Marlborough Online Learning Provision for working from home during term time
Academic Provision We are committed to the continuation of a high standard of academic provision (both curricular and super-curricular) for our pupils. To this end, the following arrangements are in place to support remote learning for pupils working at home.
Regular contact Teachers will remain in regular contact with pupils. For timetabled lessons, a plan/summary will be circulated via Firefly. It will include an outline of the topic/content to be covered, reference to resources to which pupils have access (eg text book page numbers, specification references, etc), and digital copies of relevant resources to be used (work-sheets, activities, question packs etc). Where feasible and appropriate, teachers may deliver lessons as real-time webinars. Alternatively, lessons will be task-based; in which case pupils will be guided by instructions or resources set on Firefly (as outlined in the paragraph above). It is likely that, in many cases, there will be a combined approach, as best fits the activity or topic that is being covered. Webinars will be hosted via the Zoom Video Conferencing platform; it is straightforward (especially for participants), and can be used with a smart phone or a tablet, as well as with a laptop. In advance of a webinar, pupils will be sent a digital invitation (via email, Firefly, or directly from Zoom). To prevent clashes, real-time webinars will be scheduled to take place during timetabled lessons. For those pupils who are unable to attend a webinar (for example, those in different time-zones), a recording will be shared. One-to-one Learning Support and Language Oral tutorials will be arranged between pupil and teacher by e-mail, and will take place online between 8am and 6pm (UK Time) Monday to Friday (or between 8am and noon on Saturday), but outside timetabled lessons to avoid clashes.
Resources Digital learning resources will be made available to pupils via Firefly. In many subjects, pupils have access to a subject-specific online learning package (for example, the Oxford University Press “Kerboodle” platform, which includes a digital text book). The Library has a number of digital resources and subscriptions that are available to our pupils; the full list can be found on the “e-Library” page of Firefly. Many print text books come with a free digital version (to which the pupils have access), and certain pupils on the Learning Support register will have access to digital text books via the RNIB Bookshare scheme.
Pupil work-flow: preps and assignments Lower School pupils will be set prep according to the prep timetable; Upper School pupils will be set prep as managed by their subject teachers. The prep time allocated to each subject will be increased to compensate for a potential reduction in class-time. Written work will be submitted via Firefly, OneNote, or email. It is up to the teacher whether the work is produced digitally – good for essay subjects, less good for science, maths etc. Regardless of how the prep is produced, it will need to be submitted digitally (ie pupils will be required to scan/photograph and upload work written by hand).
Teachers will provide feedback digitally. This could take many forms; it will vary from subject to subject and from assignment to assignment. Options include (but aren’t limited to): scanned markups by hand, digital mark-ups, give-back videos for a whole class, and real-time feedback webinars. Prep will not be limited to written assignments; there are many online alternatives to improve pupils’ learning which are well suited to remote working. Options that aren’t subject-specific include (but aren’t limited to): BookWidgets, nearpod, Kahoot!, and Quizlet. Examples of subject-specific options include: Massolit, Isaac Physics and Kerboodle.
Academic enrichment The College will continue to provide pupils working from home with a diet of academic enrichment. Where possible, supercurricular lectures will be streamed remotely, and academic societies (for example Les Amis de Maupassant, History and the Arts) will continue to meet regularly online – with discussions, webinars and projects. One such project is The Beethoven Inspire project (to mark Beethoven’s 250th birthday), which will cross between Physics, Biology, Literature, History of Art, Politics, History, Economics, Psychology, and, of course, Music. Departmental essay prizes will continue to be supported, and, should national Olympiads and competitions be cancelled, the College will introduce in-house alternatives. The Scholars’ programme will continue, and, as ever, pupils will be encouraged to take the lead by contributing reviews for the Scholars’ magazine and by preparing and delivering lectures for their peers via Zoom. The Memorial Library will continue to support the super-curricular development of our pupils. The Everest Reading Challenges will continue to run, and the Library staff will continue to provide 1:1 support for pupils working on an independent research project: a Pre-U Personal Investigation, an EPQ project, a Form Project, an essay prize, or similar. Contingent upon the specific restrictions of our site closure, the Library intend to provide “scan and send” service, for pupils wishing to access excerpts from those books in the Library’s large collection that aren’t available in digital form. We will endeavour for the large majority of one-off academic enrichment events scheduled for the Summer Term to go ahead, whether or not the pupils are on site; arrangements will be different, of course, but we are committed to embracing the challenges and opportunities presented by this new, albeit temporary, way of working. E J Tolputt Deputy Head (Academic) ejt@marlboroughcollege.org
Co-Curricular Activities The Co-Curricular Programme is, by its nature, largely collaborative during term time. The College has taken some steps to ensure that the pupils can continue their involvement and maintain skill levels while they are at home. The details in the key co-curricular areas are:
Sport
Outdoor Activities and Walking
The importance of fitness, fresh air and physical activity remain important while school is not in session. The Director of Sport, Mrs Rebe Horton, has liaised with her team, in particular the Head of Athletic Development, Mr James Davies, to provide some specific advice.
The need to go outside is natural and for those who are not self-isolating and want to venture beyond the garden; the College OA Department endorses the following advice from the British Mountaineering Council:
All information for Sports, Exercise, Well-being and Pre-Season preparation can be found on firefly under the Co-Curricular tab, Sport and then Athletic Development Department. There are different guidelines for different levels of fitness. There are also blogs on the website from the Athletic Development Team: https://www.marlboroughcollege.org/2019/11/blog-theimportance-of-hydration/ https://www.marlboroughcollege.org/2020/01/blog-practicalrecovery-methods/ https://www.marlboroughcollege.org/2020/02/blog-top-tips-forrecovery/ There is another blog due to be added at the end of the week which will discuss the importance of exercise during an extended period of rest. Other blogs will be added at appropriate intervals. The pupils can access the information on Firefly under Resources>>Co-Curriculum>>Sport>>Athletic Development… then scroll to the bottom of that page. First Team Sports Players will have been sent a Pre-Season programme but all aspiring team players for the Summer Term should play as much cricket and tennis in the garden while they are at home.
Music Pupils are encouraged to continue their usual practice regime and we recommend a daily session. We will be piloting the delivery of individual lessons via the Zoom video conferencing platform for those pupils preparing for exams.
• People need access to countryside for their health – both mental and physical. Follow the most current NHS advice regarding health and distancing. • Consider your means of travel and distance – close to home is best and, despite the environmental impact, it’s better to be in personal cars than public transport at the moment. • Stay with familiar areas and low-risk activities. • Reduce your risk. Be very aware that medical and rescue services and facilities are going to be extremely stretched and overwhelmed. It would be socially irresponsible to be taking risks at this time that could place an additional burden on medical and emergency services. • Do not assume that Mountain Rescue will be available. There is a real possibility of reduced or even no cover for rescue in some areas as this develops - including along the coast that depends on lifeboat and volunteer coastguards.
Drama The Penny Reading Earthquakes in London is affected this year. A performance is being filmed on Wednesday 18th March and this will be available on the College website for all to view. It is hoped that this will be available by the evening of Friday 20th March. Members of the cast of the Shell Play Animal Farm due to be performed at the end of May should ensure that they learn their lines thoroughly. Any questions can be raised with the Deputy Head (Co-Curriculum), the Director of Sport and the Artistic Director: Deborah Harris djh@marlboroughcollege.org Rebe Horton rfh@marlboroughcollege.org Philip Dukes ptd@marlboroughcollege.org Mrs D J Harris Deputy Head (Co-Curriculum) djh@marlboroughcollege.org
Pastoral Care We are committed to the continuation of a high standard of pastoral care for pupils. To this end the following arrangements have been put in place to support pupils working at home for the remainder of the term, and who are continuing to follow as normal a school routine as possible, remotely.
HMs HMs (including those who may be self-isolating with their households) will continue to be available by phone or email, such that they can be contacted by pupils about routine pastoral matters. They will continue to write End of Term reports for pupils.
For pupils based outside the UK, where time differences make Zoom or phone calls more difficult, it is likely that tutorial support will be offered primarily through email in the first instance. If a tutor becomes unwell and is absent from work, they will contact their tutees to let them know and direct any queries to the HM.
Tutorial support
Other pastoral support
Tutors (including those who may be self-isolating with their households) will continue to be available by phone or email, such that they can be contacted by pupils about routine tutorial matters.
The counselling team will make arrangements for remote sessions (e.g. by Zoom or Teams) for those pupils who require their continuation during normal term time.
Tutors will review the remaining PIRs and internal comments of this term and will write comments on the PIRs for pupils in the Hundred (due 20th March). Tutors will make contact with their tutees by Zoom call, phone or email for the remainder of term. Tutors will be encouraged to make contact during their remaining tutor duty nights of this term, such that the ‘shape’ of such pastoral interaction remains as familiar as possible.
Safeguarding Any safeguarding concern can be raised with the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead in the normal way, by phone or email: Lady Cayley Ben Miller
cmc@marlboroughcollege.org bhm@marlboroughcollege.org
Lady Cayley Deputy Head (Boarding) cmc@marlboroughcollge.org
Spiritual Support As you are already aware, the College is an inclusive Anglican community which welcomes families of all faiths, and none. During this extraordinary period of off-site provision, pupils, parents and staff are reminded that they are part of a wide fellowship which holds the values of compassion, service and community as central. The Chaplain, both College-based, and in his capacity as part of the local ecumenical ministry and the wider Anglican Church, is committed to continued spiritual support of the whole Marlborough College community.
International Society
The Chaplain will continue to produce a weekly blog, published on the website. This will reflect the collegiate messages usually disseminated via the services and assemblies held in the College Chapel.
We will continue to do all we can to support your needs, so please do keep in touch. I am aware that there will be particular concerns in relation to the current pandemic, and specific to the country in which you are based. Please be assured our outlook is a truly global one, and we will be thinking of you wherever you are.
The Chaplain will observe prayers for the whole community, and for the world, in the Chapel every day at 10.45am. Individual prayer requests can be sent to him at twgn@marlboroughcollege. org The Chaplain can be reached on his mobile phone number 07980 702638 for any pastoral or spiritual matters.
Particular thoughts and good wishes are extended to members of the Marlborough College community who are based overseas. I hope you have arrived home safely and are settling into a new routine of ‘remote’ College access, sometimes from a different time-zone!
I will endeavour to keep in touch with you individually in the course of the next few weeks. The Reverend TWG Novis Senior Chaplain twgn@marlbroughcollege.org
Safeguarding Guidelines We are committed to the continuation of a high standard of pastoral care for pupils. To this end the following arrangements have been put in place to support pupils working at home for the remainder of the term, and who are continuing to follow as normal as school routine as possible, remotely.
HMs HMs (including those who may be self-isolating with their households) will continue to be available by phone or email, such that they can be contacted by pupils about routine pastoral matters. HMs will continue to write EoT reports for pupils.
Tutorial support Tutors (including those who may be self-isolating with their households) will continue to be available by phone or email, such that they can be contacted by pupils about routine tutorial matters.
For pupils based outside the UK, where time differences make Zoom or phone calls more difficult, it is likely that tutorial support will be offered primarily through email in the first instance. If a tutor becomes unwell and is absent from work, they will contact their tutees to let them know and direct any queries to the HM.
Other pastoral support The counselling team will make arrangements for remote sessions (e.g. by Zoom or Skype) for those pupils who require their continuation during normal term time.
Safeguarding
Tutors will review the remaining PIRs and internal comments of this term and will write comments on the PIRs for pupils in the Hundred (due 20th March).
Any safeguarding concern can be raised with the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead in the normal way, by phone or email:
Tutors will make contact with their tutees by Zoom call, phone or email for the remainder of term. Tutors will be encouraged to make contact during their remaining tutor duty nights of this term, such that the ‘shape’ of such pastoral interaction remains as familiar as possible.
Lady Cayley cmc@marlboroughcollege.org Ben Miller bhm@marlboroughcollege.org