UPDATED GUIDELINES FOR DISTANCE LEARNING
From Monday 27th April, distance learning will be set in the following way:
Most subjects* will set work on a weekly basis via a Show My Homework post. The amount of work they set will be reduced and there will be no expectation or requirement that children are logged on, looking at work for a particular subject, at any particular time. We will leave it to families to plan the best times and ways of working for their children.
* Work will not be set on Show My Homework for Core PE, Enrichment, Healthy Living and Ethical Studies.
- In addition, each subject will identify a piece of work on a significant piece of learning (a progress task) that they will ask children to submit for feedback. Our hope is that all children will be able to complete this work. This will mean we can continue to see how children are progressing and offer further advice about next steps without, I hope, overwhelming children with a large amount of work we have to submit.
- There will also be discretionary tasks for each subject. This is a list of never-ending tasks for students who wish to do extra to the above. These tasks need no submission or evidence of completion but are there for those who wish to access them.
- A distance learning overview will be available for each year group, so that families can see ‘at a glance’ the expected work for each subject
The discretionary tasks and the distance learning overview will not be set on Show My Homework but can be found on the distance learning area of our website from Monday 27th April 2020.
Of course, we hope that all children complete the progress tasks we set but we firmly believe that parents / carers know what their children need best and are best placed to judge how to balance the work available with their other needs. If we do see that some children have not completed these tasks we will make contact home, and that will be only to ask if there is anything else we can do to support families.
We ask that families continue to provide feedback and get in touch with us if there is anything else we can do to support. Contact can be made by emailing office@solihull.tgacademy.org.uk.
Common issues raised by parents
Issue – difficulty using Show My Homework website
Way forward:
- FAQ on website by following this link Distance–Learning–and–Show–My–Homework–pdf
- If you cannot find a solution to your issue on this guidance, please email the school office for help.
- A reminder that students should be using their school email account to log in to show my homework.
Issue – difficulty of navigation of 25 + entries per week.
Way forward:
- From Monday 27th April, work will be set on a weekly basis by subjects.
- Distance learning overviews will also provide an ‘at a glance’ overview
Issue – some students feeling overwhelmed with amount of work set
Way forward:
- We have reduced the amount of work we are setting for students.
- There will be guidance in terms of the time each task should take indicated by teachers.
- Students have been reassured via tutor time notices that we are only expecting them to do their best.If a student is unable to complete all of the work set, they should not become concerned about this. We also appreciate some students will experience illness / anxiety at times and this will affect their ability to complete work.
Issue – lack of clarity over if tasks need to be submitted online.
Way forward:
- Students will be able to see on the description of the lesson if there is an element of ‘online submission’ where work will need to be uploaded.
- Students should focus on submitting the progress task set for each subject.
Issue – feeling of lack audience for work.
Way forward:
- Students will receive feedback on the progress task.This may be individual feedback or more general whole class feedback.
- TG Spotted is a way of celebrating student work.Contributions to TG Spotted can be sent by teachers, parents or students.
Updated guidelines for distance learning – information for parents