Remote Learning

Remote education provision: information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education if local restrictions require entire classes (or bubbles) to remain at home.

For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home

A pupil’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

On the day your child is sent home it is unlikely any learning will be delivered however on this day, or the next, your child’s class teacher will be in touch to share the Online Code of Conduct, discuss any concerns you have regarding using the online platform and perform a wellbeing conversation about the child/family. Remote learning will start on the first full day your child is at home- although the learning information including support sheets will be available on the class TEAM before the lesson.

Following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

Our main aim in this situation will be to keep the school curriculum as close to normal as possible and enable your child to access input from their current class teacher or another familiar member of staff. We teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects for example PE lessons may be individual challenges set by the coaches, or our Lunar topics may be replaced by projects for mixed year bubbles. Some of the curriculum will be taught via a member of staff ‘remote teaching’ using Microsoft Teams platform and some will be through the use of alternative provision websites.

The learning in English, Maths and Foundation Subjects will be taught by a ‘live’ contact session (via invitation on Teams) or a pre-recorded video input. Teachers will be online throughout the lessons to provide support for pupils and to give feedback.For children to get full benefit from these lessons, it would be preferable for them to log in as the lesson is delivered. This will allow them to ask and answer questions and to access the teacher input.

Daily reading of age-appropriate texts will continue to be encouraged, using either those at home, Reading Eggs, Oxford Owl or our online KS2 library. The use of online resources such as TTRockstars, Spelling Shed, Phonics Play etc should also be carried out. You will be guided to this by your child’s class teachers. Paper copies of learning resources will be available via communication with the school office should you require these.

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:

Primary school-aged pupils

Key Stage 1: 3 hours a day on average across the cohort, with less for younger pupils

Key Stage 2: 4 hours a day

The work set, including any ‘taught’ lessons, should take roughly the hours mentioned above. There should also be time for pupils to have breaks as well as carry out some form of exercise. Live lessons will be made available as soon as possible from closure, as we are sure you can appreciate it will take teachers time to prepare home-learning resources that fit with the pupils’ learning, organise timetables etc. and communicate these to families.

In addition, it may be that teaching staff are unwell and would be unable to teach live lessons. In this situation, the fall back of pre-recorded lessons would be used.

Accessing remote education

How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?

They will access the online platform TEAMS by using their school email address.All pupils will also be able to access the online subscriptions purchased by the school to support with remote education eg Purple Mash, Charanga etc

Even if pupils are unable to work online on their device, they can access the lesson input from staff via any device that has the internet, including smart phones and gaming devices such as xbox and Playstations.

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

  1. If a pupil does not have a device to access the online platform, school will work with parents to discuss the loan of a Chromebook or an additional device for this period of time
  2. If a pupil does have a device, but households do not have an internet connect, or enough data, school will work with parents to obtain an increase in data or a router. This would also be the case if families had a loaned Chromebook or additional device from school.
  3. If children cannot access online learning, a pack of work will be provided by school for parents to collect from the main entrance at the beginning of the week
  4. Work should be submitted to teachers by sending the document or a photograph of the work to the year group email

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

  • Live teaching- throughout the majority of days pupils will access live teaching from a class teacher with an independent activity available after the lesson on the online platform
  • Recorded teaching- these may be used as a guide for pupils to follow in order to complete an independent task (e.g. Oak National Academy, Developing Experts etc)
  • Printed paper packs produced by the teachers for any pupils that cannot access remote learning
  • Reading books pupils may have at home
  • Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects, including video clips or sequences
  • Project work and/or internet research activities

Engagement and feedback

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

We ask that you try to set a routine for your child during the time they are at home. We do realise this is not always easy if you are ‘working from home’ but it will make the learning much easier if it is at regular, set times.

When your child is logging on for any kind of ‘remote’ learning we ask that you regard our safeguarding policy and online code of conduct and also that you ensure your child is aware of the expectations from school and that you support these.

We understand that many parents will also be working at home, and the remote learning is designed to ensure that children can work as independently as possible, with staff online throughout the day supporting pupils.We expect that where possible, pupils work as independently as they would do in class, as most pupils do not have 1:1 adult support for every lesson.For younger pupils, we recognise that they will need more support, and possible help in accessing the technology that supports remote learning.

We will be keeping note of which pupils access the leaning and how much work they complete and staff will contact parents of pupils who are not engaging.

There will be at least weekly feedback opportunities for all pupils, as well as the daily opportunities during the live lessons for teachers to discuss learning with the pupils.Teachers will expect pupils who are working remotely to submit their work via Teams, or by email if this is not possible.

If you are struggling to support the learning, please do not hesitate to contact school for additional support and guidance. We recognise that some pupils, for example some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils as we have done during the last year. We will continue to stay in close contact with any family requiring specific help due to SEND plans and offer additional advice and support.

How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?

Pupils are asked to be available and to log onto the class register by 9am each day.The teachers working remotely will be able to see who is accessing the live sessions as a participant list is available from the online platform. During a live session, your child may be asked to write answers down and show them on their screen, write their answer in the chat or asked to speak and give their answer when the teacher unmutes them.

The teacher will be checking daily if work has been handed in by each child accessing online learning. If a child isn’t engaging in their work, then the class teacher will call parents to ensure the child is well and/or to offer guidance with work if it is needed. If their engagement continues to be a concern, a member of the Senior Leadership Team in school will contact parents.

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is either by a comment left on their work handed in via email, which they have access to, in the lesson chat on their online platform or verbally through the live lesson.

Additional support for pupils with particular needs

How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults at home to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils, for example some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils. School will offer additional support or 1:1 support for those families who need it to access remote education. Remote education in Early Years will still include short live sessions for phonics, maths and other areas of the curriculum throughout the week, as well as independent play based tasks that develop the 7 strands of the Early Years curriculum, but which parents can engage with and support when necessary.

Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Where individual pupils need to self-isolate, but the majority of their peer group remains in school, how remote education is provided will likely differ from the approach for whole groups. This is due to the challenges of teaching pupils both at home and in school.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

If your child is self-isolating due to family circumstances, we ask that you keep in close contact with school. We will provide the materials for remote learning as every child has access to logging onto the online platform, including paper copies where required. Any work completed can be shared with school and your child will be offered support and feedback from the year group staff. If your child is unwell, we would only expect them to join in the learning when they are fit to do so. Please contact school if this is the case.

 

A 'Teams' guide to remote learning can be found via the link below

Teams Guide

Remote Learning Policy

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