We want children to be happy, feel safe and confident in being able to engage in their learning whether they are at school, or when necessary, at home. Our Remote Learning Plan outlines our expectations when learning at home is necessary.
Remote Learning Plan
Our remote learning plan aims to:
- Ensure consistency in the approach to remote learning for all pupils, including those with additional needs, who aren’t in school through use of quality online and offline resources and teaching videos.
- Provide clear expectations for members of the school community with regards to delivering high quality, interactive, remote learning.
- Include continuous delivery of the curriculum.
- Supports continued education and communication between the schools and families.
In order to ensure that learning is continued, irrespective of lockdown and self-isolation, we have developed the following plan.
This plan offers remote learning opportunities whilst also acknowledging that some households have limited access to devices and would require hard-copies of work and resources.
This plan will be applied in the following instances:
- An individual is self-isolating because of a positive test within the household;
- A group of children are self-isolating because of a case of coronavirus in the bubble;
- Children are not attending school due to a national lockdown. Our plan complies with the expectations and principles outlined by the DFE.
Online Platforms
At Wolviston, we will be using our online learning platform, Seesaw for children to access their remote learning.
What Should My Child Expect from Immediate Remote Education In the First Day or Two Of Pupils Being Sent Home?
Teachers will set appropriate work via Seesaw linked to the curriculum topics currently being taught in their class. Arrangements will be made for workbooks and stationery to be provided and, in some cases, IT equipment, so that children can continue their education safely at home.
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?
Yes. Teachers will set appropriate work in-line with our current curriculum, primarily supplemented by a range of resources provided by Oak National Academy and White Rose Maths, and with use of the digital subscriptions that we have, such as Phonics Play, and Times Tables Rockstars etc. There may be some adaptations as teachers evaluate their Curriculum maps in the light of some subjects, for example altering Science or Art where some resources might not be accessible to children working remotely at home. However, any rearranged topics will be taught when all the children return to school.
Children will remain in contact with their class teacher through Seesaw to share successes, communications and upload work. There may be a requirement in the future to provide live lessons which will be determined by the Head of School and the Executive Head.
Oak National Academy has been selected to support remote learning for a number of reasons. The Oak National Academy lessons are in-line with our teaching ethos –they encourage the use of retrieval practice, explicit teaching with high quality modelling, and the use of deliberate practice. The online lessons are free to all and offer a recorded taught session so that the children can access physical teaching from a teacher and then access work relating to that lesson within the same website. There are also hundreds of lessons specifically aimed at children with SEND needs and requiring additional support.
White Rose Maths resources will be used as they are matched to our current maths curriculum model. This will help to maintain consistency in learning as children are very familiar with these resources.
The remote learning offer will be a mixture of all of the above. Seesaw will remain in use as the main platform and be used as this has already proved to be invaluable. Teachers and parents will be able to message one another to share information and offer support. Children will be expected to upload completed work onto Seesaw and teachers will mark this through a ‘like’ acknowledgement, written comments, spoken comments or by sharing videos of themselves.
What is The Expectation for My Child’s Engagement and The Support That We As Parents and Carers Should Provide At Home?
In the event of any form of isolation and loss of learning caused by Coronavirus, parents must understand that engagement in home learning is compulsory, as is the expectation that Wolviston Primary School makes that provision available and accessible to all. However, if children themselves are too ill to attend school, then they should not be expected to engage in home learning. We will endeavour to support all children and families as best that we can.
Teachers will:
- Set meaningful and ambitious work each day that totals an average of 3 hours (KS1) and 4 hours (KS2) (DFE Guidance).
Teachers will set an English, a Maths and a Topic lesson for children to complete daily in KS1 and an English, a Maths and two Topic lessons in KS2. Wherever possible, this work will be set the evening before and dated to allow for any preparation time parents/carers may need. In addition, teachers will upload a story (EYFS) or a reading comprehension lesson twice a week (KS1/KS2). Often explanation videos created by the teacher will be uploaded to ensure that children understand what is required and are able to work as independently as possible.
Other interactive resources relating to spelling and times tables will be used to keep basic skills sharp. For Nursery children this will be around 1 hour of family based activities. We will:
- Provide frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher or through high-quality curriculum resources and videos.
- Provide feedback on completed work during the agreed ‘office hours’ of 8.30am – 3.30pm.
- Track pupil engagement with online learning, at least weekly, and inform parents immediately where there is concern.
Vulnerable pupils who do not have access to remote education will be:
- invited to attend school wherever possible to join bubbles
- given devices to use at home
- provided with printed work packs
How Will You Check Whether My Child Is Engaging with Their Work and How Will I Be Informed If There Are Concerns?
Children’s engagement with remote education will be checked daily via Seesaw by your child’s usual teaching staff. If there is a concern, your child’s class teacher, or Head Of School, will contact you via telephone or email to discuss concerns and enquire about welfare. We will then offer advice and support and monitor future engagement.
How Will You Assess My Child’s Work and Progress?
Feedback will be given on each child’s individual work uploaded. This could be in the form of a written comment, as per our marking policy, or a simple ‘like’. Marking will celebrate achievement but also address misconceptions. The children are expected to respond to marking, where possible, as they normally would in the classroom.
Additional Support for Pupils with Particular Needs
All teaching activities and work uploaded by the class teacher will be suitable for each child, taking into account their prior learning and individual need, in order to enable them to make progress. We recognise that some pupils, for example 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 children by differentiating work, ensuring that learning needs are met, by offering regular feedback to the child in the form of detailed written comments on work, regular advice and support to parents in the form of telephone calls home and the opportunity to be in school as a vulnerable child.
Wolviston Primary School is committed to working in close partnership with families and recognise that remote learning may vary between families in order to suit their individual needs.
We will provide support for parents on how to use SeeSaw and other websites as appropriate and, where needed, provide personalised resources.
Where possible, it is beneficial for young people to maintain a regular and familiar routine. We therefore would recommend that each ‘school day’ maintains structure. We would encourage parents to support their children’s work, including finding an appropriate place to work and, to the best of their ability, support pupils with their concentration. Every effort will be made by staff to ensure that work is set promptly.
Should accessing work be an issue, parents should contact school promptly and alternative solutions may be available. This will be discussed on a case-to-case basis.