Remote Education Provision Information for Parents/Carers
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents/carers about what to expect from remote education, whilst:
• School is partially or fully closed, for a considerable length of time, due to: a National or Local lockdown or unforeseen circumstances.
• Children cannot attend school in extreme medical circumstances (authorised by medical professionals). See Children with Health Needs who Cannot Attend School Policy.
As a school we want all children to attend school and we value the face to face, quality first teaching and learning opportunities and interactions. Remote learning would be used as a last resort and only in exceptional circumstances, if the length of absence and learning would be detrimental to the child. Remote learning would only be a short-term solution allowing pupils to stay on track and connect with school. Timescales will be set on went a return to school would be anticipated.
Our school would work with the Local Authority, under the Section 19 duty to ensure that any health needs can be met at school, including health plans.
We would always seek the mutual agreement of the parent/carer, as well as seeking advice from the Local Authority and external agencies.
The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
Any child learning remotely, has to be registered with daily communication with school. 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. Our school would prioritise English and Maths, as well as provide learning opportunities for Science and foundation subjects, through the Oak National Academy – recommended by the government.
What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of learning at home?
In an immediate response to any remote learning, an email will be sent sharing details of the learning intentions and where to access online resources. This will include:
• New phonics learning as directed, using the https://lettersandsounds.org.uk/ website or any access to our own scheme ‘Little Wandle’.
• Talk for Writing (T4W) planned sequence and activities bespoke to the teachers plans with the current story being learnt in class or a Talk for Writing Booklet – a sequence of work based on the T4W process
https://www.talk4writing.com/home-school-units/
Reading e-books refer to https://library.thenational.academy/
• White Rose Maths power-points with the relevant activities or a White Rose Maths Booklet – for the current unit/concept being taught in class
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/
• The Oak Academy website, links and work for foundation subjects
https://www.thenational.academy/
• Rock Stars Times Tables site for online times-tables learning and challenges
• The specific class spellings or links to the Spelling Shed for children to learn age-related spellings https://www.spellingshed.com/en-us
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?
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:
• We use the ‘Little Wandle’ phonics scheme in school, but in order to learn new sounds, we match to the Letters and Sounds (government funded) website sessions to the order of learning.
• The Talk for Writing teaching sequences, when learning is blended to that being taught in school or when the teacher has time to plan and prepare, will be from our curriculum overview. However, in these circumstances the Talk for Writing booklets will be used.
• Teachers will direct children/parents to the Oak National Academy website, especially when there is limited time to plan and prepare for the learning of foundation subjects.
Remote teaching and study time each day
How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
We appreciate that learning at home is very different to learning at school – which is preferred. These were the governments expectations of home learning time during the Covid pandemic lockdowns. Parents/Carers will need to manage rest and sensory breaks to enable focus and concentration.
Key Stage 1 : 1-3 hours – as the minimum expectation for remote provision.
Phonics (inc. spellings) 20mins; English – reading 20 mins, writing 40 mins; maths 1 hour; foundation subject 40 mins. Movement can be used throughout the day to break up learning and promote well-being.
Key Stage 2: 2-4 hours – as the minimum expectation for remote provision.
Year 3 to include phonics (inc. spellings) 20 mins.
English – reading 40 mins, writing 40 mins; spelling and handwriting 20 mins; Maths 1 hour; foundation subject 1 hour. Movement and well-being activities 20 mins
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education?
• We will email the parent with details and instructions of where to find online learning websites and information.
• Parents/Carers will need to provide devices and wifi for connection, if we do not have any spare devices.
School Laptops have to be set up for home access, checked for viruses on return and set back to school. So, this can take time for our IT company to set up.
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:
• We will lend laptops or devices, when available.
• Laptops and devices, will be allocated at the discretion of the school.
If needed we may provide paper packs for home learning.
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 understand that everybody’s circumstances are varied, however, we want the children to learn as much as they can at home, as such we expect:
• Children learn best in the morning, so getting up, ready and dressed for a positive start to the day. We would like parents/carers to promote this.
• Contact school via phone and register.
• Pupils to complete their work, supported by the remote education tools.
• Independence to develop and learn as much as they can themselves through the provision and support on offer.
• Parents/carers to encourage their children to join in, connect with school and do as much as they possibly can to learn every day.
• Routines and time management should be set by the parent/carer, in their home, however we offer expectations of parental support, for example, through the minimum expected hours of work for key stages and an example, shared timetable.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
• We will take a register .
• We will ask for and check work returned by email or on the pupil’s return.
• We will communicate with parents on the phone or via email at least weekly, to check on engagement, learning and any support that can be offered.
• In EYFS, parents/carers can share the children’s learning and experiences on Tapestry.
• When engagement is a concern, the class teacher will talk to the parent/carer and speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team or Pastoral Support Team to find out what more we can do to help the child.
SLT will ask teachers to report and evaluate the impact of the remote learning for the school to celebrate successes and plan for areas that need improvement.
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 as follows:
• Assessing and evaluating returned work via email or on the pupil’s return to school.
• Assessments to inform teacher judgement, which will be checked by tests/quizzes and teacher judgement on re-entry to school.
• Promoting and encouraging the children to share their work and accomplishments.
• Praising effort and a “positive attitude” to learning, including the school values.
Teachers will also give weekly feedback via phone calls to pupils and parents about their work and engagement, where work has been shared.
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 in the following ways:
Special Educational Need and Disability pupils:
• Teachers will provide all SEND pupils with their My Plan and fortnightly activities and resources to meet their individual needs.
• Children will return their work for teachers to assess.
• Provision and resources are included for the Fizzy programme, speech and language as well as maths and English.
• Teachers will communicate with parents/carers by phone or email to give children feedback and give support where needed.
• The SENDCo will call pupils and their parents/carers with EHCPs, when requested.
• Lessons are differentiated and links to different sites appropriate to their needs, will be given.
• Well-being packs will be emailed for all children during a whole school or National Lockdown, and when requested by the teacher or pupil’s parent/carer for children with SEMH needs.
• The SENDCo liaises with external agencies for speech and language sessions, counselling, play therapy, ATS meetings and phone calls to parents.
• Annual review will be actioned remotely.
Free School Meals:
Food parcels or daily school lunches will be provided for those eligible for Free School Meals.
Safeguarding
.• Safeguarding and social care meetings will be attended, via video conference or phone call.
• PST will support families to access other agencies and financial support when needed.
• Signposting to volunteer and help groups for who need support.