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 possible, lessons that are being taught in school will be adapted slightly so they can be made available on Teams and accessed at home. If that is not possible, a lesson with similar objectives from Oak National, White Rose or another source will be posted on Teams. In that way, we hope children will be able to re-join their class following the period of isolation having missed little 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 where national or local restrictions require entire 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.

In both situations, children are expected to complete their home learning. If you experience any problems with home learning, whether they be technical or curriculum-based, please contact the school by:

• Phone – 02392 829339
• Email – [email protected]
• Directly with the teacher through Teams

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. In the first one or two days, there are not likely to be any live lessons and wider curriculum subjects may be one-off lessons while the topic lessons are organised.

Following the first few days of remote education, children will be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school. Should some children be in school, e.g. vulnerable children and children whose parents are critical workers, the children in school and those home learning will be taught the same curriculum as much as possible.

Broadly, the curriculum will follow the school’s long term plan. The majority of lessons will be led by live lessons or staff made pre-recorded videos, Oak (English) or White Rose (maths) with other resources accessed as best fits the curriculum; e.g. BBC Bitesize, Oak for Topic

The presentation will vary according to the lesson objectives and the age of the children. For example:

• Some phonics lessons will be live but others will be pre-recorded videos, depending on the objective and to help parents access at times convenient to them
• Younger children and those with SEND will be offered a range of ways of completing and recording work, e.g. using videos to talk through their understanding as well as writing
• In mathematics, children in Y1/2 are encouraged to use everyday objects for assisting in learning as they may not have school resources
• Live morning call for the older children to explain the expectations and structure of the day
• Feedback and marking
• For children in Y5/6, their live lessons will mainly be a mixture of English and RE

Remote teaching and study time each day

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

• Early Years – 2 hours
• Key Stage 1 – 3 hours
• Key Stage 2 – 4 hours

One vital skill to continue to develop with your child is their reading. And, it doesn’t stop when they can read the words, focusing on the understanding and higher-order reading skills are essential. The Education Endowment Fund, a well-respected charity, has produced 7 top tips for parents in a very helpful, accessible leaflet. The key stage 1 advice can be found at KS 1advice and the key stage 2 advice at KS2 advice.

It will be helpful for your child to have a timetable and structure for their learning day. Regular breaks from on-screen learning should be included as well as opportunities for physical exercise.

Social Elements

We understand that remote education can be a time of isolation for some children. In order to help minimise this, each class has the opportunity for at least weekly social activities via Teams where they can interact and engage with their teacher and friends. The teacher responsible for home learning will ensure that any child who does not participate in either social events or online lessons is contacted each week.

Accessing remote education

Online remote education is accessed through MS Teams.

If your child does not have digital or online access at home, please contact the office. We are able to access data packages to support home learning. We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. Please contact the school and we will lend you a laptop or other appropriate device. If you would prefer printed materials, please contact the office and these will be provided. If your digital access means your child cannot submit their work through Teams, you can bring it into school and it will be passed to the relevant teacher who will then phone you / your child to provide feedback. Workbooks may be given to pupils to complete written work; children or parents can take an image and upload it to Teams for teacher review and feedback.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• live teaching (online lessons)
• recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, White Rose Maths, video/audio recordings made by teachers
• commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences e.g. My Maths
• project work and/or internet research activities
• printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)

The approach will be determined by the subject, the content of the lesson and the age/level of independence of the children.

Not all work will be completed online. Should your child require resources, such as pencils, paper, etc, please do contact the office as it will be provided.

Staying safe online

Online safety will be part of the curriculum with links to relevant sites and activities to reinforce the messages. Parents can keep themselves up to date at various websites; various sites contain a wealth of information for supporting children of all ages, including NSPCC and National Online Safety

Engagement and feedback

Parents are expected to support their child to access learning at home. Though we recognise the immense challenges faced by parents, ideally children should have a daily routine and a quiet place to work. The amount of support needed from parents or carers will clearly be determined by the age and independence of the child and the level of challenge of the work.

Teachers responsible for home learning check daily on who is completing their work. Action taken will depend on the context; e.g. the teacher may contact the child via Teams if the child usually completes their work and they will be able to respond independently. If it is the second or third time, the teacher will phone the parents and enquire as to why the work is not completed and agree on how the child can complete the work. Should the child still access no work the headteacher will be informed and will contact the parent, if appropriate, and a course of action agreed upon. Should the intervention of the headteacher bring about no improvement, the family may be referred to the Local Authority or Early Help service.

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

Teachers will check daily on the level of engagement from all children – teachers know if children have accessed work and if they have submitted work. Parents will be informed if the amount and standard of work falls below that expected.

Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. Typical feedback back on pupil work includes:

• Feedback to individual children when they have submitted work – highlighting what they have done well and pointers to help them correct their work before it is returned to the pupil
• Phone calls to individual parents if the tasks have not been understood or have been misinterpreted
• Social calls to classes with time afterwards to allow parents to have a discussion with the teachers about the work, as required
• There may also be group calls on Teams to address common misconceptions in learning e.g. a follow-up maths or grammar session

Additional support for pupils with particular needs

We recognise that some pupils, for example, some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or have English as an additional language (EAL), 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 pupils with EHCPs will be offered a place in school, assuming schools are partially open
• Individualised work for children who can’t access the classwork will be sent via email
• Parents of pupils with SEND will be contacted by teachers to explain the appropriate level of expectation with follow up calls to discuss completion
• Access translation services (EMAS) or make use of other staff or families, with parental permission, to support learning
• Work is offered at various levels
• Calls to pupils made frequently