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 where national or 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?
From the first morning of remote education, your child will expect to have a live timetable and work/activities described via our online platform j2e. There will be messages for parents and pupils on the Year Group message boards.
Work will be uploaded by teachers via j2e on the first day of remote learning. Tasks can range from activities online to worksheets the children will have to edit. The children are expected to be completing the work during the day where the staff working with the year group will be online to support the children. If parents are experiencing any issues, they are to contact the school office.
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, R.E has less focus on discussion based topics and more focus on current events to suit the teaching.
Remote teaching and study time each day
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 4 hours each day.
From myUSO, they will access j2homework which will guide them through the tasks they will need to complete. The main tools the children use will be within j2e but there may also be work set on EducationCity, Bug club, busythings, Espresso and Charanga.
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 monitor use and engagement with our systems and contact parents where there might be a difficulty.
- We look at each case individually and find the best way to support the family. The aim, where possible, is achieving online access.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
- recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
- Other teaching resources including EducationCity, espresso
- printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets). This is a last resort where online access is not possible and all other reasonable options have been explored.
- commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
- long-term project work and/or internet research activities but only occasionally and where appropriate
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?
- We expect children to be logging in daily and working through the activities set. We expect 100% effort from the children. They will have 2 days to attempt each activity.
- A timetable is available for parents to use to keep the children in their school routine whilst working at home.
- The children are completing work within the school-day hours.
- Parents to ensure the children have a suitable working environment which allows them to focus and work. Parents to monitor their child’s engagement and support their learning where possible.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
- Year group staff will monitor children’s login times/days and assess their completed work.
- Year group staff will feedback via Learning Conversations and j2message.
- Parents will have a phone call from the school if there are any concerns with the pupil’s engagement.
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:
Year group staff will assess and feedback on activities set, via j2message or Learning Conversations. Children’s work will be marked daily.
Class teachers may also assess the children’s knowledge via activities and quizzes (which automatically mark the children’s work) on the following platforms:
- SPAG
- EducationCity
- Bug Club
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:
- Differentiating work
- Focused support is provided where needed
- Regular communication with parents
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?
The children can expect the same quality of work and curriculum content as described above. Assessment of work and feedback will be provided in the evening when the staff are available.