Remote Education Provision

Information for Parents and Carers

The Senior Leader with responsibility for Remote Learning is Mrs D O’Connor (Deputy Headteacher)

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education at Claydon Primary 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.

Remote Curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home

Where a class needs to self-isolate, or local restrictions require pupils to remain at home, we have the capacity to offer immediate remote education in line with the DFE requirements https://restricting attendance during the national lockdown

We have a strong contingency plan in place for remote education provision and this can be seen below for each key stage. This planning is particularly important to support a scenario in which the logistical challenges of remote provision are greatest, for example where large numbers of pupils are required to remain at home.

In developing these contingency plans, we will:

use a curriculum sequence that allows access to high-quality online and offline resources and teaching videos that is linked to the school’s curriculum expectations
give access to high quality remote education resources
use Tapestry (Early Years) and Class Dojo (KS1&2) consistently across school to allow interaction, assessment and feedback
provide printed resources, such as textbooks and workbooks, for pupils who do not have suitable online access
recognise that younger pupils and some pupils with SEND may not be able to access remote education without adult support. We will work with families to deliver a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils

When teaching pupils remotely, we will:

set learning so pupils have meaningful and ambitious work each day in a number of different subjects
teach a planned and well-sequenced curriculum so that knowledge and skills are built upon, with a good level of clarity about what is intended to be taught and practised in each subject
provide frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by the class teacher in school and provide high-quality curriculum resources and videos from our teachers
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 pupils’ understanding
plan a programme that is of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school, ideally including daily contact with teachers

What should my child expect from immediate remote education on the first day or two of pupils being sent 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.

In the first day or two of home learning for whatever reason, most of the learning activities will probably be either hard copy work packs sent home or direction to DfE approved online providers such as Oak National Academy, BBC Bitesize or school-based programmes such as TT Rock Stars, Bug Club, or White Rose Maths.

Communication around these will be on each class specific Class Dojo or Tapestry pages. Teachers / school staff can be contacted via these platforms with queries etc.

Remote Teaching

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 broadly 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;

English may be based on short extracts or stories rather than a longer novel or book.

PE via online resources or pre-recorded sessions led by school staff which will focus on keeping fit and active rather than for teaching specific skills.

If the whole school cohort is in isolation we will move over from topic work for foundation subjects to whole school learning projects.

At a time where an individual, group or bubble needs to isolate It might be necessary to change a topic for foundation subjects if the topic doesn’t lend itself to home learning however the skills taught will be specific to each year group’s curriculum.

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

Guidance recommends we set work that is of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school, and as a minimum:

Primary: 3 - 4 hours a day, on average, across the school cohort

This does not have to be 3 or 4 hours of taught lessons or contact with a teacher; this is the amount of time that set tasks should take.

The clear timetable of the day we provide will help with this however we understand there will need to be flexibility around this, particularly if there are a number of siblings in the home and the availability of technology limited (this is why we prefer pre-recorded lessons rather than live).

Accessing Remote Education

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

Teachers will contact children / parents via Class Dojo or Tapestry to confirm log in details / passwords, etc if needed.

Each week a timetable will be provided (uploaded onto your platform and onto the website) clearly stating the lessons/subjects and approximate timings.

Pre-recorded lessons with video explanations will be uploaded onto the platforms daily from year group teachers or from a commercially produced resource that we use in school such as White Rose Maths. Alongside this explicit tasks and clear instructions will be set.

The whole school learning project will also be uploaded onto the learning platform and website fortnightly this will include links to resources, video clips etc.

There will also be additional links to DfE approved resources, video clips, etc.

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:

We have a limited number of devices available if parents have no device to support home learning. Please contact school to discuss whether this is a possibility.

If internet access is a problem for you, please contact your child’s class teacher or any member of school staff and we will endeavour to help.

Printed materials will be available for children who do not have access to printing facilities or for whom hard copies are more appropriate, please contact your class teacher to discuss.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

video/audio recordings made by teachers
recorded teaching by DfE approved providers e.g. Oak National Academy lessons
printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
textbooks and reading books pupils have at home
commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences eg BBC Bitesize, Rising Stars, TT Rock Stars, White Rose, Bug Club
two week whole school projects

We will also use weekly live Zoom sessions as a platform to engage and support all pupils. The main three aims of the sessions are:

to support mental health and wellbeing through the opportunity for peer interaction
to attend and participate in shared, interactive activities to maintain a sense of community and belonging
to promote learning through engaging, motivating and inspiring the children , as well as an opportunity for whole class feedback to inform future learning

Please see our Zoom Safeguarding protocols on the website in the safeguarding section of remote learning.

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?

School’s expectations for pupils’ engagement with remote education is 3-4 hours daily. This does not have to be in one long session and can be spread across the day or even across the week.

We fully appreciate the difficulty of adults having to do their own work at home while supporting home learning for their children. We aim to make as much material as possible available on demand. School staff, particularly the class teacher, are available to discuss any issues you may have and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Class teachers, will set out a suggested timetable to help you plan and structure the day however this is flexible depending on your personal circumstances.

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

School will check children’s engagement with remote education daily. This will be through work posted into the child’s portfolio on Class Dojo/Tapestry and by monitoring participation in live learning experiences via Zoom.

If engagement is a concern parents or carers will be contacted by a member of class staff. If the concern remains a member of SLT will contact the family. If it is not possible to reach the family by phone and / or learning platform then a home visit may be made.

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

Teachers will:

gauge how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum and provide feedback, at least weekly. More frequent interaction may be appropriate, especially for vulnerable children
adjust the pace or difficulty of what is being taught in response to questions or assessments

All work will be acknowledged, though 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.

Teachers will try to give both positive feedback and address difficulties and misconceptions as and when needed just as they do as part of their assessment for learning strategies within the classroom.

Parents can contact the class teacher via Class Dojo or Tapestry, about their child's learning. Class teachers will aim to respond as promptly as possible within their working day.

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 in the following ways:

Children may, if appropriate, be directed to join in the learning activities of other classes
Resources, including online resources and hard copy worksheets, will be linked to the targets on children’s profiles
On-going interventions from external providers eg Speech or Occupational Therapy plans should have already been shared with home by those therapists and this work can continue at home
Support from the SENDCo /Pastoral team/ SLT, as and when needed via Class Dojo/Tapestry or phone
Oak National Academy Specialist content for pupils with SEND covers communication and language, numeracy, creative arts, independent living, occupational, physical and speech and language therapy

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?

Where possible PowerPoints/flipcharts and teaching videos from lessons delivered in school will be made available with relevant follow up tasks.

Where possible children will be directed to DfE approved programmes e.g. Oak Academy which are in line with the curriculum being taught in school.

Parents can contact the class teacher via Class Dojo or Tapestry as required, however please understand that the class teacher will have a full, in class teaching commitment.

Please see the Remote Learning Policy and Action Plan for more detail.

For more information on our policy for Remote Learning - click here

Accessing Remote Education Letter - click here