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 text.

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 first day that a bubble/cohort of children begin remote learning, they will access the home learning pack that has been prepared and will be emailed to families.  The children will have an initial Zoom call with their class teacher or a familiar member of staff (if class teacher is unavailable) to set out the first days learning tasks.  There will also be an end of the day Zoom call to feedback how everyone has got on and share a class story.  

During this time, teachers will set additional learning tasks for children to access which will be to understand access children have at home and supporting families in getting prepared for the future remote learning days. Staff, including SLT, will be available throughout the day using our communication app Class Dojo to support with any questions about accessing learning and organise loan of devices where appropriate or necessary.

The children will have all brought home, in the autumn term, a selection of resources to support with any periods of remote learning at home including exercise books and key support materials.  If your child has recently joined the school since this period and has not received these items please let school know and these will be provided for you.

From day two, remote learning expectations will follow as below.

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 aim is to provide as near a curriculum as we can that would be delivered in the classroom under normal circumstances.  This means that we will endeavour to provide learning in the core subjects every day in addition to a selection of foundation subject which will rotate each day/week,  To maintain healthy minds and bodies, there will be additional activities set daily to support both physical and mental wellbeing.

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:

Accessing remote education

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

Across the school we will use several different platforms depending upon the age and ability of children.  The platforms below are our main forms but we are not limited to these and use many others to enhance our remote education provision:

• EYFS – Tapestry and Class Dojo
• Key Stage 1 – Class Dojo 
• Lower Key Stage 2 – Class Dojo
• Upper Key Stage 2 – Class Dojo and Google Classroom

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:

In the event of a class/school closure, the school will identify which children/families need support with accessing remote learning.  Families will be contacted and asked if they would like to access support materials or devices where appropriate.  The school completed a questionnaire of all families to identify any families that may be vulnerable in terms of technology and will be contacted first in these times.  The school has several devices which can be loaned and has also acquired data sim cards to support with access to the internet.  The teachers monitor the learning each day and will follow up if they find engagement lower than expected to check on access arrangements.

If a child has no access digitally and we are unable to support with the loan of a device, we will ensure they are provided with individualised learning packs which can be collected from the school or delivered where appropriate.  Teachers will follow these with daily phone calls and Class Dojo messages to provide feedback and understand how well your child is progressing. 

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

As a school we have set our expectations across the school as to what we want to offer.  These may differ slightly dependent on age but all classes will have some access to:

• Daily live teaching (online lessons with teachers/familiar staff)
• Recorded teaching (made by teachers, some use of other recorded materials from the White Rose, PKC, Oak Academy and more)
• Daily Collective Worship delivered either live or via recorded video links
• Additional activities set by the teachers with the use of instructions or power points to support tasks.
• Printed paper packs produced by teachers (workbooks and worksheets where appropriate)
• Exercise and reading books pupils have at home in addition to online programmes to support reading
• long-term project work and/or internet research activities
• Weekly wellbeing afternoon
• Daily physical activity 

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?

As a school we expect all children to engage with the learning being set, particularly in the core subjects.  Teachers will follow up with children and feedback where appropriate to ensure children maintain motivation and engagement in their set tasks.

Parental support is very important in encouraging children to take part.  Teachers will ensure work is uploaded the evening before so that parents have an opportunity to plan for the day ahead and ask any questions prior to the day beginning.  For younger children, parents may need to support further with accessing learning by supporting logging in and the setting up of activities.  Teachers will do their best to plan activities which need minimal resourcing but all activities will be adaptable to suit you – please ask if you are unsure.

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

Teachers will keep a daily record of who has accessed and what the level of engagement has been.  If they have any concerns, the teachers will initially contact the parent/carer via Class Dojo via the messenger service. If they do not receive a response they will follow this up with a phone call and email.  If the teacher receives no response then a home visit will be conducted to check on the family to ensure all is well.

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:

• Teachers will look at all pieces of work submitted. 
• Teachers may make comments on pieces of work submitted and send these back to pupils to read and update.
• Where appropriate, teachers will use verbal feedback methods either through the live lessons or by recording feedback and posting a short video for children to access at an appropriate time.  

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:

• All children of EHCP families will be invited into school (if in the case of a National lockdown).
• The SEND Team will conduct weekly check in’s with all families in addition to a key worker performing a daily check in.
• All work will be differentiated as it would be in the classroom and set via the various platforms.
• Where appropriate, small group or 1:1 sessions will be arranged to support children with specific learning or targets from their EHCP.

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? 

Where a child or family needs to self-isolate, the remote learning offer will look slightly different.  Teachers will contact the child/family via Class Dojo or telephone to talk through the days tasks.  They will endeavour to match these as closely to what will be taught in the classroom.  A learning pack will be emailed home for children to work through and teachers will keep in regular contact at the beginning and end of the school day to answer questions, give feedback and set new learning challenges.