WMG Academy Online Learning Provision
WMG Academy is committed to providing high-quality education to all students during the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, either due to self-isolation, illness or enforced school closures, teaching and learning will be carried out remotely. This guidance will help parents to understand the arrangements in place and how to support their children.
When will my child need to learn online?
Students will be expected to engage with online learning in the following instances:
- During periods of enforced school closures like those seen in March 2020 and January 2021;
- During periods of whole school, year group or bubble self-isolation as part of the Academy’s response to a confirmed case of COVID-19;
- As part of a blended learning approach to support social distancing.
What will my child be taught online?
WMG Academy is committed to offering the same standard of teaching online as would be received in person. The online timetable will mirror that of the onsite provision and students will receive live lessons for each examined subject as well as one independent study session per subject per week. All students in Key Stage 4 should receive at least 5 hours of teaching or independent study per day. Students in Key Stage 5 will receive at least 12 hours per week, supplemented by independent study activities.
Please note, online teaching is not usually provided in PE, RSHE or Enrichment.
What time are online lessons and do they start immediately?
The WMG Academy day structure has been adapted to suit online learning and can be seen below. These changes allow staff the flexibility to move from face-to-face teaching to online teaching and to ensure that all of the necessary technology is set up prior to students joining the session.
WMG Academy will always write to parents to confirm the specific arrangements for online learning each time it is necessary to move to this provision; however, on occasions where students are sent home during the Academy day to commence isolation, online learning will be available from Period 1 on the next working day.
Onsite/Online Timetables
| Onsite | Online [45 minutes in length] | |||
| Period 1 | 08.30 – 09.25 | Period 1 | 08.30 – 09.15 | |
| Period 2 | 09.25 – 10.20 | Period 2 | 09.30 – 10.15 | |
| Pastoral | 10.20 – 10.45 | Pastoral | ||
| Break | 10.45 – 11.05 | Break | ||
| Period 4 | 11.05 – 12.00 | Period 4 | 11.15 – 12.00 | |
| Period 5 | 12.00 – 12.55 | Period 5 | 12.15 – 13.00 | |
| Lunch | 12.55 – 13.30 | Lunch | ||
| Period 6 | 13.30 – 14.25 | Period 6 | 13.30 – 14.15 | |
| Period 7 | 14.25 – 15.20 | Period 7 | 14.30 – 15.15 | |
| Break* | 15.20 – 15.35 | Break* | ||
| Period 8* | 15.35 – 16.30 | Period 8* | 15.30 – 16.15 | |
* Sessions identified with the asterisk do not take place on Monday or Friday
How does my child access online learning?
WMG Academy uses Google Classroom exclusively for the setting of coursework and homework and for the delivery of online lessons. All students should be familiar with the use of Google Classroom, but different PC configurations may mean that it is slightly different when at home compared to the usual classroom PC or Laptop.
Here is a shortcut method to logging into Google Apps from any PC.
- Open a Browser
- The preference is to use Google Chrome
- Other browsers will work fine, but may limit some functions
- Google Chrome can be easily loaded by searching ‘download google chrome’
- Navigate to www.google.co.uk
- Click on the circular icon in the top right of the browser and
log in using your Academy email address and password. - Once logged in, use the nine squares to access the Google
Apps available to you
What support is available if my child doesn’t have regular digital or online access?
If your child does not have regular online or digital access, please contact the Academy as soon as possible. The Academy has a small number of devices available for students who meet a needs-based criterion and there is additional support available from the local authority, central government and from the leading mobile phone and data providers.
How will my child’s learning be assessed?
Teachers will continue to assess students progress whilst working remotely. Assessments and feedback can take many different forms and could include written tasks submitted online, class discussions or online quizzes and activities. Feedback is not always in the form of written reports and could be given verbally or through the Chat function on Google Classroom. Teachers will use the timetabled live lessons to deliver content each week with independent study and assessed work set for the timetables independent study sessions.
How do I contact my child’s teachers for progress updates or to raise concerns?
If you need to contact the Academy whilst your child is learning from home, you can do so via email to solihull.info@wmgacademy.org.uk or by calling the main switchboard.
Students can also contact teaching staff directly via Gmail or via Google Classroom. Please be reminded that teachers may not respond to emails outside of normal working hours.
The Academy’s safeguarding and pastoral teams will continue to support students during this period of closure. Safeguarding and welfare concerns should be reported to solihull.info@wmgacademy.org.uk with the subject line of ‘CONFIDENTIAL – SAFEGUARDING’.
How will my child’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) be catered for?
Teachers will continue to support students with SEN. We recognise that all learners have individual needs and some will take longer than others to adapt to online learning.
The Academy’s SEN team will continue to run intervention sessions and support online lessons. Where necessary, additional breakout sessions can be organised as well as one-to-one welfare calls.
What should my child wear?
For safeguarding reasons, all students will be expected to join online lessons with their cameras switched on and their microphones on mute. For this reason, students should ensure that they are dressed appropriately although business attire is not required. Students should also ensure they are in an appropriate location to join their lessons and be aware that other staff and students will be able to see their backgrounds.
Do these arrangements apply if my child is isolating individually rather than as part of a larger bubble or cohort?
Where it is necessary for individual students to self-isolate, it is not always possible to offer online live lessons. If this is the case, teaching staff will send work packs to students via Google Classroom and support students and answer enquiries via Gmail.