Tonbridge Online

Tonbridge Online

Headmaster’s Welcome Welcome to Tonbridge Online, the educational programme we have designed as a school to support pupils and parents throughout this latest period of distance learning. We have adopted many of the principles of our approach in the Summer Term last year but also made some important changes to build on the success of our previous experience.

A major strength of last year’s programme was the quality of interaction between pupils and staff online. We are committed to ensuring that the experience this term is similarly engaging, with the very large majority of lessons live and interactive, and as before there will be access to some outstanding resources.

Teaching staff have received further training in online learning and have been equipped with new wireless headsets and web cameras, all of which will enhance the quality of sound and vision for those accessing lessons remotely.

We remain committed to ensuring that all our pupils continue to benefit from a high-quality teaching and learning experience, wherever they are in the world and whatever stage they are at in their educational careers.

We will also be keeping parents fully informed of their sons’ progress, recognising the importance of working closely together between home and school.

At the School we pride ourselves on the depth of relationships that exist between the boys and the staff, and we will continue to make the most of those to inspire the boys’ learning, to support their intellectual growth and to nurture their development as young people.

We are also excited by the opportunity to develop the boys’ independent learning skills, aware that creativity, critical thinking and the ability to collaborate are ever more valuable in the world in which we live.

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James Priory

Learning Online Tonbridge was one of the first schools in the UK to adopt a Digital Learning strategy, introducing laptops in lessons and creating a Virtual Learning Environment, Firefly, which has become one of the largest and best resourced VLEs in the country.

OneNote will be familiar to many boys as a digital notebook for whole class use. It allows teachers to share resources and mark student work remotely. Each notebook is organised into three parts:

Our online programme of teaching and learning is delivered through Firefly and Office 365, including Microsoft Teams and OneNote. Pupils will need to have access to a laptop, tablet or PC.

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Content library: a read-only space where teachers can share resources with students.

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Collaboration space: a space where everyone in the class can share and work on documents together.

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Pupil notebooks: a private space shared between teacher and student, allowing teachers to mark students’ work and ensure they are engaging effectively and making progress.

All pupils have been given a Microsoft Office 365 account. Their OneDrive account will also provide considerable Cloud Storage for documents.

Interactive lessons using Teams are the predominant feature of our online learning programme. Teams also allows us to record lessons to ensure that all pupils, no matter where they are in the world, can access lessons.

During lockdown, all year groups will continue to have the planned schemes of work delivered to them and teachers will continue to ensure that boys make appropriate academic progress.

Parents are asked to give their consent to their sons receiving One to One lessons, for example in music lessons, tutor meetings and individual academic catch up sessions. The link can be found here.

Pupils’ attendance will be registered in each interactive lesson, as well as teachers monitoring the pupils’ engagement in assignments set outside of online learning.

In the event of technical or ICT-related queries, please contact the ICTS helpdesk at ICTServices@tonbridge-school.org * The Tonbridge for Parents App can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. This app allows parents to access various types of information, including school forms, at the click of a button, and to make interaction with the School as easy as possible.

Only parents of a boy at Tonbridge School can use this app.

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Timetable for Lent Term We have reorganised our timetable for the Lent Term. This organises all lessons from Monday to Friday and is available on Firefly and in the student and parent versions of the Tonbridge App. Pupils will continue to follow their curriculum appropriate to the year group, while also having protected time to engage in Co-Curricular or Academic Enrichment activities. Tutor Times and Assemblies will take place at the start of the day, mirroring the usual start of the day followed in term.

8.30 – 8.45

Period 1 8.45 – 9.25

Period 2 9.30 – 10.10

Period 3 10.15 – 10.55

Break 10.55 – 11.20

Period 4 11.20 – 12.00

Period 5 12.05 – 12.45

Lunch 12.45 – 13.30

Period 6 13.30 – 14.10

Period 7 14.15 – 14.55

Period 8 15.00 – 15.40

Monday

Tutor/Assembly

Tuesday

Tutor/Assembly

Activity and Enrichment

Wednesday

Tutor/Assembly

Activity and Enrichment

Thursday

Tutor/Assembly

Activity and Enrichment

Friday

Tutor/Assembly

Activity and Enrichment

This Table explains how each day will begin for each year group.

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Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Monday

Tutor

Lower Master Assembly

Tutor

Assembly as required

Chapel

Tuesday

Chapel

Tutor

Tutor

Tutor

Tutor

Wednesday

Lower Master Assembly

Tutor

Chapel

Tutor

Assembly as required

Thursday

Tutor

Chapel

Assembly as required

Tutor

Tutor

Friday

Tutor

Tutor

Tutor

Chapel

Tutor

Pastoral Care The Houses and their teams will continue to remain at the heart of the boys’ life at Tonbridge. The House team will be in touch with each boy, and often parents too, every week. Boys can expect a call from their Housemaster at least once a fortnight and a combination of Tutor and Matron in between times.

Chapel Chapel will be available in the form of a weekly slot based around a ‘Thought for The Day’. The Chaplain, Father David Peters, is available for any boy should they wish to speak to him on a one-to-one basis.

Housemasters will continue to provide pastoral support and to help address any issues concerning the boys. They will remain the main conduit for information between staff and home; and will also be responsible for checking when boys are not in lessons.

School Counsellor Dr Shirley Lauryn continues to be available for appointments one-to-one via Microsoft Teams, as well as on email, and boys can continue to book appointments with her in the usual way.

Housemasters, Matrons and Tutors are running regular drop-in sessions, and will be communicating with the boys both individually and as a group in a range of ways: celebrating birthdays, sharing news, photos, jokes and generally supporting one another, as they normally do, to maintain the community of the House in this period of time away from the school site.

These sessions will be conducted with the same level of confidentiality. Dr Lauryn will be in touch with those boys whom she sees regularly.

Judde House, Manor House, Hill Side and Ferox Hall are registered with Dr Claxton and School House, Park House and Parkside with Dr Moore.

In a return to these uncertain and potentially worrying times, boys are encouraged to make use of their House teams, the School Counsellor and Chaplain. Resources are also available via the Wellbeing pages on Firefly.

For non-urgent enquiries please email: gp.g82059@nhs.net If boys require urgent treatment at home, they can be registered as a temporary resident at their local GP practice.

Tutors Boys will continue to see their Tutor regularly with time set aside at the beginning of each day, as per the printed timetable, to meet as a group or individually. This will give time to chat as a group, to reflect on Teaching and Learning and to discuss topics raised in Assemblies, PSHEE and Seminars, as well as to set individual goals.

Tutors will be in touch individually on a regular basis and continue to be available for a one-to-one conversation.

The Deputy Head Pastoral will also be re-starting a weekly ‘Wellbeing’ Survey. Boys will be encouraged to engage with this again, so that we can continue to support them even when they are not with us in person. This will give us an opportunity to identify overall changes in wellbeing as well as individual boys of concern.

Medical Centre The Medical Centre will be staffed to support those boys in school and parents can contact staff, as well as the school doctor directly, in the following ways: Telephone: 01732 770088 – stating that their son is a pupil of Tonbridge School Address: Warders Medical Centre East Street Tonbridge TN9 1LA

For repeat medications please do not telephone the surgery but email warders.prescriptions@nhs.net.You will need to include your son’s full name, date of birth and medication required, stating the chemist’s name, address and postcode. Medication can be sent anywhere within the UK.

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Co-Curricular The Co-Curricular life of the School continues to provide an important outlet for boys beyond academic lessons.

In the revised timetable, lessons will finish while it is still light in the UK and therefore boys will be able to engage in exercise on a regular basis, even if they are not able, at present, to be in team groups. We have planned a programme of fitness classes that will be available to join live, and these will also be recorded and made available to use at other times.

The new Lower Hundred Cookery Classroom is ready to use: we intend to invite boys to join in with regular cooking classes and will be sending out ingredient lists in advance. Other initiatives will be circulated and encouraged via Houses and tutor groups.

Our commitment to the local community and our charitable activities will, of course, be a part of our thinking. The week before half term is scheduled to be the Head of School’s charity week, and this year the chosen theme is general mental wellbeing and the organisation Headspace.

In addition, we intend to challenge boys to maintain their fitness ready for a return to organised sport in the near future.

Individual music lessons will continue remotely, and ensembles will be invited to take part in virtual performances, as well as to rehearse for future concerts at the School.

The Drama Department will be offering boys the chance to write and perform, using the afternoon activity slot to provide support.

Casting for the Sixth Form and Junior plays will also be launched with online read-throughs.

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Pictured clockwise from right: The Lower Hundred Cookery Classroom; Online fitness classes; Music lessons;The CRAS

Tonbridge Connect

There are over 13,000 Old Tonbridgians and parents within our community across the world. Our challenge before now has been how to bring this network together to support current students and younger OTs, as well as being a wonderful social and professional network for all its members.

The answer is Tonbridge Connect, a private online platform that provides opportunities for all members to keep in touch, make new connections, access careers support and sign up to a rich and varied programme of events and activities.

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Connect: Re-connect with former classmates and expand professional and social networks.

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Careers: Receive careers advice and mentoring from our network of accomplished Tonbridge parents, alumni and staff.

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Events: Book and pay for events and activities.

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Life after Tonbridge: Access inspiring sessions on both life skills as well as more career specific sessions, aimed to equip students and young OTs with insights as they transition to university and the working world.

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Clubs: Connect through the site’s 50 clubs, covering specific world regions, industries, university and sports networks.

By joining our online network of more than 3,000 members, and promoting a culture of helping and giving back, you will be amazed to discover how vibrant your Tonbridge community is!

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Rules and Expectations for Learning Online • Boys should be ready to start the school day on time, attending tutor time or assemblies as appropriate and then Period 1.

Interactive lessons will have a register taken, with absentees reported to the relevant Housemaster to follow up.

• If a boy is unwell or unable to attend lessons, his parents should alert their son’s Housemaster and the pupil should email his classroom teachers.

• Boys should make sure that they are dressed appropriately Boys are not expected to be in school uniform, but they are expected to be smart. Boys will be told to change by their teacher if they are dressed inappropriately.

• Wherever possible, boys should create a dedicated workspace in a quiet and suitable place in their home.

• Boys should ensure that they have all necessary materials for the lessons to hand (notebook, post-its, pen, pencil, water, etc).

• Boys should follow normal classroom etiquette, following their teacher’s instructions on how to communicate with each other, ask questions of the teacher and be considerate when other boys are communicating with the teacher.

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• Boys will be expected to activate their cameras so they can participate fully in online lessons, unless otherwise directed by their teachers.

• Boys should not walk around or leave the room without permission.

• Boys should sign out of social media, turn off notifications, and turn off their mobile phones in lessons.

• Boys should not share any inappropriate material and should ensure that any communication with other pupils or staff as part of the school day is appropriate. Boys should remind themselves of the school’s Acceptable Use of Computers Policy.

• Boys must not record or take photos of their teachers or other pupils in lessons nor share the content of lessons publicly.

Breaches of this rule will lead to disciplinary action being taken.

• Break time and lunch times are important periods of the day when boys can exercise and have a break from their screens.

Boys are encouraged to use these periods as ‘screen free’ time.

• Boys who live overseas are expected to attend lessons when these occur at a reasonable hour in their time-zone. If boys cannot participate in a live lesson, teachers will record the

lesson in order for them to catch up on material covered at a convenient time.

Rewards and Sanctions Teachers will continue to issue commendations to recognise excellent work or outstanding effort, initiative or contribution.

Distinctions will continue to be awarded for exceptional work.

When teachers feel that a boy is not adhering to the rules and expectations above, they may issue a virtual imposition paper for minor classroom misdemeanours.

For more serious breaches teachers will alert the boy’s Housemaster, who will address the situation with the pupil directly, involving parents and the Second Master as required.

Safeguarding The school maintains its duty of care to all its pupils in these circumstances and the Safeguarding policy is still in operation.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mr Colin Swainson, has provided an addendum to our policy for this new way of working.

The policy and addendum can be found here: Safeguarding Policy (September 2020) Safeguarding Policy COVID-19 Addendum (April 2020)

“We remain committed to ensuring that all our pupils continue to benefit from a high-quality teaching and learning experience” James Priory, Headmaster

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Tonbridge School, High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1JP 01732 304297 admissions@tonbridge-school.org /TonbridgeUK @TonbridgeUK @tonbridgeuk tonbridge-school.co.uk Tonbridge School is a registered charity No. 1097977 The information contained in the brochure is accurate at the time of going to press.