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 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?

Class teachers will ensure that children have their logins for Google Classroom and online resources such as Arithmagicians and Times Table Rockstars. Where available/required children may be sent home with basic resources required to complete work, e.g. exercise book, pencil, pen.

Parents will be reminded of the email addresses for class teachers should they have any queries about the work set. Information is available on the school website with links to specific online resources that can be used to support core skills.

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. Some tasks and activities may need to be adapted to suit the nature of remote learning. This is to ensure that all children are able to complete an activity matched to the learning intention taking into account the resources required and working independently. Class teachers will make available tutorial/lesson videos where appropriate.

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

Remote education will be equivalent in length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school and will include both recorded or live direct teaching time, and time for children to complete tasks and assignments independently. This should be 3 hours a day in KS1, with less for younger children, and 4 hours a day in KS2.

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

Children can access a wide range of tutorial/teaching resources and accompanying activities through Google Classroom. Children have individual logins to access this and they are able to complete tasks and activities then submit them for feedback from their teacher.

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 will make paper copies of tasks and activities available to families. These can be collected from the school office or can be delivered if families are self-isolating. Teachers will make parents aware of when they are available and are contactable by email for any questions or queries about the work provided. We ask that, where possible, parents take a photo of work completed and this is emailed to the class teacher who will provide feedback to the child in reply. When teachers make regular contact with families they are able to discuss completed activities with the children and give verbal feedback based on children’s responses, effort and understanding.

We have a number of Google Chromebook devices available to lend out that can be used to access online learning. In addition, we are able to signpost families through the school website and social media to alternative high quality resources that do not require internet access such as BBC Bitesize television programmes. As and when any other information or resources are provided to schools we will communicate this with parents through Parentmail, the school website and social media.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• live teaching (online lessons) – you will be sent notification of these in advance through the Google Classroom
• recorded teaching (e.g. video/audio recordings made by teachers, Oak National Academy lessons)
• tutorial or short ‘how to’ guides about specific concepts (e.g. video/audio recordings made by teachers or links to other resources)
• printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
• reading books pupils have at home
• commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

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?

Children are expected to access and complete all tasks and activities set by their class teacher in some form. They are expected to submit all work to teachers for feedback. We understand that parents who are working from home and/or who have to manage the remote education of multiple children may find it challenging to provide consistent support and class teachers take this into consideration when planning the remote education provided. Class teachers will provide online teaching through lesson videos or short tutorial videos/help guides and set tasks that are suitable for completing independently wherever possible. Should you have any queries or questions about the work set class teachers can be contacted, using Class Dojo, for clarification and support.

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

Teachers will access Google Classroom during each school day to review the work submitted. Teachers will make regular contact by phone and email with parents checking on progress, answering any questions and addressing any concerns. Where possible they will speak to the children about the work they have completed, gauging their level of understanding and progress. During these phone calls class teachers will make you aware if there are concerns about your child’s remote education and support will be offered to remove barriers to accessing remote learning effectively. Where concerns persist a conversation may be had about your child’s attendance at school.

Children’s engagement in remote education is crucial to their continued progress in learning while maintaining a sense of routine and structure to the day. However, we do appreciate that particularly for families where parents are working from home or where there are multiple children requesting access to devices and adult support it may be challenging and flexibility in how and when remote learning is completed is acceptable. To support this all live lessons will be recorded and shared on the Google Classroom so they can be accessed at a more convenient time.

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

Class teachers will access the Google Classroom during each school day to review work submitted and provide feedback. Paper packs returned to school will be reviewed as soon as practical and feedback given where verbal feedback has not been possible. During regular phone calls from class teachers they may ask to speak to your child about the work they have been completing. This enables them to talk through work completed, giving verbal feedback that identifies and supports areas of development alongside praise and encouragement.

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. For children with SEND this will include where appropriate, providing differentiated learning that matches the needs of individuals, regular contact from the class teacher to provide advice and support and there may also be contact from other adults in school who work closely with your child in class to provide additional resources to support them at home. For those parents with particular concerns Miss Green (SENCo) continues to be contactable – sen@southfield-primary.co.uk.

We recognise that for our younger children remote education may be particularly challenging. Class teachers will consider carefully the nature of tasks and activities set, ensuring that they are an appropriate length of time, taking into account the developing attention spans of younger children and many activities will be practical and play based. They may also signpost a selection of high-quality learning-based television programmes, such as Alphablocks and Numberblocks, which can be accessed to support learning.

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?

Individual pupils self-isolating will continue to be taught a planned and well-sequenced curriculum with meaningful and ambitious work each day in a number of different subjects through the Google Classroom. Learning intentions will match what is being completed in class to ensure continuity and progression but tasks and activities may be adapted to suit the needs of children working independently at home. Parents are still able to contact class teachers directly using Class Dojo.