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Albanians at home

Learning from home

Since 23 March 2020, the School has continued to provide education for all its pupils remotely during the lockdown periods, when the Government guidance has required the School site to be closed to all pupils other than children of key workers. Click here to learn more about our current remote learning provision.

School Values of resilience, independence and resourcefulness have been amply demonstrated by pupils and teachers as we all learn together. It has been heartening to experience the school community in full force online.

Pupils have interactive lessons according to their normal timetables in which they can communicate in real time with their teachers and peers. This allows pupils to make good learning progress and engenders increased motivation and a sense of normality as the structure of the school day remains in place.

A wide range of learning strategies are being implemented through Microsoft Teams using PowerPoint presentations with audio insets, OneNote tasks, quizzes, video clips, traditional exercises using textbooks and exercise books and recorded lessons. Teachers have rapidly learned to implement these new strategies alongside many effective traditional strategies. Pupils make good use of the Teams conversation space to communicate with their teacher and peers.

How the School is supporting the community

The School’s Partnership programme rapidly shifted from its usual focus and rapidly mobilised to support the local community in number of ways:

#SASWeCare

We will be sharing updates on how we are supporting the local community and initiatives and activities that pupils are participating in to support their community, family and friends with our hashtag #SASWeCare on Twitter and will post these updates on our Facebook page. Here are our latest posts:

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St Albans School

Guidance for Working at Home

To maintain motivation and structure in the working day pupils should:

  • Get up at the same time as a normal School day
  • Get dressed appropriately for lessons
  • Establish a suitable work area
  • Take breaks in the designated times: lesson changeover, morning break and lunchtime
  • Make use of breaks to get some fresh air and exercise
  • Eat lunch away from the work area.

Co-curricular activities during lockdown

The co-curricular programme plays a central part in the education of all pupils at St Albans School, and at a time when pupils are sat in front of a screen most of the day, engaging in a co-curricular activity takes on an even more significant role. Numerous clubs are being delivered by staff and we are encouraging all pupils to participate. Activities and clubs include Sport, House Competitions, Drama, Mindfulness sessions, Warhammer Club, The Diversity Society, The Duke of Edinburgh programme, The Economics Society Forum for Active Philosophising, The Fourth Form Board Game Club and Christian Group.

Help and Support for Pupils and Parents

Staff continue to support and guide parents on how to help their child make the most of this situation; communication with parents remains a key part of our pastoral care.

Tutors meet with their tutor group every morning via Teams, during which time they ensure that pupils are staying motivated and connected; this has included assemblies on wellbeing and work habits, quizzes, creative and physical challenges, caption contests, cooking challenges and sharing music. Tutors have also made contact with each individual tutee, to help support them on a one-to-one basis.

PSHEE lessons have continued each week, with our Head of PSHEE sending out valuable information on Wellbeing and Staying Healthy, specifically adapted to help pupils during the Lockdown and current restrictions.

Whilst the novelty of working at home can seem exciting, it is important that pupils maintain their normal daily routine, to assist with their focus and motivation. If a pupil is finding it difficult to motivate themself, or require further guidance, they should let their Tutor during one of these regular catch ups.

Please try to be positive and keep a balanced approach and support your son/daughter during these challenging times and help them to keep to a routine and their usual weekly schedule. Encourage safe interactions with others and, where possible, family and community opportunities and exercise; when possible, try to limit the amount of time they spend alone.

By working together with you, we are confident that our pupils will continue to learn effectively and stay healthy.

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