3. Online Learning Guidance for Parents

Guidance for Parents

Please do take the time to watch Karl Hopwood’s online parent seminar which he filmed for Luckley. This talk can be found here Welcome and Karl Hopwood after the welcome address. Karl is an independent e-safety expert. He is a member of UKCCIS (UK Council for Child Internet Safety) and sits on the advisory board for the UK Safer Internet Centre and the education advisory board for CEOP. Karl has worked for a number of key players in the UK and abroad including CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre), BECTA (British Educational and Communications Technology). Karl has also addressed the staff recently. He was due to visit Luckley to speak to pupils this January, but due to lockdown we will be rescheduling this talk for as soon as we are able. The following guidelines will help to provide a positive environment for online learning. We would ask parents to please support these guidelines where possible, but do recognise that every home situation is different, so please do adapt these as fit for your home. Should you need to deviate from any particular protocol significantly or are concerned about doing so, please let us know. 1. Please report absence to the office in the usual way. We are required now to report daily absence to the DfE. 2. Your son/daughter should select a suitable, neutral location for their lesson. Try to avoid using their bedroom for lessons if at all possible. 3. Please select an area with as few distractions as possible. 4. It is preferable to use a space with a suitable desk and chair for comfort and safety. 5. Encourage your son/daughter to keep a regular schedule around their timetable. Consistent times for waking up and going to sleep would be advantageous. 6. Please encourage your son/daughter to engage with extended day and other activities. Make use of the creative and sporting challenges and spend some time away from the screen each day. Staying fit and active, as well as being creative and wider reading beyond curriculum activities are good for balance and wellbeing. 7. Lessons will run according to the usual timetable, with the same start time but slightly shorter lesson durations. Single lessons will run for approximately 50 minutes. This will give pupils a tenminute break between lessons. They should use this time to prepare for the next lesson and to stand up, stretch and have a few moments away from the screen. 8. Mobile phones are not needed during online lessons and the same rules apply. Phones can be a distraction and we recommend that mobiles are turned off and put away during lesson time. We do know that some pupils may need their phone and ask that parents use their discretion monitoring this at home. 9. Please do let your son/daughter chat to their friends online when they are not in lessons. It may add to screen time but it does provide an opportunity for friends to remain in touch in these challenging times. 10. Please encourage your sons/daughters to be wise with their online profiles. Their digital footprint is important. Appropriate policies relating to online learning/e-safety/behaviour are all relevant and remain valid during online lessons. Copies of our policies can be found here: School Policies.

Academic Support

Luckley House have subscribed to ClickView, this gives a fantastic array of free GCSE study guides. Click on this link to access the guide of your choice. Luckley ClickView

Elevate has worked with Luckley for many years now, having delivered study and revision sessions to our pupils last term. Elevate will be running sessions throughout lockdown and these updates will be posted here and via email.

Technical Guidance

It would be helpful if you could please ensure the following:

1. The software on your son/daughter’s device is kept up to date including antivirus and systems software. 2. Your home filtering software is up to date and in place. 3. Your child’s device is plugged in and charged. 4. If digital pens are used, please do keep a supply of batteries to hand. 5. Pupils should please use headphones for a better sound experience and especially if working in a communal area. 6. Remind your son/daughter to mute the microphone unless they are contributing to the lessons or collaborating with peers to limit audio feedback. 7. If you struggle with bandwidth, encourage your son/daughter to turn the video feature off unless actively speaking in the lesson or asked to be visible by his/her teacher.

Mr Wilkinson is available for technical help and support. He can provide remote guidance and assistance via email on Dan.Wilkinson@luckleyhouseschool.org . Mr Wilkinson has also established a ‘drive-through’ service. If needed, you will be invited to visit site where he will be able to connect to the Surface remotely while you remain in the comfort of your car. For complex IT problems that cannot be fixed in this way, Mr Wilkinson will take the Surface from your car and return it to you in a Covid-safe manner – fully sanitised. Microsoft has published specific guidance for online learning with 365. Distance learning with Office 365. You can also access short 30 to 45 second tips on understanding Teams in a series ‘how to’ videos called Teams for Parents. These are not Luckley specific, but you may find them helpful never-the-less. If you are an iPhone user, Apple has a number of Family Sharing tools that should allow you to get weekly reports on screen time, set downtime for app use and apply safety restrictions. Apple guidance for this can be found here Family Sharing. You may also find it useful to access Vodafone’s Digital Parenting Guidance. This website contains useful hints and tips as well as Parental controls and filtering advice for a variety of devices. Further resources can be found at the Safer Internet Centre Safer Internet Centre or via the NSPCC.

There are many things that Mr Wilkinson may be able to help you with, but if you need further assistance with your home internet settings, your Internet Service Provider should have specific guidance your device regarding safety and optimum performance.