REMOTE EDUCATION PROVISION

 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? 

Home-learning packs will be sent home to complete independently.  Daily learning will be sign-posted on the Class Dojo platform - this may include video links, website links and other activities.  There will be at least one live lesson daily for each year.

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.

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? 

Daily learning will be posted to year group Class Dojo pages.  This will include an outline of the day's lesson, powerpoints, videos and links to live lessons, high quality teaching videos or powerpoints.

Teaching, feedback, support sessions and well-being check-ins will be held over Microsoft Teams.  Links will be added to Class Dojo or sent out using the children's school Microsoft email addresses.

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 September, we surveyed parents regarding their online access at home.  We contacted every family who was unable to complete online homework activities and provided technical support to families (either over the phone or in person) on how to use Class Dojo and learning websites.   
• For those families without a device, we have lent school iPads.  
• Our school IT support company has provided device support to families who required it.  
• All families have been offered Microsoft 365 via our school Microsoft package. 
• The school newsletter advised ways to access MS Teams using an Xbox or PS4 games console.  A number of options were also suggested for families struggling to get internet access and families were encouraged to contact the school office if they required any support in order to keep remote learning going. 
• Every pupil was provided a learning pack which included printouts for every subject area.  Various other resources were included which varied slightly between year groups depending on the materials children would require to support learning.  Examples are: numicon templates, number lines, multiplication square, whiteboard and whiteboard pen, sewing kit and a novel.  For those families who were self-isolating or unable to collect from the school grounds, packs were hand-delivered to families by school staff. 
• 100% of our families have access online via their phones.  Pupils are able to submit work on the Class Dojo app via a phone. 
• Pupils can submit work via Class Dojo or email work through to their teacher.  Parents can email the teacher directly through the class email address or the messaging area of ClassDojo. Alternatively, parents can call/email the school to leave messages and questions for teachers who can then get back to the pupils.  When required, teaching staff make phone calls to support learning for pupils.   

How will my child be taught remotely? 

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

Through our online school communication platform, Class Dojo, work is set, assessed and feedback is given.  The following resources are also made available through the platform: 

• Live teaching (online lessons) via Microsoft Teams. 
• Pre-recorded teaching made by teachers.  
• Pre-recorded story times for KS1. 
• Recorded teaching via Oak National Academy lessons.  
• Online access to resources such as textbooks. 
• Reading books made available via Oxford Owls for KS1. 
• Educational websites used to support the teaching of specific subjects, such as BBC Bitesize Home Learning. 
• Educational websites and apps used to practise and assess skills such as Mathletics, Times Table Rockstars and SPAG.com. 
• Long-term project work involving independent research in the form of Learning Logs in Years 4 and 5. 

  The following resources are available to be collected or delivered, if required: 

• Printed paper packs produced by teachers containing worksheets and guidance. 
• Packs have included resources such as white boards, Numicon, number lines and times table squares to support home learning, where applicable. 
• Novels sent home in KS2.   

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? 

• Families were provided with an example timetable of how home education can be scheduled.  
• Expectations are different for each year group and class teachers will inform parents of these expectations. Class teachers will create class remote learning rules with the pupils. 
• In general, our expectation for pupils’ engagement with remote education is that pupils attend Teams sessions unless we have made alternative arrangements with families or if a pupil is unwell. We ask parents to inform us if children are unwell.  
• We expect pupils to be active participants in lessons and ask questions, complete tasks and interact so that they are not simply passively watching. Teachers support pupils to work independently by explicitly teaching metacognition and self-regulation strategies. 
• All pupils should engage with remote education daily as if they were in school, with a minimum of a maths, reading/phonics, English and 1 wider curriculum lesson (g.PE, science, history, geography or art). 
• Parents / Carers should encourage their children to engage with remote learning daily. This can include routines to support your child’s education (daily timetable at home), providing a clear and quiet environment to complete remote learning and supporting with any learning and questions. 
• Pupils, parents and staff are aware of online safety and know how to stay safe. Teachers remind pupils of online safety principles. Staff are never alone on a video call with a pupil.

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

Class Dojo is used each working day by teaching staff where they check children’s engagement by viewing the work posted and responding to those posts with feedback. This allows teachers to see if and how engaged children are with their work. 

In addition, registers are taken for attendance to live sessions and engagement within the live sessions, allow teachers to see if children are engaged with the learning. 

If teachers are concerned about a child’s engagement in remote learning, then they will contact parents/carers to discuss this further and to offer support. Any concerns regarding engagement, are also logged so that engagement can be monitored and support made readily available. If you have a concern, you can also contact your child’s teacher via the messaging service on Class Dojo or via e-mail. 

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:

• Work posted to Class Dojo is assessed with a written comment by the teacher.  The teacher can also send back the work as a draft with comments on how to edit or guide them to questions that they need to check for their corrections.  Feedback is given on the same day, unless posted after 3pm, when feedback will be provided on the next day. 
• During live lessons, children are given immediate verbal feedback throughout the session.  Resources are being used such as white boards in KS1, ensuring that teachers can quickly identify any needs and provide support there and then. 
• Whole class feedback can be given through the Story section of Class Dojo.  Here, the teacher can provide feedback that all children are able to view, and also direct them to supporting resources to help. 
• Interactive sites, such as Mathletics, Times Table Rockstars and SPAG.com, automatically mark work for the children so they get immediate feedback.  These sites also provide teachers with reports from which they can inform their teaching and any areas of need where additional support would be beneficial. 

All of these assessments made by the teachers then inform how they set up their support sessions.  Either inviting children grouped by ability on a certain topic or based on an identified area of need.  These assessments will also inform what work is set, for example, if a certain times table is shown to be an area of need through Times Table Rockstars, then the teacher can set work to help and provide supporting resources, such as online videos. 

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 with an EHCP were offered a school place.  
• Home learning packs were adapted for SEND pupils. 
• Additional support is being provided for those children who need emotional support. 
• SENCO regularly supports families through telephone or Teams meetings.  
• 61% of SEND children at school. 
• Home learning packs included learning resources (such as Numicon templates, number lines, whiteboards and whiteboard pens and multiplication squares) to support EYFS and KS1 pupils. 
• EYFS and KS1 have the option to receive three stage reading books per week. 
• Phone support from teaching staff to provide strategies with how to deliver remote education for pupils 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 will receive the same remote education where learning will still be available online immediately and contact with school will still be available through emails or by telephoning the school office. 
• Home learning packs will be delivered to self-isolating families. 
• Commercially-available websites can be accessed to support remote education. 
• Phone call check ins will take place weekly.  
• Where appropriate, opportunities to take part in live lessons will be made available.