Remote Learning
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to students and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.
In the event of a local outbreak, the PHE health protection team or local authority may advise a school to fully or partially close temporarily to help control transmission.
For details of what to expect where individual students are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.
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 of our design and technology topics would be inappropriate for remote learning due to lack of resources. These are therefore either swapped for a more appropriate D&T topic or swapped with a different subject from later in the year.
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:
|
Key Stage 1 |
At least 3 hours |
|
Key Stage 2 |
At least 4 hours |
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
The children in KS1 and KS2 all have Microsoft Teams accounts. All the work will be provided to the children via this system. We will also use other online subscriptions such as Mathletics, Reading Eggs, Reading Plus, Times Tables Rockstars.
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:
- Lend children a school laptop - if you wish to borrow a laptop, please contact your child's teacher.
- We have a limited amount of free data sim cards which we can give to some familes
- Paper packs can be requested. If you wish for a paper pack, please contact your child's teacher. We ask the paper packs are returned weekly, so teachers can mark, assess and offer feedback. Teachers can also offer feedback and assistance through the year group emails, daily Teams meetings or over the telephone.
- We recognise that some students may only be able to take part in lessons on a device with a small screen, such as a mobile phone. We are happy for students to complete any work set on paper instead of on a computer if needed.
- If students are completing remote education on paper rather than computer they can always upload a photo of their work. If this is not possible, work can be handed back into school for marking.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
- providing pre-recorded PowerPoints with clear audio or video explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher in the school or through high-quality curriculum resources or videos.
- setting assignments so that students have meaningful and ambitious work each day in a number of different subjects.
- teaching a planned and well-sequenced curriculum so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally, with a good level of clarity about what is intended to be taught and practised in each subject.
- gauging how well students are progressing through the curriculum, using questions and other suitable tasks and set a clear expectation on how regularly teachers will check work.
- enabling teachers to adjust the pace or difficulty of what is being taught in response to questions or assessments, including, where necessary, revising material or simplifying explanations to ensure students’ understanding.
- providing paper pack if required.
- using a range of online subscriptions
- Charanga Music
- Times Table Rockstars
- Mathletics
- Reading Plus
- Reading Eggs
We are considering these expectations in relation to the students’ age, stage of development or special educational needs, for example where this would place significant demands on parents’ help or support. We will avoid and will not set long-term projects or internet research activities.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
- The use of Insights on Teams allows staff to monitor children engagement daily.
- If children have not participated in remote learning after 2 days, teachers are to contact parents via telephone and ask how the school can support the child.
- If children have done some elements of the remote learning, teachers are to contact parents via email and check on progress. Then follow this up with a telephone call if required.
- If there is still no contact with a parent after 3/4 days, a home visit will be arranged by 2 members of SLT.
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:
- Children will receive daily feedback on their work from a teacher. This feedback may consist of written messages asking for corrections to be done. Staff can also use the Class Notebook and the draw technique to mark the work using our marking policy.
- Staff may also use Teams quizzes, which are marked automatically however these are also doubled checked by a staff member.
- During daily Teams meeting, staff can also offer general feedback on the work submitted either on previous days or earlier that day.
- Feedback can also occur on pre-recorded PowerPoints for the next lesson.
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:
- Work is adapted to suit all vulnerable groups
- Online interventions are planned for children who are working remotely.
- Work set for younger children is manageable and accessible. Staff are aware of the different needs within their year group and plan work accordingly.
Please contact our SEND Co-Ordinator, Mrs B. Wynne (send@staugustinewebster.net), with any specific queries.
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 will plan remote learning alongside normal lessons for the week ahead. This will be achieved using sites such as Oak National Academy, White Rose Maths, Mathletics for this. These lessons will be based on lessons that are part of the current learning journey taking place in school.
- If teachers wish they can send videos to the children who are isolating however only modelling areas (hands/boards).
- Due to safeguarding concerns we will not be conducting live lessons.
- Feedback will be conducted through MS Teams and prearranged times.
- Paper packs or a school laptop can be provided if there are internet or technology issues.
- If a child does not engage, the class teacher is to call the parents to discuss obstacles and support.
