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Bedford @HOME

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Introduction We have not seen anything like this in our own lifetime, let alone that of our children. There is much to be nervous about, not least in the way we seek to educate and be educated in a world that can no longer gather together physically. This booklet, therefore, seeks to reassure an age range from 7 to 70 on a number of different levels. Firstly, though we will be communicating by machine (and for some this will be imposing), the interactions, the emotions, the hopes, fears and expectations will all be human; and one thing that studying Classics has taught me is that humanity does not change much. Our school values will continue to ring true, and to some extent become even more important, in this accelerated digital burst. Secondly, and in line with our insistence upon kindness, we do understand that everybody’s home situation is different – one family will find this coming period easier or harder than the next – and that goes

Firstly, a huge thank you to the whole community for the way that we moved from in-school to remote learning at the end of last term. Thank you to boys for the way that you adapted with astonishing speed, to the parents for supporting this from home (no easy feat from first-hand experience) and for the overwhelming kindness shown in letters sent in, and to the staff for moving so quickly and effectively to a completely different way of getting boys to learn, despite many having their own children to support also; we will continue to take feedback on board to improve the remote learning we provide. An interesting comment voiced in more than one piece of parental feedback is that this period of difficulty will give boys many other valuable learning experiences. I really like the positive nature of this way of thinking, and we completely agree. We will continue to aid in this process, and will try to provide opportunities for making this a memorable period for positive reasons. In putting this document together, we have taken time to gather feedback from boys, staff and parents. We have worked hard to share experiences throughout the whole school community and have researched best practice from schools

for teachers as well as the families of boys at the school; we will try hard to provide some structure and stability without unwelcome additional pressure and stress. We will all need each other’s help in understanding this, as we will no longer be able to pick up the cues of everyday life and expression. And lastly, there will be a limit to this period. We will be together again soon; but crucially, we will be better people for it. Every day, currently, is a unique and intense learning experience; and by choosing opportunity rather than threat, we can all find a way to thrive.

James Hodgson Head Master

abroad who transitioned to remote learning before we did. It is a trying time, but is already an uplifting time which has shown the strength, kindness and resilience of the community. Our main concern, now, is that boys continue to receive as good an education as it is possible to provide remotely. For the summer term, the timetable will be a normal one in terms of timings. In the Prep School a double period of enrichment has been added to the timetable, giving pupils further independence and some choice about their learning. Boys gave a high average score across the whole school for their confidence in remote learning, which was very encouraging considering this was their first week of doing it. We hope that we will be able to build on these positive experiences as we refine what we do.

Ian Silk Headmaster

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Guiding Principles y The reassurance of shared routine and daily contact with their teachers and Tutors will be vital during this period. y We want, as far as possible under the current enforced isolation, to continue to deliver a broad curriculum (with all subjects represented). y There should be a variety of learning tasks – boys fed back that they had too much screen time; we want some lessons taught online, and some independent tasks.

Finally . . . Whilst boys undoubtedly benefit from our teachers’ subject expertise, they learn most from the example that adults set; this is especially true of children of Prep School age. How we respond to this crisis, and the leadership and positive attitude we show, is likely to have a significant and lifelong effect on our boys. More than ever, children will need a sense of guidance, stability, structure, commonality of purpose, and anchorage to a school community from which they need strong support.

y We want to give the right amount of work (not too much, not too little). This is less straightforward than it sounds as we all learn how to use new technology. y It should be sustainable (from a boy, parental and staff perspective) for the full period of remote learning. y All of this is out of our collective comfort zone, and we should work through it together – there will be mistakes along the way, and we will all keep on learning and supporting each other.

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Safeguarding, Pastoral Care and Wellbeing The school’s safeguarding and pastoral care systems will continue to operate through the duration of the school closure. For boys, the main thing to know is that there are people in the school to whom they can talk to discuss any problem that they may have. Both sections of the school have created summary sheets that explain who boys (and parents, if they wish) can talk to if they’re worried or concerned about anything whilst the school is closed. These can be accessed below: Upper School Prep School In both sections of the school (Prep and Upper), Tutors are typically the best people to share any concerns with initially. Housemasters (in the Upper School) and Heads of Year (in the Prep) are also able to help. The school also has a number of teachers with special training in dealing with Safeguarding, Child Protection and difficult issues, including: Dr Daniel Koch (Designated Safeguarding Lead), Mr Simon Everitt, Mr Chris Bury and, in the Prep School, Mr Simon Lincoln. You can email them directly. Appointments with the school counsellor, Bill Rossetter, can be made by emailing counsellor@ bedfordschool.org.uk. All boys can email Bill directly. He is an ‘independent listener’, not a member of the school staff, available to all. Counselling will continue to operate remotely thoughout this period of learning offsite. You can also contact the Chaplain, Neil McCleery (nmccleery@bedfordschool.org.uk), or any of the nurses in the Medical Centre (nurse@bedfordschool. org.uk). The school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is available via the policies section of the school’s website.

Tutors and Housemasters will keep boys informed about a range of opportunities to be involved in school life beyond the curriculum in the term ahead. Our usual full range of clubs and societies will not be able to run as normal, but there will still be house competitions, challenges and opportunities to collaborate in ways that are creative and fun. There will be virtual assemblies and addresses. The Chaplaincy will provide various opportunities for boys to reflect, including a daily Thought for the Day, a weekly Sunday Act of Worship and confirmation classes for those looking to be confirmed this year. In line with the recommendations from the World Health Organisation, the Bedford School Physical Education department believes that all boys should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to vigorous physical activity daily. This activity can include general play, games, sport, recreation or planned exercise.

With this in mind, the Physical Education department will be posting (on Firefly and other platforms) age-appropriate activities that will be suitable for inside the house and outside in the public domain. The aim will be to give all boys accessible, varied and enjoyable exercise options. There will also be guidance for timetabled PE lessons.

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Key Points of Note y As school resumes, pupils will continue to follow their timetables. Timetables for the Fifth Form and Upper Sixth will alter from Monday 4 May. y Pupils will access a blend of learning, including ‘live’ lessons taught by teachers and work that is intended to be completed independently. y Where boys are working in different time-zones, we understand that not all live lessons may be joined – teachers will support individuals in this position.

y Games afternoons will continue to be kept clear of teaching for pupils. y We will continue to deliver elements of our extracurricular programme. y School polices continue to apply during the period of remote learning. y All term dates and timings published continue to apply (except normal Thursday timetable on 30 April – not Saturday timetable).

y Saturday morning school will still take place for Year 6 to Upper Sixth boys. y Pupils will continue to benefit from daily contact with their Tutor from Monday to Friday.

Staying Connected You can stay connected with the wider school community and all the activity that is taking place ‘outside’ the classroom through a variety of channels.

Social Media You can follow all the school community news through our social media channels.

Assemblies Head Master James Hodgson and Prep Headmaster Ian Silk are both recording regular assemblies for boys.

Thought for the Day

y Twitter

Our Thought for the Day is emailed Monday to Saturday during term time. Along with our Sunday Act of Worship from the Chaplain, the Thought for the Day recordings offer the whole community uplifting messages and a chance to reflect. Both can be accessed via the Thought for the Day web page.

Regular Bulletins

Eagle Connect

All parents will continue to receive the regular Saturday information e-bulletin. We ask that you take a few moments to review these when they arrive.

We also warmly invite parents to join us on our new online networking platform: Eagle Connect. Designed to bring the Bedford School community closer together, it enables Old Bedfordians, parents and staff to stay connected and support each other.

y Facebook y Instagram

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Timetables Prep School Timetable for Remote Learning Activity

Mon - Fri

Sat

Registration

08:35 - 08:55

Period 1

09:00 - 09:35

08:40 - 09:15

Period 2

09:40 - 10:15

09:20 - 09:55

Break

10:15 - 10:35

09:55 - 10:20

Period 3

10:35 - 11:10

10:20 - 10:55

Period 4

11:15 - 11:50

11:00 - 11:35

Lunch

11:50 - 13:15

Assembly

13:15 - 13:30

Period 5

13:30 - 14:05

Period 6

14:10 - 14:45

Break

14:45 - 15:00

Period 7

15:00 - 15:35

Period 8

15:35 - 16:10

Details of individual timetables by year group and week can be found here: PS Timetable - Summer Term 2020

Upper School Timetable for Remote Learning Activity

Mon, Wed, Fri

Tue, Thu

Sat

Tutor Period

08:40 - 08:50

Period 1

08:55 - 09:30

08:40 - 09:15

Period 2

09:35 - 10:10

09:20 - 09:55

Period 3

10:15 - 10:50

10:00 - 10:35

Break

10:50 - 11:15

10:35 - 11:00

Period 4

11:15 - 11:50

11:00 - 11:35

Period 5

11:55 - 12:30

11:40 - 12:15

Lunch

12:30 - 14:00

Assembly / Chapel / Academic Tutorials

14:00 - 14:10

Period 6

14:15 - 14:50

Period 7

14:55 - 15:30

Period 8

15:35 - 16:10

Physical activity

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Assessments and Exams Prep School Assessment and revision weeks will no longer take place. Instead we will teach for the full five weeks before half-term. Assessments can of course take place in that time, but as formative rather than summative assessments. Heads of Department will decide, in discussion with departments, how and when these will happen.

Upper School Fifth Form and Upper Sixth Following the unexpected cancellation of public exams, boys and their teachers will complete the exam courses up until Friday 1 May, then from Monday 4 May will follow a new curriculum designed to prepare boys for the next stage of their education. Fourth Form, Remove and Lower Sixth We will run internal assessments as scheduled at the start of June. Internal assessments for the Fourth Form and Remove will run from Monday 1 June â€“ Friday 5 June; internal assessments for the Lower Sixth will run from Monday 1 June â€“ Tuesday 9 June. Further information about these internal assessments will follow in due course.

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Guidance for Pupils Your Lessons Within each subject you should expect a blend of interactive lessons using Microsoft Teams and lessons where your teachers provide you with details on what they would like you to work on. y Please arrive at lessons fully prepared. Check Firefly (Google Classroom for Years 3 & 4) for any resources shared ahead of lessons and ensure that you join Teams lessons a few minutes before the lessons begin. y Continue to use the Teams Chat responsibly and during lesson time only. Teachers were impressed by your courteous behaviour and by the way you helped one another in the week before the break. y Be ready to learn. You may find yourself losing focus at times within a lesson; this is understandable. What you can do is ensure that your work environment best supports your learning. Be ready to answer questions that are directed to you! y To help with concentration, we thoroughly recommend that you do not use technology between lessons. Stretch your legs, stay hydrated and use lunch breaks and after school to catch up with friends.

y We strongly recommend that you do not listen to music during lessons. For those of you that reported using your phones to access lessons prior to the Easter break, please ensure that social media notifications are switched off during lessons. y Please remember that all interactions may be recorded by teachers and the school can access the information shared within Teams Chats. y Boys must not record or take photos of their classmates or teachers during video conferencing sessions, nor share lessons publicly. y Interactions within the Teams environment should be the same as those in class and remain respectful. y We recommend that where work has been set for a lesson, and you are working within the same time zone as the school, you complete that work within the designated time slot.

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Guidance for Pupils continued Your Learning Beyond the Classroom Teachers will have high expectations of you in terms of your personal responsibility around your learning. y Teachers will be posting all information relating to your learning on Firefly. It is your responsibility to check this regularly and certainly ahead of each school day. y If you have any concerns about your learning within a subject, your teacher is your first port of call. y Communicate clearly with teachers if you are struggling with the work within a subject. It is easy to underestimate the amount of information your teachers can glean from seeing you each day in school. y If things are becoming overwhelming speak to your Tutor in the first instance, or Head of Year (Prep School)/ Housemaster (Upper School). y If you have worries about a fellow student then do raise these with a member of staff, initially via email.

y Equally, recognise that managing a variety of questions online can present some challenges for teachers. Just as we would expect in a lesson, if you have been asked to read instructions then you must do so prior to asking questions. y As ever, it is crucially important that work is submitted ahead of deadlines. You should expect us to be in touch if you are failing to submit work on time. y We aim to keep Games afternoons free to provide days that are lighter in terms of lessons and to allow you all to exercise as our normal structure would allow. Teachers will be using this time to plan lessons and mark, so please do not expect sessions to be scheduled then. y Communicate early if you are not going to be able to meet deadlines.

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Guidance for Parents We are aware that supporting children with their learning at home can present challenges. y Your son/charge will receive a blend of synchronous learning and asynchronous learning. The former refers to lessons where pupils are learning at the same time (lessons are taking place â€˜liveâ€™), whilst the latter involves learning which takes place, but not necessarily at the same time (teachers will set work for pupils to get on with independently). Good remote learning requires a combination of these two approaches. y Please help our pupils to develop routines during the school term. They should have all that they need for their respective lessons to hand. Where the lesson is in Teams, they should log in a few minutes before the lesson starts.

y Pupils should be learning in an environment that is as free from distraction as possible. y Where a phone is not essential for accessing the lesson, it may be better for pupils to only have access to mobile phones during extended breaks. y For some pupils it may be appropriate for parents to help with the management of tasks that have been set for them on Firefly. Your son/charge can show you his assignments. y If you have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please email his Tutor as the first port of call.

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Guidance for Staff Pupil Wellbeing y If you become concerned about an individual pupil, please use the channels available to you to alert his Tutor and Housemaster. y Be conscious of the fact that every student will be accessing learning from a very different setting (and possibly time zones). y The school’s behaviour policy, rewards and sanctions should continue to be applied. Be particularly aware of the opportunity to give conduct merits around the school’s core values during this time.

y Use Microsoft Teams for all live teaching. y If lessons on Teams are being recorded, please make students aware. y Registers should be taken for ‘live’ lessons. y Be mindful of having a balance between onscreen and off-screen tasks. y Games afternoons are important times for pupil wellbeing, and are dedicated times for teacher planning and marking. Please avoid scheduling pupil discussions or activities on these afternoons.

Principles for Lessons y Lessons will be split between those where ‘live’ interaction between pupils and teachers is taking place via Teams, and those where pupils are completing work as instructed by their teachers. y Prioritise direct instruction and teacher-pupil dialogue/ questioning during interactive teacher time. y Work effectively within your academic teams to determine the best possible approach to off-site assessment and feedback within your subject. y Just as preparing and delivering lessons takes longer remotely, many pupils report things taking them longer too. Be mindful of the amount of work that you are asking pupils to do. y Please finish lessons promptly to allow students to gain access to the required resources for the subsequent lesson.

y Pupils hugely value personal interaction with you and with their peers. Across any given week, there should be clear opportunities for such interaction. y Information for students should all be posted on Firefly. Please follow our protocol for the naming of tasks to help students with their work-flow. y For each of your classes, please be consistent with how they submit work. Please ensure that all students are comfortable with this method of submission. y We will all be learning during this period. How we respond to the challenges that face us will help to shape the way that our pupils act.

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