Academy will need to close due to events such as (but not limited to) a pandemic, power loss or extreme weather. The policy also covers the ongoing education of students who cannot be on site when the Academy is open but are able to continue with their education offsite, and this includes individual students, bubbles or year groups that need to self-isolate. Additionally, this policy outlines the practices and procedures in place for staff in self-isolation, who are otherwise healthy and able to continue with teaching, setting, marking and providing feedback on pupil work as part of their usual duties.

2                Legislation or non-statutory guidance
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/remote-education-good-practice/remote-education- good-practice

https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk/statutory-obligations.html

3                Links to Other Policies
3.1          This policy should be read in conjunction with the Online safety policy, Remote Education documents and procedures, Acceptable Use policy, Data Protection Policy and HR Employment Manual.

4                Roles and Responsibilities

5               Data Protection Implications
Staff should ensure they consider the implications of the Data Protection Policy and Privacy notices – the following summary is included in the Remote Education guidance which has been shared with all staff.

Summary
Establish clear and consistent privacy and security settings

Video conferencing technology, like any use of personal data, must be transparent. Privacy Notices should be refreshed to ensure use of the technology is adequately referenced. Make use of the available privacy and security features, including restricting access to meetings using passwords, controlling when people can join the meeting or controlling who is allowed to share their screens. Think about who and how you share the meeting ID or password. Provide employees with clear advice on which features to use and how.

Establish a preferred supplier for video conferencing
Organisations should select a video conferencing platform that matches their policies.

Ensure video conference software is kept up-to-date?
Software must be kept up-to-date. Where video conferencing services are accessed via a web browser, make sure the browser is kept up to date too.

6               Preparation for Remote Learning
6.1          Preparation and planning for remote learning has already taken place within Wicklea Academy. The practices and procedures in place will be subject to regular review and further development to ensure continual improvement to the remote offer.

6.2          Wicklea Academy and the CLF team will be proactive in ensuring that:

• Staff, where relevant to their role, have access to Home Access, Microsoft Outlook, SIMS, CPOMS, Show My Homework, Seneca, SENSO and other online platforms as necessary for each individual.
• Students/pupils within classes have access to Microsoft Teams, Home Access, Seneca, Show My Homework and Microsoft Outlook and any other learning platforms as applicable to each Academy.
• Students/pupils and parents/carers will receive support in accessing IT Systems and platforms where possible, including refreshers and reminders on how to log on, how to reset passwords and who to contact for support.
• Staff are familiar with the main functions of all relevant online platforms.
• Staff have the ability to upload lessons and learning to MS Teams, Show My Homework, SeeSaw, Tapestry, WordPress and other sites as applicable.
• Staff laptops all have Senso as a function on laptops, which helps monitor student/pupil activity
• Parents/Carers and students are made aware in advance of the arrangements in place for the continuity of education. The DfE placed a requirement on schools to share arrangements for Remote Education in February 2021. All Academies have published information for families on their websites.
• Students/pupils and families are aware that general safeguarding emails have been set up to allow them to contact the Academy should they need to.

6.3          Wicklea Academy should ensure that staff are supported in the development of the above framework by:

• Using staff meetings or setting aside professional development time to invest in Remote Education
• Ensuring that staff have access to a suitable device in their classroom or, in the event of closure, that staff have a suitable device at home and if not, supply them with a device during the closure period if possible. This links to the HR Guidance outlined in the Working from home guidance.

6.4          Staff should ensure that:

• They have received appropriate training required in order to support remote learning. This training is likely to be ongoing and linked to the CLF trust wide remote, blended and distance learning strategy.
• They have read and understood the guidance outlined in the Data Protection policy, Academy Data Privacy Notice/DPN and the Information security for staff policy and linked Nimble training and that the do not download and store personal data on home devices.
• Their computer-based teaching resources are available outside of the Academy (on MS Teams, OneDrive or OneNote).
• They have access to key resources not available online at home e.g. key textbooks.
• They have access to a suitable device for home use and if this is not the case then staff should alert the SLT, Senior Operations Manager or CLF IT Team.
• They apply the same data protection and confidentiality safeguards when working at home as they would when working on site within their Academy. See Safeguarding policy and addendum for further information.

7                Continuity of Education in the Event of a Closure
On occasion, it may be appropriate and suitable to offer and provide remote education to a pupil/student – in the event that they are isolating. In this instance the academy will follow the guidance outlined here.

7.1          Wicklea Academy will make provision for remote contact with students on a daily basis in two forms:

• Students/pupils will have access to work that allows them to continue progress while at home.
• Students/pupils will have the opportunity for interaction with their class teacher on a regular basis, where this is possible.

7.2          Wicklea Academy should attempt to replicate the timetable that students follow through the course of a normal Academy day, whilst recognising that distance learning, supported by families, may not follow the typical routines. Teachers will need to make themselves available as part of the remote education, blended and distance learning strategy during their normal working hours. These arrangements are part of the Academy schedules and rotas and will need to be determined locally, with reference to the CLF HR guidance outlined in the Working from home guidance.

7.3          The Academy acknowledges the challenges of operating in an unfamiliar environment in that:

• Online learning operates on a very different dynamic.
• Some subjects and activities do not lend themselves well to remote learning.

7.4          Student/pupil expectations:

• Students/Pupils should retain structure to their working day starting with log-in to TEAMS at 8:30am
• Check TEAMS to see the posts/resources for each lesson and work through tasks in a timely fashion.
• Complete all set work and hand in work on TEAMS.
• Use designated ‘TEAMS Class Pages’ to communicate with their teachers and ask questions if they do not understand/require help within normal Academy hours. They may need to email the teacher as appropriate/if they are having difficulties with the system.
• Students/Pupils must sign off that they have completed set work as per teachers’ instructions using the TEAMS ‘submit’ function.
• Students/Pupils may need to photograph work of a visual nature and use the TEAMS app to submit this to teachers.
• Deadlines must be met; the SLT/Heads of Year will be informed if they are not.

7.5          Teachers and support staff are expected to:

• Upload teaching materials/lessons to TEAMS
• Teachers will endeavour to set work equivalent in length to the lessons on their usual timetable and be available during scheduled lessons to answer any questions pupils may have via TEAMS. It is recognised that it is not easy to estimate the time it takes for pupils to complete work and some pupils will work faster than others. An element of differentiation by outcome is to be expected. Extension tasks may be set if appropriate.
• It may be that it is more appropriate for the teacher to set one longer task that covers several shorter lessons (e.g. a task for the whole week). The total set work should reflect the total length of lesson time that is missed.
• Set tasks on TEAMS that include lesson activities and resources, as well as any preparation/homework that would normally be set.
• Mark and feedback using MS Teams assignments with the same regularity they would have done if in the Academy.
• Make sure that all resources are available online including scanned pages of textbooks.
• As much as possible, use the usual rewards and sanctions such as merits/demerits, and verbal praise/warnings. Academy to communicate with parents/carers if there are ongoing concerns.

8               Remote Learning Practice and Principles
8.1          The Academy recognises different academies may use different platforms for Remote Learning interactions, although across the CLF the preferred platform is via MS Teams. Using existing Academy systems (Microsoft Teams as the preferred platform) means this provision can be put into place quickly and students/pupils only need their existing login details of Academy email and password for much of their content.

8.2          Remote Learning interactions may take the format of a ‘webinar’/live lesson, in which teachers broadcast lessons to children. Teachers are therefore unable to see students and students are unable to see each other. Recorded videos uploaded to an MS Teams channel are the most likely solution to the current Remote and blended learning procedures. Remote learning interactions must be planned in accordance with the Safeguarding risk assessments shared with Academies and as agreed by the Principal and Safeguarding team.

8.3          Principles: (Please see HR and Safeguarding guidance for further details):

• Staff must wear suitable clothing and should be the only individual in the webinar or video.
• Any computers used should be in appropriate areas; for example, located in appropriate and suitable spaces, and where possible, be against a neutral background.
• Any videos should be recorded and backed up safely and securely, so that if any issues were to arise, the video can be reviewed. These videos can then be made available to students who may have been unable to view the contents until a future date and time. See Information Security for Staff and Data Protection guidance for further details.
• The webinar or video should be kept to a reasonable length of time.
• Language must be professional and appropriate.
• Any teaching/learning software and/or platforms are suitable and raise no privacy issues; or use cases against the providers’ terms and conditions (for example, no business use of consumer products).

8.4          The Academy is mindful that if remote working/learning is happening nationally then there may be bandwidth restrictions across the UK internet backbone. In this event, staff and students should rely on Oak Academy and Times Tables Rockstars to provide content and using their staff/student email.

8.5          Some families may not have internet access at home and Wicklea Academy will seek to provide lesson content for its most vulnerable students if given adequate notice prior to any Academy closure.

9                Remote teaching for staff who are in self-isolation
9.1          Teaching staff may be in the situation where, in line with the guidance from Public Health England, they are required to self-isolate. Staff may be well and therefore able to undertake meaningful work at home. During any such period, the Academy will ensure that the lessons are covered in a similar way to any other planned absence, so no-one need fall behind. This policy summarises the provision of remote teaching by teaching staff in this position, so that there are consistent and well understood expectations of the level of support that will be provided for all concerned.

9.2          If a member of staff is required to self-isolate, they are expected to:

• Follow the normal guidelines for planned absence. They should plan resources and set cover work for another teacher, who may not be a subject specialist, to follow.
• Additionally, they should mark work and give feedback remotely.

10           Accessing Remote Learning from Providers outside of the CLF
10.1      Students may have a varied curriculum offer and this may include tuition and support from external agencies. In the event that the Academy has to close or external agencies cannot enter the building they may offer their own Remote Learning packages. It is the responsibility of the academy to ensure that they complete a thorough review of the packages/ support on offer to ensure that they meet our safeguarding standards. The quality assurance process will be recorded and updated when appropriate. Social Workers, when appropriate (CIC, CP Plan, CIN) should be consulted when allowing students to work remotely with external provider.

11           Use of other platforms
11.1      It is understood that there are occasions where Zoom would be the chosen or identified platform for use in specific circumstances for example parents/carers open event, or if an external provider has opted to use Zoom. The Academy’s data privacy notices have been updated and the Academy is able to use Zoom if required, although it is not the chosen platform across the CLF for remote education.

12            Support for pupils with SEND, EAL and other specific learning enhancement needs
12.1      Teachers should ensure that work is differentiated as required for all learners when setting online tasks. This includes support for EAL learners and families as required. Profiles should be made available for pupils with SEND and advice can be sought from the academy SENCO.

13            Safeguarding during a period of an Academy closure
13.1      In the event of an Academy closure, pupils, parents, carers and teachers are reminded that the Academy’s Safeguarding Policy still applies to all interactions between pupils and teachers. In that policy, there are specifically prohibited behaviours and reporting obligations to which teachers must adhere, whether they are at home, in the community or at the Academy.

14           Information for parents/carers
14.1      Parents/Carers will find the following useful information already on Academy websites, Academy based social media profiles and other forms of communications e.g. Show My Homework Parent App:

• Email contact details for their child’s teachers.
• Information on work set.
• Up to date information on Academy closure.