Queries and FAQs about the ‘COVID Secure @ Harlington’ Code

We have safely operated the school since the 23rd March with Key Worker children on site, and can assure you that we have worked extremely hard to make our school as safe as possible when we reopen in September. It is essntial that all students commit to following our ‘COVID Secure @ Harlington’ Code. Please go over these points with your children so that they know what to expect – thank you. There will be a full induction for each year group, when they come in as per the beginning of term timetable.

What if my child attends school when they should be studying at home?

Your child will be sent home, as you will have already received the information from school via Parentmail.

Supporting Remote (home) learning after half term – Office365 lesson plans + Zoom lessons for all year groups.

Currently, we are support remote (home) learning by emailing all lesson plans for every lesson to all students. This means that any student who is self-isolating, and well enough to study can access their lessons, and email their teacher if they have any queries. This will continue unchanged.

After half term we will be expanding our remote learning offer to include ‘live’ lesson delivery via Zoom for part of each lesson. This will occur if we need to partially, or fully close, or if a whole class needs to self – isolate. The full details of how we will deliver education for each of the tiers is outlined below and in the attached leaflet.

“Live lessons” will involve a 20 – 30 minute delivery from teaching staff for each lesson, followed by work to be completed by your children for a further 60 - 80 minutes. This will be repeated for each of the 3 lessons on your child’s timetable.

We are expecting all students to take part in these “live lessons”, unless it is your preference that they do not participate. Your child will be sent a lesson link via their Office365 email account. When they click on the link it will start the process of opening up Zoom and the lesson they are being invited to attend.

During the summer term we trialled “live lessons” with Year 10 and the 6th Form students. We learnt a lot on how best to conduct these sessions, to get the best out of the lesson, and ensure we have appropriate safeguards in place. We will require your support to ensure that your children follow these protocols when taking part in ‘live’ lessons.

‘Live’ Lesson Expectations

· Students MUST login with their name as it appears on the school register

· Webcams must be on, with the student clearly visible to the teacher

· Language must be appropriate at all times, including any family members in the background.

· Students must wear suitable clothing when attending, as should anyone else in the household.

· Students must respect each other’s contributions to discussions in the lesson.

· Students must respect one another’s privacy and not record the session on any device, including taking screenshots, photos/recordings on their phones, using screen recording software.

· Other family or household members should not engage or interact with the lesson in any way.

Students will be locked out of live lesson sessions at any time by the teacher, if they do not adhere to these expectations, or they exhibit poor behaviour. The teacher’s decision in this matter is final.

In addition to the above, please beware that we reserve the right to record all lessons. These recordings will be kept for 28 days and then disposed of.

How will my child know what to do to access remote learning?

We have provided full guidance notes on this portal, and on FROG.

My child has a query about their lesson tasks

Your child can email their teacher via their Office 365 email account if they have any queries about their lesson.

My child has SEND, and needs additional help to access their lesson

All students with an EHCP or who have identified SEND will be invited in for full time schooling in the event of a school partial or full closure, as part of our KWVS provision. If you are the parent of a child with SEND who is self–isolating and needs help and support, we can offer telephone support from the Learning Development Department. Please contact Mr Stewart, SENCo if you need this support – thank you jstewart@harlingtonschool.org

What if I do not want my child to attend ‘live’ lessons via Zoom?

if you do not want your child to join the live lessons they are invited to attend, then we have to ask that you take responsibility to stop them from logging into the sessions. It is not possible to personalise the group invites to remove individual students.

My child has lost their passwords!

All students will be reissued with their password sheet before half term. We do ask that you make a copy of this document and keep it in a safe place, as it is very time consuming for the staff to retrieve and resend this information. One way to make a record is to take a picture of the login details on a phone. Please also be aware that if the school is running remotely, staff may be working from home, and may not be able to retrieve this information for you.

Laptop loans

We have purchased laptops and the DfE have provided further devices to loan to students. Last year we surveyed all parents (with Y7 parents surveyed this term) and we have a list of parents who have stated that their children cannot undertake full remote learning due to a lack of access to a device. All of these parents will be sent consent forms to complete prior to a laptop being loaned. Once we have received the consents, you will be invited in to collect your child’s laptop. Please note that we will not issue laptops to students themselves, but we will offer a day time or evening slot for you to collect. Please bring a suitable bag to carry it home in – thank you.

If your circumstances have changed since we undertook the survey last year, and you would like to be considered for a laptop loan, then please contact your child’s Head of Year, and you will be added to the next tranche of laptop purchase and distribution.

Please contact Mr Wells, Assistant Headteacher, (iwells@harlingtoschool.org) if you have any further queries about remote learning, and thank you in advance if you have to support your child at home in the event of a lockdown.

How do I know if my child is eligible for the Key Worker /Vulnerable Student (KWVS) full time provision?

In the event of any partial or full school closure ( Tiers 2 – 4 of national restrictions for education) , we will continue to remain open for the children of Key Workers, for all children either under the care of social services, or known to / receiving support from social services, and all students with special educational needs and disabilities. In addition to this, Heads of Year can authorise a student outside of these categories to be eligible, and if our laptops do not arrive on time, students who are eligible for a laptop loan will be considered eligible for a KVWS place until the laptop arrives.

We are currently contacting the parents of all students who were eligible for the KWVS provision last year, as well as Year 7 students who we believe are eligible, to confirm their place for this year, in the event of a lockdown.

Reminder – any student on Free School Meals who has to self isolate, is entitled to a food hamper.

Mrs Beech will continue to ask parents and carers whose children receive free school meals if they would like to collect a food hamper at the end of their child’s self isolation period. The hamper broadly consists of dried pasta, potatoes, tinned goods, tuna, dairy products and fresh fruit and vegetables. We are not permitted to provide cash or voucher alternatives.