In the event of a school full or partial closure, or where it is necessary for a student to remain at home following instructions to self-isolate, we are committed to providing continuity of education and will do so through our digital learning provision.
The government has issued information for parents on supporting your children’s education during coronavirus which can be found Here
Although remote learning experiences will not be the same as education in the classroom, Bentley Wood High School aims to deliver digital online teaching experiences which provide high levels of engagement, interaction, and communication with students as required.
Irrespective of the scenarios outlined above, the digital school will facilitate and support the ongoing education of our girls. This will be delivered through an infrastructure which enables a seamless transition between physical and digital teaching underpinned by our ethos and CARE values using Microsoft Teams and Office 365.
Bentley Wood have an infrastructure in place of total lockdown, which was utilised between March 2020 and July 2020. The digital platforms which are used during full or partial school closure will continue to be used for the delivery of homework assignments and more richer classwork content where necessary as part of our regular curriculum delivery providing a two-fold benefit:
Ultimately, through the use of Teams and Microsoft Office, Bentley Wood staff and students have a delivery model which will be able to cater for the different tiered provision as and when necessary.
Face to face teaching will be the primary mode of lessons with the consideration of Teams continually being utilised as a parallel delivery mode of resources and content. Bentley Wood have established guidelines for all staff which are considerate of workload yet conscious of isolations and lockdowns. Staff have been requested to pay particular attention to signposting resources and homework. In order to support and inform parents, a specific module within Teams will also be added to provide direct lines of communication in relation to Teams activity.
Microsoft TEAMS
Microsoft Teams alongside other the Office 365 applications provide an ecosystem for teaching and learning and communication to continue in an online environment. Microsoft Teams is the tool utilised as the central teaching and learning hub for all interactions. All staff prior to lockdown and throughout lockdown received essential training on how two use this platform and all new students staff receive on board Teams training. All of our current year 7s have been trained on Teams as part of the induction process.
All students prior to lockdown had already been exposed to Teams through some subjects which were more established in their use including all Year 7 and 8 students who use this weekly as a part of their regular Computing curriculum. New students and staff to the school including all year 7 receive training on core elements and features of Teams. Ongoing training on the use of specific elements as well as the sharing of best practice of Teams is part of the core training.
Features of Teams and best practice have been steadily introduced and shared over a period of time to provide a richer digital school experience. This has included the Insights feature which tracks student engagement and Assignments which has replaced Show My Homework as the tool utilised to set and collect student homework and assignments. Insights provides analytics for each Team member including the length of engagement, contribution to posts and number of interactions whilst assignments provides a central point to provide and access student feedback to work submitted.
Although Bentley Wood students have returned to full face to face teaching in September, new Teams for each class have been created including pastoral Form teams which continue to share digital assemblies and PSHCE content.
IT Policy and Key Protocols
The protocols outlined below are general guidelines on how staff and students are expected to interact and behave using the digital school. Some protocols outlined below would be specific for a lockdown only scenario where face to face teaching is not possible. Although face to face teaching has now resumed many of the protocols and practices will still apply to help ensure clarity and consistency.
No 1:1s conversations or groups permitted unless authorised, e.g. counselling
In addition to the Key Protocols additional guidance for staff and students is outlined to clarify expectations.
Staff expectations
Students expectations
Bentley Wood Virtual School Etiquette Current classroom behaviour and expectations should be mirrored in our virtual school.
Students have been trained in school on how to use Teams but should she need further help we suggest selecting the Training button in Teams in the left-hand corner which has a comprehensive set of videos and guides to get refreshed in using Teams.
Please email askit@bentleywood.harrow.sch.uk detailing the issue as much as possible.
Teachers will be posting resources onto Teams which are to supplement the classroom teaching not replace it. All homework will be posted onto Teams. Only in cases of group isolation will live teaching and curriculum delivery be delivered through Teams.
You will need to follow the usual school attendance procedure and ensure that you have informed the attendance officer. Please ensure your daughter logs into Teams and completes all her homework assignments. Further information on accessing resources and activities for subjects such as supplementary work will be signposted in Teams.
Live online teaching and teaching in the classroom as the same time can be complicated. At this moment in time we will not be offering bespoke teaching to individuals but all relevant work will be posted on Teams and supplementary resources will be signposted for students to engage with.
We maintain the highest expectations of staff and students on our digital school. Staff who have the ability to do so will use Teams to dial live into the lessons they are timetabled for. Where they cannot they will use the default cover procedure to provide pupil instructions and resources; Teams will be used as a resource where it is most appropriate depending on activity and instruction.
Teaching assistants will support online where appropriate to ensure students with specific needs are remain engaged with their learning.
BBC Bitesize
The BBC bitesize website contains carefully curated content for subjects separated into different key stages. There are links to videos, text, quizzes which summarise key content for each subject.
SENECA Learning
SENECA is an online free learning platform which is designed to support memory of key topics. There is a variety of content and interactive resources which adapt to the response of students and tailor content according to how students respond to key questions. Content is often presented in the form electronic revision cards to make it accessible to students.
GCSE POD
With podcasts for 27 different subjects arranged into topics and then tested, GCSE pod is used to help aid revision specifically for each student. Each student in Key stage 4 is given a login, they listen, watch and engage with the content. After taking short tests after each section, GCSE pod creates custom playlists to support any areas of improvement in specific topics for each GCSE subject.
Working remotely will have its own challenges, however there are some key things to make the experience as productive as possible.
Reduce any distractions such as phone notifications or alternatively try the pomodoro technique: