This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents/carers in about what to expect from remote education if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home. We use Google Classroom as a means of communication between school and home and additionally as a means to provide remote education.  

• Google Classroom Letter

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 such as work being set to ensure online safety objectives are consolidated and work to support well-being. We may also adjust the quantity to allow your child to settle into a new routine.

• On the first day of remote education there will be a welcome message and key instructions from the Class Teacher on the Google Classroom stream.  Google Classrooms are used as a regular means of communication across the entire school to provide ease of transition should parents and children need to utilise it for remote learning.  If you are not logged onto the Google Classroom please ensure you log on using the details that were distributed in September. If your child is in EYFS, you remote learning will be posted on the Tapestry Platform.
• Your child's work will have been set in the classwork section and will appear on your child's schedule to complete.
• Each piece of work will have a learning objective, steps to success and any associated teaching and learning resources relating to the lesson and task.

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 focus the learning on key skills in maths and English in the daily sessions with the class teacher. There are also optional learning areas of the Google Classroom to explore and extend learning.

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:

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

All learning is accessible through the Google Classroom and you will already have access information. If for any reason you do not, please contact your child's class teacher through the school office email address. 

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:

• Our Google Classroom can be accessed on mobile devices, tablets and desktop computers. If you do not have a device at home, the school has the capacity to loan a Chromebook for the duration of remote learning. Please contact the school office to arrange collection.
• If you do not have the ability to access the internet through any device, we will arrange paper copies for you to collect using social distancing.
• We will also arrange regular phone calls to discuss 1:1 if you have difficulty accessing the remote classroom to make physical work and equipment arrangements.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• Recorded lessons to teach an objective (screen recordings with teacher commentaries)
• Planned lessons teaching a key objective with presentations (ppt), links to videos and learning resources. Instructions and success criteria for tasks.
• Templates and worksheets may be provided for tasks but additionally work may be expected to be completed in an exercise book.
• Use of Mathletics online platform
• Printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets) when remote learning cannot be accessed online.
• Reading an age appropriate books set for them.
• Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
• There will be occasional live class sessions in order to provide socialisation and well-being such as a quiz or game.

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?

• Students are expected to engage with their virtual lessons and registers are kept and attendance monitored.
• While we understand learning might look different at home, we maintain that keeping a structured day with timetable set helps students learn best and this is encouraged. We will provide and advice and support to help you and your child design a routine that works for your family.
• Parents and students receive feedback and every piece of work submitted will be at least acknowledged with specific praise.

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

• Engagement with remote lessons and submission of tasks is monitored daily through the online platform.
• When a student does not submit work relating to a lesson or respond to comments or requests from the class teacher, a phone call home will be made to discuss progress.
• Quality of work is monitored and feedback will be given when there is a concern over the level of difficulty being completed or the quality of work submitted.
• Failure to engage over a number of days will result in a follow up from the Designated Safeguarding Lead and or the Deputy Headteacher or Headteacher.

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:

• Immediate feedback can be given to students orally through questioning or commenting on work submitted.
• Class teachers require a photograph documenting work so they can view it via the virtual classroom.

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:

• We can clearly track engagement of students with SEND and targeted calls home are made when engagement is not high.
• We ensure that students with SEND are carefully talked though how to engage with lessons and select work appropriate for their learning goals.
• We have a Pastoral Leader who is currently working with any isolating pupil who is identified as vulnerable or requiring further support.

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?

• Teachers strive to teach both those in their class and students isolating at home, however, there might sometimes be a delay in students being feedback to.  
• The class teacher will strive to share the same resources and learning in the physical classroom and the virtual; however, there will not be live sessions or recorded lessons due to the workload and well-being of our staff.