Remote Education

Every week, children are set tasks on our virtual learning platform to complete throughout the week. English and Maths tasks are set daily. The timetable works on a Week A and Week B basis to provide variety in the afternoon sessions, with non-core subjects such as Spanish, Drama or History.

Daily live video lessons provide pupils with the opportunity to see and interact with one another and their teachers while continuing to learn. This ensures children can still discuss topics, ask questions and get clarification verbally, as they would in a classroom environment.

We know that early 11+ preparation is key. In order to equip Year 3 to Year 6 girls with the knowledge and skills to excel in verbal and non-verbal reasoning, we have enlisted the use of a specialist online platform. We are also ensuring that all our 11+ support clubs for Year 5 pupils continue to take place, albeit online.

We invested in a major library resource during the 2020 lockdown – used from Nursery through to Year 6 – to enable children to enjoy one-to-one reading time with their teachers. This virtual library contains thousands of age-appropriate books for children to choose from, and by reading a book to their teacher over Zoom, pupils are able to develop their reading skills in a fun and interactive manner, much like they would do face-to-face.

We know just how much anxiety and confusion the current times may be causing children, as well as their families. This is why our offering ensures that pastoral care, for which our school is well known, is very much at the forefront of all we did. We offer group and individual drop-in sessions at the end of every school day for children to share concerns and successes. Additionally, parents can email teachers with any queries or concerns they had and video calls are arranged on request.

A drop-down day is scheduled every fortnight, to provide Falcons pupils – and their parents – with a break from screens. In this off-timetable day, the focus is primarily on doing a creative, engaging project that requires no technology. During the 2020 lockdown, two of these major events included a celebration of VE Day and a Virtual Sports Day, which replaced our yearly day of sport.

Clubs are offered in varying formats – as live sessions, recorded in advance or through accessing a link. Our extra-curricular activities include street dance, yoga, plus LAMDA and instrumental lessons.

We have a dedicated space on our virtual learning platform for online safety. Parents and children are actively encouraged to explore the resources in order to help pupils stay safe and to respect others while using the internet and social media. Helpful links, posters and presentations continue to be shared regularly for the school community’s benefit.