31 December 2020
31st December 2020
Dear Parent/Carer,
Information on remote education
Happy New Year!
This communication provides further details on the plans for remote education as we begin the new term.
Start dates
As previously communicated, the Spring term 2021 revised start dates are:
Vulnerable children and children of critical workers will be able to attend school in person from the start of term on Monday 4th January 2021.
If you are a critical worker and your child will be attending please email your child’s name and year group to keyworker@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
Students in year 11 and 13 will be expected to return to school for face-to-face education on Monday 11th January.
Currently, all other students will be expected to return to school for face-to-face education on Monday 18th January.
Students should continue to refrain from attending school if they are displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 or if they are required to self-isolate. If any student tests positive for COVID-19 parents/carers must inform the school as a matter of urgency.
Remote Education
Whilst students are not in school for face-to-face teaching they will be able to access remote education that follows their usual school timetable.
Remote education for all year groups will commence on Tuesday 5th January.
Due to a number of maternity leaves, the school timetable has had to be amended for the new term. All students were given a hard copy of their new timetable before the Christmas holiday.
Students and parents/carers will also be able to view the new timetable on Class Charts from Monday 4th January.
From Tuesday 5th January, the following approaches to remote education will be utilised across the school.
- Live lessons through Microsoft Teams (MS Teams)
- Pre-recorded lessons (e.g. Loom or voice over PowerPoint) sent via email or Class Charts
- Work set through Class Charts (e.g. with links to other digital platforms such as MyMaths)
- Work sent through Email
Teaching staff will use the approach that best suits their students’ needs and that complements the nature of their subject. There may be times when remote learning must be provided through Class Charts, for example, for practical subjects or staff illness.
Students should regularly check their email, Class Charts and Microsoft Teams calendar to access any remote learning set by their subject teachers.
When work is required to be returned to class teachers this will be clearly indicated.
Live lessons
Live lessons will initially be prioritised for students undertaking public examinations this year. Where live lessons are set, their start and end times will follow the exact timings of the school day.
Technical support
The appendix to this letter contains detailed information on technical support including how to access Class Charts and how to check for live lessons on Microsoft Teams.
Frequency and volume
Work will be set each day and will follow the usual school timetable. Sometimes teachers may choose to set tasks that take a couple of lessons to complete; this will be clearly indicated if it is the case.
Your son/daughter should receive approximately 4 hours a day of remote learning, as recommended by the Department for Education, which is appropriately set to challenge but not to overwhelm students.
Engagement with remote education
If students are not engaging with remote education e.g. failing to complete work or to attend planned live lessons the school will contact home. In the first instance this will likely be a text home to inform parents/carers.
It is important to remind students that the curriculum will continue to be covered during remote education so it is vital that students keep up with the work set to ensure there are minimal gaps in their knowledge and understanding.
Internet safety
During these challenging times, our students are experiencing an increase in the amount of time they are spending on digital devices. Whether this is for accessing live lessons and completing work set by teachers, or for entertainment via games and streaming platforms, Bishop Challoner remains committed to supporting our parents / carers in ensuring our students remain safe online. Please refer to our online safeguarding guidance on the school website for more information.
Health and wellbeing
The health and well-being of all students is very important to us. We realise that changes to routine and not attending school can impact some students more than others. Should you have any concerns about your child please do not hesitate to contact their Head of Year in the first instance, they will be able to signpost accordingly if they are unable to help themselves.
Please also refer to the Mental Health and Well-being page on the school website for lots of useful information and contact details for services that may be of assistance.
https://www.bishopchalloner.org.uk/catholic-college/about/mental-health-and-wellbeing
Safeguarding
If you are worried about a child and your concern relates to a child who is at immediate risk please call 999 and ask for the police. Alternatively contact Children’s Services on 0121 303 1888 or the out of hours duty team 0121 464 9001, or go on line to:
https://www.birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk/
Forward Thinking Birmingham Access Centre (including the crisis out of hours team) for mental health concerns; 0300 3000099 or go on line to
https://www.forwardthinkingbirmingham.org.uk
Should you have any concerns regarding remote learning please contact your son/daughter's Head of Year on the email address detailed below:
Year 7 - Mrs McGowan, h.mcgowan@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
Year 8 - Mr Clarke, s.clarke@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
Year 9 - Mrs Brown, c.brown@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
Year 10 - Miss Hampson, r.hampson@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
Year 11 - Miss Beard, j.beard@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
Year 12 - Mrs Healy, m.healy@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
Year 13 - Miss Bisset, f.bisset@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
As ever, thank you for your continued support.
E O’Connor
Assistant Principal
APPENDIX: TECHNICAL SUPPORT
How do I access Class Charts?
You can access the Class Charts website here: https://www.classcharts.com/student/login
More information on class charts can be found on our school website using the following link https://bishopchalloner.org.uk/news/2020-05-30-class-charts
How do I use Microsoft Teams and see if there are live lessons scheduled?
More information on how to use Microsoft Teams can be found on our school website using the following link
https://www.bishopchalloner.org.uk/news/2020-12-29-microsoft-teams
The following link will show parents / carers how to access the calendar on Microsoft Teams that will show students when they have a live lesson scheduled.
https://www.bishopchalloner.org.uk/news/2020-12-29-microsoft-teams
My son/daughter needs access to a device to allow them to complete remote learning
If your son/daughter borrows a netbook every day whilst at school and will need this device at home to complete any remote learning then please contact the school reception on 0121 444 4161 or email reception@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk to book a picking up time for after 11am on Monday 4th January. You will be asked to complete a netbook loan agreement form and you will return the device at the end of the isolation period.
My son/daughter needs a dongle to allow them to access the internet to complete remote learning
If your son/daughter has not got access to the internet at home then please contact the school reception on 0121 444 4161 or email reception@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk to arrange a suitable time to pick up a dongle on Monday 4th January.
My son/daughter has a technical issue with a school device or cannot access their school email account
The school has an online portal that allows you to report any IT or technical concerns you have with school equipment or accounts. The following link will take you to a page allowing you to log the issue and create a communication ticket with the IT support team. They will offer remote support or will make arrangements for the devise to be dropped into school for repair.
http://bc-netbooks.bcweb.org.uk
My son/daughter cannot remember their username and password for their school email and Microsoft Teams
The school has an online portal that allows you to report any IT or technical concerns you have with school equipment or accounts. For information on the school login details please turn to page 12 in their school planner. On this page they should have written down their school username and password. A reminder that the school username is in the following format:
The year they joined the school + first 3 letters of their first name + first 3 letters of their surname.
For example, a student called Lewis Hamilton who joined year 7 in September 2020 would have the following username: 20lewham@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
All students have an accompanying password. They will have created their own password which they should remember; they may have chosen to write it down, also on page 12 in the planner. As a reminder for the student, it is the password that they use to access desktop computers in school.