Remote Education
What is remote education?
Remote education is when a child is having to complete their learning at home because they are unable to attend lessons in school.
The following information details what is in place for an individual child requiring remote education.
How can parents and carers help their child/ren with remote education?
Remote education can never take the place of learning in a classroom with a teacher. However, over the past year, we have seen some fantastic examples of parents and carers supporting their child/ren with learning at home.
We know it's never easy, particularly if you are a parent/carer having to work from home or if you have a large family with many children; however, teachers will work hard to plan learning that can take place in the home and they will need the help of every child's parent/carer to support children with their learning to avoid them falling behind in their education.
To help parents and carers, we have listed our top tips below:
- Maintain a sensible bedtime routine (e.g. a bath at 6:30pm, a book at 7:00pm, and in bed at 7:30pm) and a sensible morning routine (e.g. breakfast at 8:00am, brushing teeth and getting dressed from 8:30am and ready to start lessons at 9:00am);
- Create a reward system (e.g. if a child completes all the work set Monday-Friday, a treat may be organised for Saturday - remember, treats needn't cost money as a trip to the park is free and far healthier than a bar of chocolate); and, most importantly,
- Keep in touch with the teacher (e.g. via Google Classroom, Facebook Messenger or by e-mailing or telephoning the school) particularly if there are any issues (e.g. a child is refusing to complete work, the work set is too easy/too hard etc.).
Remote education for individual children
Where a child needs to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remain in school, we still expect the child to complete up to 3-4 hours of study each weekday and a suggested timetable for a child in Key Stage 2 is set out below that can be adapted for a child in Reception or Key Stage 1:
09:30-10:30 - Mathematics
10:30-11:00 - Break
11:00-12:00 - English
12:00-13:00 - Lunch
13:00-15:00 - Science or a Foundation Subject (e.g. History) and PE
All this work will be taught via the Oak National Academy. If your child is in Years 2-6, they may click here to log into Times Tables Rockstars to play games that allow them to revise key multiplication and division facts.
Will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?
We aim to teach the same curriculum as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. Your child's teacher will direct you to resources from the Oak National Academy. These lessons will not always be the same as what children are learning in school but they will enable your child to develop similar knowledge and skills to their peers in school.
How long should my child be studying each day?
We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take children broadly 3-4 hours each day.
How will my child be taught remotely?
Our teachers currently use Facebook Messenger or Google Classroom to share videos and set work. Every child will be given an individual login and password Google Classroom in the second half of the Autumn Term.
A typical day will involve mathematics, English, PE and either science or a foundation subject (e.g. geography).
How will the teacher assess my child's work and progress?
At least once a week, the teacher or a teaching assistant will telephone the family home to speak with the child about their remote education and to speak with the child's parent/carer to share successes and make expectations known (i.e. directing a parent/carer to fully engage with remote education if it becomes apparent the child is not completing any work).
The teacher and teaching assistant keep a log of these telephone calls and if they have concerns about a child, they report these to the Designated Safeguarding Lead for them to seek advice from Children's Services.
Additional support for pupils with special educational needs or a disability
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:
- a tailored curriculum for those pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan who complete most their learning in Birch Room and,
- a weekly telephone call from the SENCO (e.g. to signpost families to support to ensure their child receives what is set out in their EHC plan).
Will my child receive feedback from their teacher for the work they complete?
The advantage of Oak National Academy is the work set comes with answers, so a child may self-assess their learning (i.e. mark the work themselves) or a parent/carer may mark the child's work to check they have understood it.
Of course, a parent/carer (or child themselves with permission from a parent/carer) may use Facebook Messenger or Google Classroom to send photographs or videos of the work they have completed and their teacher will respond with a comment about the work within their working hours of 08:00-15:30, which may be the next day depending on the time the message is sent and what work the teacher is needing to complete in school.
What if my child does not have digital or on-line access at home? How will they be supported with remote education?
If you require paper copies of worksheets, you may e-mail or telephone the School Office to request these and we will either arrange for you to collect them or we will post them to the home address we have on record as soon as possible. It is the parent/carer's responsibility to keep these secure and return them to school as soon as possible so the teacher may view them and assess the child's work.