Remote Learning

[Remote learning is] “Absolutely brilliant. Implemented straight away, with such confidence and very well organized. Thank you”

[Remote Learning is] “Excellent in all areas. Thank you to all the staff involved”

“[My daughter] has really enjoyed the live [remote] lessons, she is interested and engaged and pleased to be connecting with her friends and teachers again. Seriously impressed!”

“We have been extremely impressed by the way that the school has very quickly adapted to these very challenging times [during the COVID pandemic]”

“Live lessons with teachers [on Teams]… are helping to keep [our son] focused, to work independently [during lockdown] and have a better understanding”

“Having school provide such a good support and learning plan has helped immensely” [during the COVID pandemic)

“We would like to thank you for setting up these online Teams lessons… Miss Allen has been fantastic with all the children and has made it fun for them all whilst learning” (Reception Parent)

“AKS has really risen to the challenge [of Remote Learning], and continues to provide a wonderful education for our children”

"Teachers sought and responded to feedback [about Remote Learning] excellently to provide such a welcoming teaching experience for the children”

At AKS, we have used a combination of Microsoft Teams through the Office 365 suite and 'live' lessons through Skype for Business.

These lessons are accessed by both students working remotely and those whose parents are key workers and who are welcome to attend school (open for breakfast club and Twilight after school sessions as usual in Prep School and for the normal nursery day from 8am-6pm).

Our delivery of the full school timetable, across the whole curriculum, including co-curricular activities ensures continuity of learning for all year groups. Teacher-student engagement sustains our sense of community whilst also trying to keep school life as normal as possible for pupils and staff.

The adaptability and tenacity shown by the whole AKS community has been exceptional in such a short period of time and exemplifies what the school community is all about.

Features of AKS Remote Learning for Senior School

The Remote Learning Guidelines for Senior School are available here and in the Senior School section of our dedicated COVID page.

Feature	Benefit
Three 'Live' Form Tutor sessions per week	Pastoral support for and communication with students Includes spirit-raising initiatives by form tutors, e.g. 'bring your pet to form period'
Weekly Senior School Assembly	Communication cascade and discussion of themes which support wider personal development of students, e.g. Round Square Discoveries such as ‘Tenacity’. Senior School assemblies can be viewed here Our weekly "Reflection Section" is a period of time every Friday where we learn from someone in our community. It could be a member of staff, a student, a parent or an alumni. The only rule is that the topics are from outside the curriculum - something "interesting , quirky and fascinating". The sessions can be viewed here
Delivery of the full school timetable	Students can follow the progress of each course they study, by using the curriculum overviews and the GCSE specifications found at the link below on the website: /senior/learning The remote-learning timetable is identical to the students' usual timetable. This in included in our Parent Handbook on our dedicated COVID page
Microsoft Teams – for every class	Dissemination, storage and assignment completion/feedback Topic and subject-specific discussions
Registration in every lesson	Pastoral and academic staff able to quickly see anyone who may have missed a lesson, enabling timely follow-up and support
'Live' lessons via Microsoft Teams across all subjects to optimise learning	Supports: Teaching new material Addressing pupil misconceptions Hosting pupil discussion and interaction Providing feedback on work that has been completed and marked Contributes to enjoyment and support for learning as well as having a positive impact on well-being
Teams lessons recorded and shared	Enables students to watch again to assist their understanding
Delivery of creative and practical subjects through Teams	Ensures continuation of our broad and balanced curriculum, including music, drama, art, design & technology and PE Teaching includes practical challenges and projects, working offline, enabling students to break from screen time
Virtual Co-curricular Programme	Our diverse programme of virtual co-curricular activities provides students with fun, social activities to engage them beyond the classroom. Activities take place in lunchtimes and after-school five days a week, including: Sports masterclasses (hockey, rugby, football, cricket); strength and conditioning sessions; pilates Enhanced Sports Performance Programme - workshops and events with external speakers/specialists Concert band; cover song challenge (sing, speak, play) Natural history club; dedicated book clubs for lower and middle school A weekly Friday night 'cook-along' The full programme is available here. For wider ideas to engage and inspire beyond school, we have created an 'Inspiration Station' list of useful links and apps. This is available for download by our AKS and local community.
Inter-School Competitions	We regularly connect with other schools to create inter-school and inter-house competitions, such as sports challenges, which encourages students and their families to run, walk or cycle as far as they can in a set time. We have had a great response from our whole community, read more here. These activities supplement our school competitions, such as our virtual sports day.

Remote Learning in AKS Preparatory School

The principles of remote learning outlined above have been adapted for the younger age groups in Prep. Features include:

Weekly timetable detailing the activities for every subject and materials required
Four LIVE lessons per day across the full curriculum; plus one-to-ones as required to support learning and pastoral care
Example timetables for remote learning:
- Reception
- Year 3
- Year 6
Use of Teams for assignment and resource dissemination, storage, upload and feedback
Class time for younger years includes ‘show and tell’ sessions, encouraging students to share what they have been working on with their classes and story time sessions
Virtual PE lessons include topics such as sports science, energisers, training plans and fun fitness challenges and a virtual sports day to keep pupils active
Co-curricular challenges and competitions to add variety, encourage fitness and spark creativity beyond lesson time e.g. Lockdown Challenge House Competition

Weekly virtual assemblies, watch here
Weekly newsletter to communicate progress, achievements and sustain the strength of our community
A diverse programme of virtual co-curricular activities provides students with fun, social activities to engage them beyond the classroom. Activities take place in lunchtimes and after-school five days a week, designed for specific age-groups, including:
- Sports masterclasses (hockey, rugby, football, cricket); yoga classes; pilates sessions
- 'Be creative outdoors' club
- Nutrition family Friday 'cook-along'; Year 6 'Cooking with Rice'
- Book club; 'Around the World' culture club
- Advanced maths club
- Choir and instrumental performances
A virtual pre-schooler outreach programme - launched to support our wider community learn and have fun in lockdown. The weekly sessions are run by our specialist teachers, covering PE, Art, Reading, Music, Literacy and Literacy. Find out more here and view on-demand here.

A sample of a typical week’s learning is illustrated in the reports included on the weekly Nursery and Preparatory School Newsletter

Keep engaged through our online community

AKS isn’t just a school, it’s a community and this too has moved online, as a thriving community of current and former parents and students.
Current and incoming students are invited to participate in the various contests and challenges that have been levelled by our Prep, Sport and Art Departments amongst others. Other competitions are open to all. It is a great way to keep connected, keep up to date and get a flavour of the AKS spirit.
You can submit content to news@akslytham.com and find and follow us on the following platforms:
Twitter (@AKSSchool), Facebook (@AKSSchoolLytham), Instagram (aks_lytham) and YouTube.
Regular updates are also posted on the News, Sport and Creative Arts pages of our website.