Blended Learning

This refers to students who attend live-recorded lessons and pre-recorded lessons through off-site learning.

At Ashford School, Blended Learning is available to boarding students and students advised by health professions to continue shielding who, due to exceptional circumstances, are attending lessons remotely. Blended Learning students are those pupils who would normally live in a boarding house at Ashford School. However, Blended Learning students may also be those who live locally but cannot currently attend the School site due to shielding purposes.

In accordance with the Monday to Friday school timetable, Blended Learning students must engage with their subject lessons and complete the tasks that are set by the classroom teacher.

Lessons will take place in real time where teachers conduct face-to-face teaching in the classroom for those students that are present on the school site, whilst simultaneously recording the lesson online through use of Microsoft Teams.

Due to time zone differences, some pupils may wish to attend a lesson at a different hour than its timetabled slot. In these circumstances, pre-recorded lessons can be made available to students and will be placed in an online library.

To aid and support learning, content materials for lessons will be made available to all students. Subject departments principally use Power point and OneNote to share content materials for lessons. Online textbooks may be made available to students if they are relevant for learning purposes; subject teachers will be able to give direction on this.

Please note that recorded lessons are also important learning aids for exam revision purposes.

When a student is attending a live lesson remotely, they can message their subject teacher in Teams if they would like to ask a question.

When accessing online pre-recorded material, Blended Learning students may require additional support from their subject teacher. For example, they may require more explanation of a task, or they may require extension material so that they can challenge themselves further. In these instances, students can contact their teacher in Teams or by email for advice about this.

Assignments and homework tasks will be set in Teams for all Blended Learning students whether they are present online and live in the classroom, or whether they follow a pre-recorded lesson. Tasks will be completed in written form or verbally, as directed by the subject teacher.

Teacher feedback will be given according to the subject department’s own assessment approaches. The most widespread assessment feedback methods used in departments at Ashford School are through Teams, OneNote or by email.

To access Ashford School’s many online resources and to connect with teachers and peers, each student will require a laptop or desktop computer (Windows 10 or Mac OS 10.7 or newer) and browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer 11 or newer, Microsoft Edge, or Safari). A broadband connection is essential. If a desktop computer is used, it is paramount to have a microphone and camera connected to use when needed.

If Blended Learning students experience any technical issues during lessons, such as difficulties accessing the necessary technology for learning, they should email ictash@ashfordschool.co.uk

Internal exams for Years 11 and 13 will take place in September; mock examinations for these year groups will take place in January of 2021. Year 12 internal exams will take place in November 2020. For all other year groups, exams will take place later in 2021.

If a student is not attending the School campus, they can still take part in an internal or mock exam by completing the examination paper remotely. In these circumstances, the subject teacher will email the exam paper a little in advance of the start time of the examination. All students must strictly adhere to the directions and timings given for these exams, as well as the rules about plagiarism. Guidance will be given by the subject teacher about how to submit completed exam papers.

There is one Parents’ Evening for each year group during the academic year. This is an opportunity to receive verbal feedback from subject teachers about progress, effort and attainment. For Blended Learning pupils who are attending lessons remotely, appointments can be made with subject teachers and meetings will take place online in Teams.

Subject teachers complete written and grade only reports for students during the academic year. For Blended Learning pupils, reports and grades will be completed by subject teachers and made available in accordance with the School’s reporting schedule.

Each student at Ashford School attends one Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) session per week. Blended Learning Students will be able to access these lessons through Microsoft Teams.

We understand that the last few months will have affected us all in many different  ways.  It is important that we create an environment where  we can talk and share concerns  and support each other in moving forward.   

As ever, form  tutors should be the  first  point of contact for parents and pupils but there is a huge support network  available  in the School, all of whom can be contacted via email or a Teams meeting can be arranged: 

• Form tutor   
• Head of House 
• Head of Section 
• Deputy Head Pastoral 
• Health Centre 
• Wellbeing Team (School counsellors) 
• Chaplain 
• Mental Health First Aiders 
• Peer Mentors 

 Each student will be asked to identify a trusted adult, a member of staff they feel they can talk to if they are worried, but should remember that they can talk to anyone in the School about their concerns. 

Students continuing with the online learning will be assigned an E-Tutor who they will register with every day at 08:30 and 13:50 GMT.  Their E-Tutor will be their main point of contact should they have any concerns about their online learning. 

Form tutors will also contact students weekly to see how they are progressing and discuss

The co-curricular programme provides opportunities for students to further develop their interests and to expand their skill set. We understand that limited opportunities for students to socially interact with their peers over the last few months will be a concern for some. Therefore, whether attending school remotely or in person, we will ensure that our co-curricular programme has a strong focus on activities that allow students to engage with their peers.    

To find out more about the co-curricular opportunities available to blended learning pupils, please contact Tony Wilde, Deputy Head- Co-curricular and community partnerships. wildet@ashfordschool.co.uk 

As students will attend Ashford School from their home and/or own country, it is paramount parents have a clear view of their children’s learning and play a crucial role in their success. Ashford School online platforms will keep students updated in real time of their tasks assignments and activities, however we encourage all parents to help support their children in their online education and to take ownership for this unique commitment.