The Leigh UTC is committed to providing effective remote learning resources so that when students are absent from school they can continue their learning at home. The vast majority of remote learning will follow the same curriculum that is being delivered in school. In some cases adjustments need to be made e.g. for subjects involving practical work.
Google Classrooms
Google Classrooms have been set up for every class in every subject. Students will have added themselves to the appropriate classrooms and a directory of all the access codes was distributed to parents early in the academic year.
Teachers regularly populate their Google Classrooms with lesson resources and homework assignments. These resources are to be accessed by anyone in the class and are not only to support those students that are unable to come into school. Therefore, we encourage students that are attending face-to-face lessons to use these resources to review their learning outside of class too.
Live Online Lessons
Where groups of students are unable to attend lessons we will always strive to offer ‘Live Online Lessons’. We will write to parents to make them aware if and when they are available but are often initiated within one day of students being told to stay at home. Teachers will deliver their lessons via a secure Google Meet link that students can access from their Google Classroom or a timetable that is shared with them and parents. Depending on the context, students may follow their usual in school timetable with their usual teachers or a bespoke timetable which involves combining separate teaching groups. Nonetheless, lessons will always be scheduled at the same time as those in-school.
All students are expected to participate in Live Online Lessons. Attendance will be monitored by pastoral staff and teachers who will make contact with parents if there are concerns about engagement.
Individual Absences
If face-to-face lessons are still continuing at school but individual students are absent, they will be asked to access the lesson resources and homework assignments that are posted on Google Classrooms to ensure they do not fall behind with their learning.
For individual students in years 11-13 that are absent from school, we will endeavour to give them the opportunity to join the face-to-face lesson remotely via Google Meet. Arrangements will be made with those individual students where this is possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are working tireless to make sure the remote learning provisions are easily accessible and ensure students can continue to learn effectively during a period of absence from school. If you have any queries please check the FAQs below first and then feel free to get in contact with the Academy.
Google Classroom is an application that all students are familiar with and shown how to use in lessons. Students should already have added all of their Google Classrooms to their Google account – if any are missing, they can easily access these using the codes in the Google Classroom directories shared with parents at the start of the year.
There will be various opportunities for students to receive feedback on their work remotely. Where assignments are submitted via Google Classrooms, teachers are able to post written feedback or leave comments directly on electronic documents. Sometimes teachers may ask students to complete forms or quizzes on electronic platforms that are auto-marked. In live lessons students will have the opportunity to ask questions and receive feedback from teachers using the ‘chat’ function.
We expect students to be learning remotely for a minimum of 5 hours each day, not including homework – this is inline with the timetabled lessons in a normal school day. There are plenty of additional learning resources available to students if they need extra work:
- Knowledge Organisers – all students have been provided with these and they are also available on our website (click on the ‘Curriculum’ tab). Students should be learning the information on these by self or peer-quizzing. Since students have a hard copy, knowledge organisers are a great way of keeping the learning going whilst taking a break from the screen.
- Oak National Academy – a website full of lessons and resources especially for students that are learning remotely (https://www.thenational.academy/).
- Seneca Learning – most students will already have an account. If they don’t then they can create one for free. Seneca is full of interactive online courses for all year groups and most subjects.
- BBC Bitesize – an excellent study and revision platform for all year groups and most subjects.
In the first instance, you or your child should make contact with their class teacher via email and clearly explain the difficulties. Please allow time for the teacher to reply. If there are difficulties with accessing remote learning for any reason, please contact the relevant Student Services Manager (SSM) so that we can make the necessary arrangements for your child:
- Year 7: Mrs Narwan (vicky.narwan@theleighutc.org.uk)
- Year 8: Mrs Grimwade (jessica.grimwade@theleighutc.org.uk)
- Year 9: Mrs Rees (helen.rees@theleighutc.org.uk)
- Year 10: Miss Gilmore (andrea.gilmore@theleighutc.org.uk)
- Year 11: Mrs Morrison (vanessa.morrison@theleighutc.org.uk)
- Year 12/13: Mrs Wilton (anna.wilton@theleighutc.org.uk)