I hope that you and your families are staying safe and well at this extraordinary time. It has been around a month since I last wrote to you to introduce our new way of working. Can I take this opportunity to thank the many of you who have supported your children with logging in to teams and completing work. At this unprecedented time more is being asked of all parents with the education of their children. We know that this additional pressure is a challenge in already challenging times. We remain committed to providing the best education possible for students, and as this period continues we are adding more structure to what pupils are expected to do. We ask for your support in encouraging the learning of your children and supporting them to complete the work set.
To add structure to the learning we are providing a suggested timetable of work for students. Teachers will use this use when setting work. We do not expect pupils to be sat working all day, but to allow reasonable time for their learning. We suggest 60-90 minutes as a maximum on each subject’s work per day. Work will focus on enjoyment of learning as well as literacy and numeracy skills. All teachers will set work using Microsoft teams as before, and pupils will receive feedback on the work they have completed. If your son/daughter is struggling with the work please encourage them to contact their teacher.
Download the guide – Distance Learning V2
Equally important to learning is physical, emotional and personal wellbeing. This is why a cornerstone to our learning programme is to set aside time for both physical wellbeing, social wellbeing and creativity/enjoyment. There are suggested activities for this in the learning guidance, but pupils should be given the opportunity to lead their own learning in this regard. We are in the process of setting up a wellbeing page on the website with suggested activities for physical, creative and personal wellbeing, and links to helpful websites and sources of support.
As we have no clear indication of when schools will reopen it is important that pupils do complete work. This will support both their development educationally but most importantly has positive effects on their wellbeing and emotional development.
We thank you for your support in this difficult time.
Please continue to follow the government advice on regular hand washing and to stay at home in order to protect the NHS, yourselves and your loved ones, Stay safe.
Distance Learning V2 a helpful guide with structured pupil timetable
Student work Apr 2020-A copy of this original letter