Remote education provision: information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents 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?

• Google Classroom was in place from last lockdown and has been used during bubble closures. 
• Work books are also at home ready to use for phonics, maths and reading comprehension.
• Staff will set core tasks in English/​maths/topic/phonics- spelling using power points, BBC Bitesize etc

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, some Maths concepts are trickier than others to teach online. Records are maintained of what has been covered and what needs to be done on return to school. 
• Our topics usually last longer than a week but we have chosen to only allow a topic to run one week or two at the most so that the children remain motivated. 
• Last lockdown we recognised that it is easier for parents if all children have the same topic across the school, even Foundation/​Y1 who usually have a ​‘planning in the moment’ approach to their curriculum. Therefore we plan all topics together and adapt accordingly.

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. 

**However, this is dependent upon each one of our families circumstances. We will liaise with each family separately to determine what their situation is and to support them as much as we can

Accessing remote education

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

• · We are using Google Classroom. All work is marked through this too. 

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 surveyed all our parents to determine their technology provision. However, if your provision changes or if you are having problems, please email or text us on the school mobile phone number and we will help you with this issue. 
• Please let us know if you require support gaining an internet connection as provision is available through the DFE. Again, please contact through email, text on the school phone, through phone calls with staff or through the fortnightly online meeting with Mrs Cornhill.
• We recognise that few of our parents have access to printers so we are not expecting anyone to print any document out. This has been taken into account when we are planning lessons. A resource pack has been sent home with paper copies in for everyone with resources they may need. Any other paper copies will either be posted or available for collection. 
• Pupils can submit work for marking if they are not accessing the online classroom by dropping it back to school. This would be in arrangement with the class teacher.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

Foundation /Y1- (continuing the play based approach followed in school)

• Mrs Clague/​Mrs Pearce are filming themselves using the provision within the classroom so that the surroundings are familiar to the children. They are setting activities to do at home using resources that the children might have. Similarly, the writing frames that the children use to plan their work or write about it are being modelled in the films. These have been sent home in a resource pack for the children to use at home too and send pictures in.
• Phonics lessons have been filmed following the same format as at school and phonics play is being used to support this.
• Reading: Children have been given access to an online library of books the same as they access at school. This is for both phonics practise and comprehension.
• A resources pack has been sent home to support children with resources they might need- word mats/​phonic sounds/​maths resources etc

Y2/​3

• Miss Grimshaw/​Mrs Cornhill are recording lessons which can be played back on demand. Maths lessons take a very similar format to in school lessons. A concept is revised prior to a new one being taught. Staff are using apparatus as they would to teach following a Concrete- Pictorial-Abstract approach as in school. Resources have been sent home to support children in this. Online games from platforms may also be attached to practise the new learning.
• English- weekly phonics lessons have been filmed supported by phonics play and weekly spellings set. A comprehension activity based on the topic is also set. Short writing activities/​grammar activities are also set based on the topic. A guided reading book has been sent home so that the children can read chapters each week before answering questions set by the teacher.
• Reading- access has been provided to online books for both phonics based and levelled books exactly as the children would access in school.
• Topic based work is set weekly with a new theme weekly to try and maintain children’s interests. This is a whole school theme so that siblings can work together thus making it easier for parents.

Y4/​5/​6

• This follows a similar approach to Y2/​3.
• Spelling lessons follow the same taught format to in school and are recorded for easy access.
• Y6 pupils are having at least one live teaching session a week. They are a smaller cohort so all families are able to commit to a set time. They will collaborate to write together or it will be a maths concept focussing on arithmetic.

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?

• Parent feedback from lockdown last time was that establishing a routine for school work was the best idea. We recognise that whilst this is the optimal, many of our families struggle with this.
• We will continue to support our parents to simply do the best they can in their situation.

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

• Staff mark work turned in through Google Classroom and are monitoring engagement levels. We will ring to check you are okay if we see that your child is not engaging. 
• Staff will feedback to pupils how they are getting on. We will be in contact with parents frequently through the online class meetings and /​or phone calls.

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:

• Each piece of work will be marked and a comment made for children/​parents to read.
• Parents of younger children especially, will be encouraged to send in photos of their child’s work or short videos of them engaged within the activity. This will provide valuable feedback for staff when they are planning.

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:

• For information about working with Foundation/​Y1 pupils, please see that section. 
• Any SEND children or children needing adjustments will be identified by staff and additional provision set. Ie. Parents are collecting paper based work weekly and bringing in the child’s work for marking. Lessons are differentiated for children so they can access them as they would in class. Staff have close contact with parents with children needing additional support to keep an eye on their progress and situation.

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? 

• A similar format will be followed by using Google Classroom.
• Staff will be given time to plan and mark work for self ‑isolating pupils.
• Regular contact will be maintained with the family to provide provision as close to school as possible.