Remote Learning
Home Learning
We are using Remote Education across school to:
- Provide learning for any child who is self-isolating and well enough to learn;
- Act as a contingency, in case a group of pupils are ever asked to self-isolate;
- Enhance our existing curriculum offer;
- Provide pupils with ways to extend their learning beyond the classroom;
- Provide tailored catch-up resources for pupils;
- Provide pupils with an opportunity to practise and embed recently or previously-taught knowledge.
Remote education for self-isolating pupils
Where individual pupils need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, please see the self-isolation section here.
How do I access Home Learning?
All parents have a ClassDojo login, which allows them to view all activities set.
Children have their own login for ClassDojo, this allows them to complete activities online. If you do not have your child's login information please email their class teacher or speak to a member of the admin team.
Pupils also have an user name (email address) and password to access Microsoft Teams, in the event of a whole class needing to self-isolate and therefore a need to move to remote learning.
This email login does not allow pupils to be able to send or receive emails, it simply allows them to log in to Microsoft Teams and certain apps.
Remote education provision: information for parents
School / Class Closure
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education.
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?
- An initial activity will be available on ClassDojo.
- Use the remote learning guidance for suggested activities for day 1.
- Each class teacher will host a Teams meeting (once set up) towards the end of the day to answer any questions or help you get started.
Will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?
- We teach as much of 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 will not be able to teach subjects that require specific resources from school, such as Art or PE, in the same way we usually would.
- We will teach core learning (Maths, Reading / Phonics, and English) as near as possible to the curriculum that would be taught in school. Some adjustments may be needed, due to the nature of remote learning. This will be decided by each teacher, depending on the age of the children and the content being taught.
Remote teaching and study time each day
How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
The Government recommends that primary age children undertake a minimum of 3 hours learning per school day for KS1 and 4 hours for KS2. This should be broken up into smaller chunks of time and interspersed with usual breaks. It should also be noted that learning for our youngest children (EYFS) will be predominantly through adult led and play based activities. Older children should be able to work independently (and there is a spectrum in between!)
Please see the approximate daily timings for the suggested breakdown.
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
- Activities will be set via the class story or portfolios page on ClassDojo
- Any content delivered by the teacher or check-in sessions will be via Microsoft Teams
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 have a limited number of Windows tablets to loan to pupils to enable them to access remote education.
- If the demand exceeds the capacity, we will prioritise according to the following criteria:
- Children with no access to technology in their home
- Children in receipt of pupil premium funding
- Children in year groups with end of primary school assessments in the near future (Y6 then Y5)
- We have a limited number of wireless routers with data only SIM cards to loan to pupils to enable access the internet in order to access remote education.
- If the demand exceeds the capacity, we will prioritise according to the following criteria:
- Children with no access to technology in their home
- Children with no internet access in their home
- Children in receipt of pupil premium funding
- Children in year groups with end of primary school assessments in the near future (Y6 then Y5)
- If parents/carers have indicated that they/their child has no access to the internet and / or technology, they will be able to access printed materials.
- Where possible, these should be collected from the lobby at the main entrance to school on Monday afternoon each week.
- If collection is not possible, they will be delivered by Monday afternoon each week.
- Completed work should be returned each week in the lobby or at delivery, for children to receive feedback on their learning.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
- live teaching (online lessons)
- These will be predominantly used for new learning
- Core lessons, such as English and Maths, may use live teaching for some lesson starters. These will be short sessions.
- recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, BBC programmes, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
- These will be used to explain new content, when live teaching is not possible
- printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
- these will be used for children who do not have any access to the internet and remote learning platforms, as indicated in the parent surveys
- reading books pupils have at home
- children will be expected to read their books, either those from school or ones from home, and record in their reading records as usual
- teachers may ask children to record their reading for them to listen to
- Books can be changed once per week – all banded books can be collected from Monday 11th January from each school office. Books MUST be returned before collecting new ones (we lost loads last time).
- commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
- The sites used will vary, depending on the age of the child and the subject being taught
- Teachers will provide clear links to any sites needed in remote learning
- long-term project work and/or internet research activities
- these will be kept to a minimum
- they will not be part of the core learning, but an optional extra
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 expect all children to engage with remote education as much as possible, ideally 3 hours minimum per day
- We would like all children to engage with their learning, ask questions and complete the tasks set by their teachers
- All children/parents or carers should inform their teacher of any issues in engaging with remote education, so the teacher / school can support them to be able to continue their learning
- We would like all parents to support their child / children in remote learning by:
- Keeping to a routine, similar to that of a school day, include breaks, meal times and an appropriate bed-time
- Help their child to set up a space in which to complete their remote learning, where they will be able to work quietly and without disruptions
- Ensure their child has resources they will need, such as pencil, ruler, crayons or contact school if required
- Helping their child access the learning set on ClassDojo (or printed packs)
- Helping their child to access live teaching and daily check-in sessions on Microsoft Teams as regularly as possible
- Providing support and encouragement to keep engaged with learning, even when your child finds it tricky
- Contact your child’s teacher, or the school, if your child needs any further support
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
For children accessing remote learning:
- Class registers for any Teams live teaching and check-in sessions
- Daily checking of completion / uploading of activities on ClassDojo
For children accessing printed materials:
- Weekly check of the completed materials
- Discussion with parents / carers during the weekly welfare telephone call
Where engagement with remote learning is a concern, we will contact parents to inform them and find out what, if any, support is needed for their child to engage with their learning. Contact will consist of:
- Class teaches will send a message to the parent carer via text or ClassDojo
- Class teachers will phone the parent / carer
If engagement is still a concern after the above measures:
- Class teachers will share their concern with SLT via email
- A member of SLT will contact the parent / carer
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. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:
All learning will be acknowledged by the teacher, with meaningful feedback provided where appropriate.
Feedback will include, but is not limited to:
- ‘Liking’ learning uploaded to ClassDojo
- Commenting on ClassDojo posts
- Marking work together in live teaching or drop-in sessions
- Whole class verbal feedback during live teaching or check-in sessions
- Written feedback for children accessing printed materials
Children should expect to receive a variety of feedback, with at least one piece of Maths and one piece of English receiving meaningful feedback, which helps them to make progress, per week.
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 children, 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:
For children with SEND:
The class teacher or SENCo will phone parents to discuss individual needs and ways in which school can best support their child. These may include:
- Learning to be personalised by the class teacher to support independent learning
- School to provide additional resources / equipment, where required
- Regular 1:1 online support via Teams, for children who would normally receive 1:1 support in school
For children in EYFS:
Remote learning will be adapted to be suitable for our youngest children in different ways. This may include:
- More frequent, shorter sessions
- Providing suitable practical activities that can be completed in the home (at their own pace)
- Focusing on key learning, eg. Phonics, maths and writing
Remote education for self-isolating pupils
Where individual pupils need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, please see the self-isolation section here.