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 where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts (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?

Children that are sent home will have additional reading books to take, resources to support home learning if necessary and paper copies of work for those who require it. During the first day of remote learning, whilst the teacher prepares Google classroom, children will be signposted to a number of learning sources. Home learning grids, curriculum maps and knowledge organisers are all uploaded to Google classroom at the start of each term for parents to support home learning, these should be referred to for the first day of learning. Additional learning can be accessed from BBC bitesize, Oak Academy, Times tables Rock Stars, spellings, home reading books and class reads. 

 

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, lessons that are supported by resources that may not be available at home including PE, music and some science lessons. We will always endeavour to find suitable alternatives to ensure that the curriculum content is taught.

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:

Key Stage 1	3 hours a day for Key Stage 1 (years 1 and 2 when pupils are aged between 5 and 7)
Key Stage 2	4 hours a day for KS2 (years 3-6 when children are aged between 7 and 11)

 

Accessing remote education

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

 

The main platform that we are using for online remote learning is Google Classroom. For live sessions/meetings we will also use this platform to support Google Meet.

Children in the EYFS will be provided with online remote learning via Tapestry.

Any children new to school are assigned their log ins for these platforms when they join the school. All other children have been provided with their log ins. If you need your child’s log in reset please contact the school office to seek assistance.

 

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 number of devices that we are able to loan families if there is no device in the home. If you do not have access to a device at home please contact the school office where we can support.

If there are any difficulties with internet access please again contact the school office where we will be able to offer support with additional mobile data requests if the request meets the providers requirements.

A small number of parents prefer paper copies of the work that is being provided and those are available on request from the school office. We are able to provide devices to work online so do encourage this where possible as children can receive live feedback from their teacher and ask/answer questions that are posed throughout the day.

If paper copies are preferred there are a number of options of either uploading the work to the Google classroom or returning the copies to school. We have put together a separate ‘how to guide’ on our website. Photos of the children’s work can be taken and uploaded to the Google classroom or a number of devices including iPhone have in built scanners that can scan the children’s work and then be uploaded to the Google classroom.

For the small number of parents who do not have access to this functionality we can arrange for completed work to be returned to school. Please note that any work returned in paper copies will need to be quarantined in school for 48 hours before being passed to the teacher.

 

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

In EYFS children will be taught remotely on Tapestry. Children will be provided with pre-recorded sessions, from a school teacher, each day in phonics, alternate Maths and English and a video of a story being read to them. Children will also be provided with suggested activities linked to the current theme that can be completed at home.

 

In KS1 pre recorded sessions from class teachers will be uploaded to the Google classroom for Maths, English, phonics and a theme lesson. A guided reading task will also be set daily and children will be read to online.

 

In KS2 pre recorded lessons from class teachers will be uploaded to the Google classroom for Maths, English, SPAG and a theme lesson. A guided reading task with comprehension questions will also be set daily alongside a clip of an adult reading to the children for them to listen to.

 

Additional learning may be signposted through times tables rockstars, spellings, quizzes and LEXIA reading.

 

Teachers will use a combination of their own voice over presentations and modelled input and pre recorded lessons of themselves delivering the teaching input. This may be supplemented with additional resources from the Oak Academy, BBC bitesize and websites that support specific teaching of subjects. These may include:

Phonics play, Numbots, Oxford Reading Owl, Times tables rockstars, LEXIA, White Rose maths, Language Angels and Jigsaw PSHE.

 

Children will be provided with copies of their class read either in hand or sections uploaded to the Google classroom. If printed packs are required we are able to support these with exercise books for recording and other additional support materials.

 

During any period of closure we believe it is so important to try and maintain that sense and feel of community both in class and the wider school environment. To that end we will hold weekly live Google meetings for the children to join and catch up with their class friends and teachers and also continue to share special mention assemblies acknowledging efforts and outcomes of those in school and learning at home.

 

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

 

We expect children to be fully engaged with the lessons we are providing as they have been designed to meet the needs of the children and follow the National Curriculum requirements for their Key Stage. We have opted for pre-recorded lessons as we know that many of our families are working parent families or have multiple siblings which makes it difficult to access the learning at prescribed times. We appreciate that home learning may need to take place outside of normal school hours so we will monitor engagement over the week and take a register at the end of the week for all pupils. If teachers raise concerns about the engagement of any of the children in their class they will notify the admin team and a member of staff will contact the family to discuss if any additional support is required.

 

How can parents/carers support their children at home?

 

• Reinforcing the message that education improves life chances with your child is critical.  
• Students need to, in these uncertain times, have the security and comfort of a regular routine with learning expectations that are as realistic as possible.
• Missing school  and remote learning is disruptive to the learning process and can have a negative impact on academic progress and a child’s well being.
• Just as if we were able to begin the school year with in-person instruction, we are required by the state to report student attendance/engagements in learning. Both parents and schools must work together to ensure that learning moves forward as much as possible during remote learning times.

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:

EYFS

 

As the children are younger we are aware that examples of work will be uploaded by parents and may typically be more practical activities with less recording. When parents upload work, we will respond with a positive comment or question to challenge. We encourage parents to message us if they need help or additional ideas to challenge their children. We message parents privately when we notice a misconception and direct them to the teaching point. We are able to offer individual support when needed for some parents.

 

KS1

 

Feedback is given on Google classroom when work is uploaded. This will be a comment, support, encouragement or an extension/challenge for those who appear to have understood the work very well. Extra support or guidance will be given where errors have been made to guide them which may include direction to review the pre recorded lesson for that day.

 

KS2

 

Feedback is given in individual comments when work is handed in.  Also, feedback, support and guidance is given in the stream.  The stream is monitored during the day where we can give live feedback and address any issues immediately. Extra tasks may be assigned to address particular areas that have been identified as needing further support eg - past tense work in SPaG to support in English. Questions to further their learning or consolidate the work completed may also be used to give children opportunities to apply knowledge.

 

In addition to the above there may be times when it is appropriate for the feedback to be given to the whole class i.e. if there is a common misconception/teaching point that needs to be addressed. Retention of knowledge and depth of understanding may also be assessed using Google quizzes.

 

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:

 

The SEND team will support class teachers to differentiate home learning to support the child’s needs. This may be more practical tasks that support the child, timetables that follow a different structure to other children or more nurture based learning appropriate to the age and stage of development. The plan for individual children will be discussed with the SEND team, class team and parents who all know the child best. This will be reviewed regularly to adapt and change where necessary.

Some interventions for individual children may take place virtually to support the child’s learning programme and regular check ins with a familiar adult will also occur.

We are able to provide some physical resources to families including coloured overlays, fidget toys, devices and learning manipulatives i.e. number lines, hundred squares and spelling mats if required.

The SEND team are also able to support a range of needs that may develop over extended lockdown periods particularly anxiety and have a package of resources that they can provide parents to use at home if required.

 

The Maritime Academy Trust have a SEND information page on the website that offers a wealth of resources for parents to use at home to support children with a variety of additional needs. Further information can be found here https://www.maritimeacademytrust.org/Home-Learning-Support-for-Children-with-SEND/

 

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? 

Children that are self isolating will be signposted to a number of learning resources for the first day, whilst the teacher prepares Google classroom. Home learning grids, curriculum maps and knowledge organisers are all uploaded to Google classroom at the start of each term for parents to support home learning, these should be referred to for the first day of learning. Additional learning can be accessed from BBC bitesize, Oak Academy, Times tables Rock Stars, spellings, home reading books and class reads. 

For subsequent days children will have work uploaded to the Google Classroom that is broadly in line with what the other children in school are learning. Pre recorded lessons will not be available as the teacher will be in class with the other children but clear explanations and worked examples will be provided to support understanding. 

Feedback will be given to the children who need to self-isolate but this will not be as frequent as it is in a whole class closure situation because the class teacher will be with the children in school. This may be questions to extend learning, positive comments or more detailed feedback if appropriate.

Children will still have access to all online platforms and additional learning websites that they use in school and will be able to continue using those at home.