Remote education 

Online learning lead: Charlotte Barton 

Information for Parents and Carers

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education if 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?

Work will either be a link to a live lesson, or the lesson resources with instructions of what to do.

Your first check should always be on your Microsoft Teams account. If you can’t log on to Microsoft Teams, you should contact your class TA or the office so your details can be sorted out.

Make sure you follow the teacher’s instructions, particularly where you have been asked to send work back to them. This allows them to see how you are doing and provide you with help and advice.

If you are in need of extra help, email or call your teachers directly.

If you need any other help or advice, contact your Phase leader.

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. Therefore, the school offer will allow your child to follow their school timetable for each day of lessons. Any timetables (with adjustments) will be sent out to your child as soon as possible.

However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. Please see below for the details.

Science – same curriculum but without any practical work. This has been replaced with animations/videos etc.

D&T - following an adapted curriculum with more emphasis on knowledge and computer aided design and manufacture. Links provided to free browser-based software. Any practical materials needed are delivered to students.

FT - following an adapted curriculum with more emphasis on knowledge. Links provided to free browser-based software. Any practical materials needed are delivered to students.

Lifeskills - following an adapted curriculum with more emphasis on knowledge. Links provided to free browser-based software. Any practical materials needed are delivered to students.

Outdoor Education – Visits only possible to local areas. The curriculum time will be used to ensure the students who wish to take part have a level of social interaction safely.

PE – following an adapted curriculum focusing on fitness activities that are accessible at home.

Remote teaching and study time each day: How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

The aim is that remote education (this includes remote teaching, either live or through interactive PowerPoints and students completing work independently) should take broadly 4 hours each day. The school offer is in line with recommendations from the department of education, however we understand that you will need to work at the pace and engagement level of your own child.

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

Your child will mainly need their Office 365 log-in details. Please contact their class teacher if they do not have these.

They may also be asked to use other platforms such as Mymaths, Sumdog, MyOn, Kerboodle and Bug Club. Please contact their class teacher if they do not have these.

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:

Parents and carers can contact their child's phase leader if they need to borrow a laptop or for help with internet connection.

All student work will be sent out as work packs alongside the uploading of worksheets, templates, Powerpoints and videos on their class team.

Students can return work to the main reception in school periodically to allow teachers to give feedback on their work or staff will collect this work on any home visits made. Due to COVID any work returned will not be able to be marked immediately but will be reviewed after a 72 hour period.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• Live teaching via Microsoft Teams

• Recorded interactive PowerPoint

• Oak National Academy lessons

• Activities to complete using online platforms

• Worksheets to complete

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?

The school day will start at 9am with remote education provided from this point, unless otherwise stated.

Parents should check the quality of the work their child is producing. We suggest if possible, parents engage with children at lunch and end of the day to see the work they have done.

If asked by teachers, work is to be submitted for marking/checking through Teams or through a return to school. If your child has not attended lessons or has not be submitting work, you/they will be contacted by the teacher to encourage their attendance in future lessons.

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

We have asked teachers to monitor the engagement of students through the below methods:

• Attendance of students at live lessons on Microsoft Teams

• Setting quizzes which shows teachers your child’s performance

• Checking if students are submitting work on Microsoft Teams or through a return to school.

If your child is regularly missing lessons, the teacher will contact you via phone call or text. If there are still ongoing concerns after this point, the phase leader will make contact.

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. Our approach to feedback back on pupil work is as follows:

• Whole-class feedback during live lessons. This could be done through questioning or self-marked activities.

• Whole-class feedback by providing example answers.

• Quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms

A combination of these approaches should be appearing in every lesson.

Your child will also receive more detailed personalised feedback on a piece of work submitted in Microsoft Teams or after your weekly work pack has been returned.

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.

Therefore, we will make contact on a daily basis via phone call, text or email to check on how your child is coping whilst learning from home.

We will also complete a home visit on a weekly basis to collect any completed work, maintain relationships and support you in any difficulties you may be having with home learning.

Any concerns picked up during a conversation will be passed on to the school Senco.

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?

There may be fewer interactive and narrated resources due to the teacher being in school teaching.