Dear Parent/Carer,
Re: Remote Learning During COVID-19 Restrictions
As announced by the Victorian Government on Thursday May 27, Friday the 28th will be a pupil free day and all students will be engaging in remote learning for the next 7 days to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Acting Premier James Merlinos’ message to students and parents/carers of Government Schools is “all children who can learn at home must learn from home – with exceptions only in extremely limited circumstances.”
We are appreciative of the concerns that many parents/carers have expressed about how to support their child’s learning and wellbeing at home. More than ever before, it is important that we work in partnership with parents/carers to ensure students feel supported and continue to be engaged in learning.
Therefore, NEFLN has put together the following information to assist with remote learning (please note that the below may change at short notice as the situation continues to evolve).
Eligibility to Attend School
NEFLN will continue to provide on-site supervision for students whose health and safety would be at risk without access to a supervised environment. Given the age of students in Year 10 to 12 DET deems them able to remain at home, without supervision, only vulnerable students will be permitted to undertake their remote learning on-site.
Parents and carers who require their child to attend on-site learning will need to complete an On-Site Attendance Form in the week prior to their child attending on-site (this form needs to be completed weekly).
Process for Student Attendance Onsite at NEFLN
- Parents or carers to provide application form and evidence for required days/times the following week.
- School determines the request meets the threshold of the student being on-site.
- BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS FRIDAY: School to confirm arrangements with parents/carers.
Communication During Remote Learning
Staff will be continuing to contact your child and yourself regularly to:
- Support student Health & Wellbeing.
- Facilitate teaching & learning.
- Support individualised tuition.
- Support student pathway and career development.
To facilitate this, the School will continue to use official school accounts and tools below:
- Telephone
- Emails
- Website
- SMS
- Mailed letters.
School Hours
During remote learning, the school will continue to operate remotely.
Reception staff can be called between the hours of 8.30 am and 4.00 pm. If you would like to contact a staff member, please call Campus Reception and your calls will be forwarded as appropriate.
Teachers will teach their scheduled timetabled classes during remote learning and will endeavour to respond to phone calls and email queries as soon as possible between 8.30 pm to 4.30 pm.
Staff Working Remotely
Our teaching staff will continue to deliver the scheduled Term 2 timetabled classes online whilst working from home. There will only be a skeleton staff at school including the Leadership Team. Any eligible student who attends school will continue to do remote learning under supervision.
Remote Learning Arrangements and Expectations for Student Learning
- Students are expected to be learning remotely from home as per their current timetable.
- Students may be provided with Hard copy work in the first instance.
- Teachers will make regular contact with students to check on their wellbeing and engagement during remote learning.
- Business-like Environment; Students must be working from an appropriate space and in appropriate clothing.
- Prior to electronic remote learning, all students will be expected to complete an Online Learning Induction provided by ySafe to support their safe use of technologies in remote learning via ly/wshxysafe.
- It is an expectation that students attend all timetabled sessions. If a student is too sick to attend online classes, please inform the school via the normal process. Attendance in online classes will be taken daily by teachers and unexplained absences will be followed up as per normal process.
- The expectation is that all students should have taken their learning materials home. If your child was unable to do this, please contact Reception to arrange a suitable time to collect materials.
Teachers Absent During Remote Learning
For various reasons, teachers may be unavailable to deliver a remote learning session. Daily (at 8.40 am) the School will contact all students of any teachers who are unavailable to deliver a session. In this instance, students are required to continue self-directed learning for the timetabled class. Where extended absences are known, alternative arrangements will be put into place.
Parent/Carer Online Learning Induction
The Department of Education has reminded schools that the parent/carer is responsible for students’ general safety at home or elsewhere. To support you, NEFLN has partnered with leading cyber safety experts from ySafe to provide vital and practical information to our parents/carers via the Online Learning Induction for remote learning.
In the parent/carer version, the four video modules cover:
- Setting up devices to be safe for children and teenagers.
- Tips for managing class schedules at home.
- Supporting kid’s wellbeing and promoting healthy screen habits.
- Where to access help if eSafety issues occur.
The induction videos are accessible online via the ySafe Parents Portal, click here or visit https://www.ysafeparentsportal.com.au/. This is an exclusive portal we have purchased to make available to our College community, where there is an abundance of information on cyber safety at home, including step-by-step instructions for setting up devices, and reporting tools for managing issues such as cyberbullying.
As part of the Online Learning Induction, all Parents/Carers will also have access to the free Family Zone Insights App. This will help you stay up-to-date on current cyber safety risks. In partnership with Family Zone, this app allows ySafe’s experts to send parents/carers direct updates when their child has accessed something risky online, allowing ease of monitoring and current information on cyber safety issues. Access to the app is on an opt-in basis, with instructions for activating Insights available to the portal.
Please note that while your child is away from the School the internet content filters that are applied on the school networked are not applicable.
Who Can I Contact to Support My Child?
- For class and curriculum related queries, please contact the class teacher.
- For wellbeing concerns, please contact the Campus Wellbeing or Site Principal.
Support for Wellbeing During Remote Learning
The Campus student wellbeing services will continue to operate during school hours.
Parents/Carers who are worried about their child’s wellbeing can still contact Campus Wellbeing or Site Principal to discuss their concerns, by phoning the school.
Students who are already engaged with wellbeing can communicate with their allocated worker during school hours by email, text or phone call.
Included in this pack is “Headspace: How To Cope With Stress Related to COVID-19”. This document includes:
- Tips to maintain a healthy headspace during this time.
- Common reactions.
- Where else students can get help.
Students Without Internet and/or Notebook at Home
The College is in the process of contacting students and families who are identified as not having access to the internet or a computer at home. If this is an issue for your child, please contact the campus Site Principal
Our transition to remote learning will not be perfect. There will be bumps in the road as we learn together. However, I am confident that we will rise to the challenge, through your support and the dedication of our staff, to meet our common goal of providing high-quality education to your child and protecting the health and wellbeing of everyone in our school community.
Share This