KING’S EDUCATION ONLINE: INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
KING’S EDUCATION ONLINE: INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE During this time of distance learning, we hope to bring students a creative, enriching and inspiring education that remains true to our goal of ensuring students receive excellent individual support as they adapt to UK school life and develop their academic English. We have created an educational programme online that helps students continue to develop their core academic skills while at the same time being part of our very special College community. Students not only study academic subjects online, they also continue to enjoy wider opportunities for growth and development in different areas and benefit from the close support of our excellent staff and nurturing community, which forms the foundation of an education at King’s. Students will have live daily lessons, following their timetable; they will enjoy small-group and individual academic and pastoral support through daily meetings with their Tutor; they will be offered a wide range of co-curricular opportunities; and they will be involved in the College community through activities, assemblies and competitions. Bill & Jo Prior, College Principals
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT FOR OUR STUDENTS
We pride ourselves on offering individual support to students, with staff knowing each student well, and this is as true of our online programme as it is during face-to-face teaching. Our teachers and staff are just as available to students and families in this time of distance learning as they are normally. Students see their teachers and classmates every day as part of lessons and tutor group meetings, and the individual support we provide remains at the heart of the education we offer. Parents and guardians should feel as welcome as ever to communicate with staff about their child’s/ward’s learning. Therefore, please feel free to communicate with your child’s tutor or teachers by email, and followup phone calls can be arranged if you wish. The Joint Principals are also happy to communicate with you at any point. If you wish to be in touch, please contact us at: principals@international.kings-school.co.uk To allow for meaningful engagement between teachers and students, all students should turn their cameras on during lessons, so that the experience is as close as possible to having a real class. Support on specific academic matters: students should contact their subject teacher or Tutor. General academic support: students should contact their Tutor.
OUR APPROACH TO DISTANCE LEARNING
Students continue to enjoy the first-rate education that we offer at the International College. This is an education that delivers individual support to students as they adapt to the UK school system. Our online teaching is based on the founding principles that learning should be active and supported by close and open dialogue between students and teachers.
THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING ONLINE
Our small class sizes mean that students continue to enjoy a high level of individual teacher support in their learning. The learning our students do typically involves: •
A group call from a teacher to the class allowing for discussion and feedback
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A recorded explanation from a teacher, allowing for students to control how they learn by pausing and re-watching the video as they take notes
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Research tasks, whether online or using the resources they find in their home life
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Collaborative tasks, working with classmates in the virtual space
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Assignments allowing students to practise and master content and receive feedback from their teacher
TIMETABLE
Our College community spans many time-zones and we have adapted the daily timetable to fall as far as possible in the UK morning and early afternoon, which we hope will allow all students to access live lessons during waking hours as far as possible. The adapted timetable for online learning is opposite. Teachers will post lesson resources online to help students catch up if they miss a lesson. The broad timetable is as follows: Monday to Saturday, UK Time 08:15-08:30 – Tutor Time or whole College Assembly 08:30-12:45 and 13:30- 14:30 – Online lessons (mixture of live, pre-recorded, group and individual work activities) Additionally, there will be a wide range of co-curricular activities. The timing of these activities will vary based on the activities chosen by each individual student. If your child/ward will be absent from lessons, a parent or guardian should request permission to miss school in the usual way, by emailing the Joint Principals at principals@international.kings-school.co.uk Year 11: Students continue to develop academic skills and academic English, finishing the content of GCSE courses and preparing for summer public qualification entries. Years 9 and 10: Students continue with a broad curriculum (and GCSEs where applicable), working towards summer assessments.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
08:15
Tutor Time
Tutor Time
Assembly
Tutor Time
Tutor Time
Tutor Time
08:30
Period 1
Period 1 *
Period 1
Period 1
Period 1
Period 1
09:30
Period 2
Period 2
Period 2
Period 2
Period 2
Period 2
10:25
Break
Break
Break
Break
Break
Break
10:45
Period 3
Period 3
Period 3
Period 3
Period 3
Period 3
11:45
Period 4
Period 4
Period 4
Period 4
Period 4
12:45
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Period 4 Year 11 only: HWB
13:30
Afternoon period
Afternoon period
Afternoon period **
Afternoon period
Afternoon period
Period 5 Period 6
Period 5 Period 6
* Year 9 and Year 10 have their normal Wednesday period 6 class instead of PE. ** No Wednesday afternoon period for Year 9 and Year 10
Period 6
HEALTH
It is important that when learning online, students continue to take breaks between lessons as they would do in a normal school day to move around, stretch, eat and drink. We recognise that some lessons may cut across other family engagements: we encourage parents and guardians to keep in close contact with us, so we can all ensure that students have the best possible learning experience. Students should also try to keep a balance in their day between screen time and other activities. Not all school activities will require a screen: students may be asked to work with pen and paper; to read offline; or to complete research in their environemt. Outside of lessons students should also try to keep up activities that do not involve a screen, for example talking to family and friends, practising a musical instrument, drawing or doing craft activities. They should also try to keep to a healthy daily routine: eating and sleeping at normal times, eating a balanced diet, having a mixture of relaxing and physical exercise, and not taking a phone or tablet to bed.
PASTORAL CARE
TUTORS Tutors continue to play a central role in the learning and College experience of their tutees. Tutors have a live group call with their tutees every morning to check in on students’ learning and wellbeing and will also have individual meetings with students. This kind of individual support is as important as ever in the context of the global crisis in which we are living. Tutors will also work with tutees as normal to help prepare our weekly Assembly. Finally, Tutors will continue to provide students with the wider enrichment that characterises this relationship by sharing experiences, links and interestbased activities with their tutees, and encouraging tutees to share their experiences with the group. Students have daily group calls with their Tutor and also regular individual calls with their Tutor, and these are times for Tutors to find out about and support students’ wellbeing. Students can also contact any member of staff they feel comfortable talking to if they have concerns. Ms Erol is available during morning break every day for students to call her informally on Teams. Students may also wish to contact Mr Lyon, the Senior Tutor or the Joint Principals on Teams or through email. COUNSELLOR The current situation may cause students to feel different emotions, such as sadness, anxiety and loneliness, and the mental and emotional health of our students is of top importance. The College Counsellor continues to be available to students, offering confidential support and individual meetings online. She can be contacted to arrange appointments through the following email address: nickycrouch@kings-school.co.uk
JOINT PRINCIPALS The Joint Principals continue to communicate daily with students and tutors, overseeing students’ academic progress, wellbeing and engagement. They are available for conversations with students, parents and guardians and will address any issues affecting students. HEALTH & WELL-BEING CURRICULUM Students will continue to participate in the Health and Wellbeing curriculum, which is an important part of learning to cope with life as a teenager in the 21st century. COLLEGE COMMUNITY Our online College community meets and learns in Microsoft Teams. Students are members of ‘Teams’ that recreate the groups that they are already part of in the College: their Maths class, a guitar lesson, their Tutor group, the Student Council, the College community. Students can access Teams through nearly all modern devices, and ideally one of the following: a desktop PC, laptop or tablet computer.
RULES & EXPECTATIONS
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Students should be ready to start their day and log in to their tutor group Team at 08:15 (UK time). The tutor will register each student’s attendance
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Students should be dressed appropriately and be aware of what may be visible in the background
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Where possible, students should undertake any online lessons in a family space in their house (e.g. living room) and not in their bedroom. However, we are aware that this may not always be possible
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Family members should be aware that a lesson is taking place to minimise interruptions where possible
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Students must not record or take photos of other students or teachers during any online teaching sessions, nor share lessons publicly. Any breach will invoke a disciplinary response in line with the School Rules and Behaviour Policy
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Students should have their school books, pen and paper available for lessons
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Students should avoid distractions from mobile phones or non-school-related internet chat and games during lesson times
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Normal classroom behaviour is expected from students in group calls, school work and collaborative activities, and students should ensure that the way they communicate is appropriate and sensible. Students should be aware that interacting online in a school environment is different to informal interactions they have with friends. Additionally, students should not browse, upload or forward material that could be considered offensive or illegal
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Students are reminded that the Acceptable Use Policy still applies
SUPPORT
We understand that the current situation will be stressful for parents at times, as they juggle working from home and supporting their child’s education, together with the uncertainties that the COVID-19 pandemic brings. We are here to support the whole of the King’s family. Please speak to the Joint Principals if there are additional factors we need to consider, and we will do all we can to help. We request parents, guardians, or other adults providing care to students, to take an active interest in their child’s/ward’s progress and provide support in the form of: •
A daily routine that allows the student to spend adequate amounts of time on schoolwork
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A calm working environment, including a desk
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The monitoring of recreational technology during study time
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The removal of mobile phones during study, as would happen in class E-SAFETY
King’s uses a huge amount of filtering and monitoring software to keep our students as safe as possible when they are using the school Wi-Fi. We encourage parents to: •
Set filters on their home connection
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Check their parental controls via their broadband provider
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Check that they have suitable anti-virus protection in place
www.international.kings-school.co.uk