Remote Learning Provision
REMOTE EDUCATION STRATEGY INFORMATION FOR PARENTS/CARERS
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils, parents and carers about what to expect from remote education (on-line learning) if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or the school) to remain at home.
In the event that the PHE health protection team or local authority advise the school to fully or partially close temporarily to help control transmission, Chester-le-Street CE Primary School has a contingency plan for this eventuality. This may involve remaining open only for vulnerable children and the children of essential workers, providing remote education for all other students; or it may involve remote education for certain year groups for a period of time.
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.
At Chester-le-Street CE Primary School our ultimate aim is to try and follow the intended curriculum whether students are in school, working from home, or accessing a combination of the two. Our preference is to provide video lessons to follow the curriculum where possible. These will be pre-recorded to allow flexibility for pupils and parents. We may also set video lessons provided by the Oak National Academy or other appropriate sites, which match our planned curriculum.
WHAT SHOULD MY CHILD EXPECT FROM IMMEDIATE REMOTE EDUCATION IN THE FIRST DAY OR TWO OF PUPILS BEING SENT HOME?
Our remote education platform is Google Classroom. All students and teachers have received training in this, and so lessons will continue as soon as possible using Google Classroom. Pupils can access this using the dedicated app (available for all devices) or can sign in to their individual school Google email address (username@clsdurham.co.uk) and password.
Pupils may also choose to complete additional Home Learning tasks and these are available on their year group Google Classrooms.
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, it is likely we will need to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, in PE lessons, students may be set a series of challenges to develop their personal fitness.
REMOTE TEACHING AND STUDY TIME EACH DAY HOW LONG CAN I EXPECT WORK SET BY THE SCHOOL TO TAKE MY CHILD EACH DAY?
The remote education provided is equivalent in length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school through recorded teaching time and time for pupils to complete tasks and assignments independently.
The amount of remote education provided should be broadly:
• Key Stage 1: 3 hours a day on average across the cohort, with less for younger children
• Key Stage 2: 4 hours a day
All lessons will be uploaded to Google Classroom on a Sunday ready for the following week, should parents wish to download in advance to review and organise themselves for the week ahead.
The stream on the Google Classroom may also provide additional challenges and learning opportunities. The stream is also used to send out key information and give reminders.
Timetables will be shared with parents/carers to avoid pupils repeating learning if they are accessing on-site provision as well. Some pupils may have a blended offer both in school and at home and so therefore they will know which learning tasks will be completed in school. Whilst the timetable shows the sequence of provision in school, we encourage parents to complete learning in a time frame across the week that suits their personal circumstances. Working parents may wish to utilise the weekends for pupil learning, particularly if they themselves need the household device for work.
Accessing remote education How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
At Chester-le-Street CE Primary School we use ‘Google Classroom’ to provide pupils with their online remote education. We have used this since March 2020 and the vast majority of pupils have continued to use Google Classroom to complete Home Learning tasks from September 2020 while school was fully open. Our aim has been to ensure that all pupils and parents are familiar with Google Classroom and understand how to access additional apps such as Meet, Classroom, Forms & Slides.
All pupils at Chester-le-Street CE Primary School have their own individual G-Suite email account and password. Once they have logged into their G-mails they can use the waffle button on the top right hand of the screen to access Google Classroom, Google Meet and a variety of other apps. Google Classroom helps teachers and pupils to communicate safely and can be used to organise and manage assignments, to go paperless, for collaboration between pupils and teachers and for teaching from a distance. Through the use of Google Classroom, teachers can:
Digitally organise, distribute, and collect assignments, course materials, and pupils’ work. Teachers can also post an assignment to multiple classes or modify and reuse assignments.
Communicate with pupils about their classwork, posting announcements and reminders about assignments and see who has or hasn't completed learning. Staff can also check in with individual pupils, answer their questions, and offer feedback and support.
Give pupils written or audio feedback on their assignments and assessments. Support video and further tutorial.
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 students may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those students to access remote education:
• If your child does not have access to a useable device (Tablet, X-box, Play Station, Chromebook, laptop, PC or smart phone) to complete remote learning effectively, school can provide paper copies and resource packs for your child.
• Some pupils without access may fall into the category of educationally vulnerable and may be able to attend on-site provision.
• If there is an issue with access to a device to complete remote education, the school will seek to loan devices to families who are struggling. Please let us know immediately by emailing office@clsdurham.co.uk
• We will do everything we can to support remote education.
• If pupils are completing remote education on paper rather than computer they can always upload a photo of their work. Where this is not possible, we will work with you to find a solution to ensure your child gets feedback and regular contact with their teacher.
HOW WILL MY CHILD BE TAUGHT REMOTELY?
At Chester-le-Street CE Primary School, we use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely.
All pupils will have access to high-quality education when remote working. Classrooms are monitored weekly to check provision and identify improvements. Staff will use a range of teaching methods to cater for different learning styles, which include:
• Pre-recorded video or audio lessons
• Whole School Assemblies
• Reading of class books, stories, poems
• Current online learning portals, e.g. Oak National Academy, BBC Bitesize
• Educational websites
• PowerPoints/ Google Slides
• Group Google Meet sessions)
• Google Meet Drop ins
Teachers plan and prepare lessons that are inclusive for all pupils and can be adapted to account for the needs of disadvantaged learners and pupils with SEND. All provision for remote learning will be appropriate for the class group’s age, ability and/or any SEND. Teachers will provide resources to help differentiate and support learners who may need more help to access a concept or activity. We appreciate that remote learning creates challenges for families and as such we are happy for parents and carers to devise a weekly routine that fits around their own work commitments. For example, some parents may wish to use weekends to support their children and hand in assignments on a Monday. This is fine and staff will endeavour to be as flexible as possible with marking and feedback if tasks come in after the Monday deadline.
HOW WILL YOU CHECK WHETHER MY CHILD IS ENGAGING WITH THEIR WORK AND HOW WILL I BE INFORMED IF THERE ARE CONCERNS?
All pupil’s engagement is monitored by the class teacher in the first instance. Tracking grids are used across the school and adapted for each age phase to ensure we have a clear and accurate picture of pupil engagement. Where a pupil has not engaged in online learning that week, a phone call will be made to the parent/carer by the Class Teacher offering support and guidance for their child. Each class teacher keeps a record of all pupil engagement and this information is shared with the Senior Leadership Team.
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. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:
• Teachers will assess and feedback on all work submitted onto Google Classroom once it has been received.
• Feedback and marking will be in line with the school’s policy.
• Teachers will not be required to attempt to reproduce in written form the verbal feedback that pupils would be given during typical classroom teaching but feedback on pupils' work will rely on the teacher’s professional judgement to determine how any feedback, including marking, is given to help move children forward. Some feedback will be in the form of written comments, some will be in the form of voice recorded audio comments.
At Chester-le-Street CE Primary School Road we know how valuable individualised feedback is to help motivate, engage and keep children feeling connected. Teachers will comment on all work which is uploaded by sending a message attached to the learning that has been ‘handed in’ via Google Classroom. Research and feedback has suggested that hearing their teacher’s voice helps pupils to feel further motivated and feel connected.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR PUPILS WITH PARTICULAR NEEDS
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 create for families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils in the following ways:
• Teachers will ensure lessons are inclusive for all pupils and can be adapted to account for the needs of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• All provisions for remote learning will be subject to the class group’s age, ability and/or any SEND.
• Pupils with SEND or additional medical conditions who require more regular breaks, e.g. sensory breaks, are not expected to do schoolwork during their breaks.
• Teachers will monitor the academic progress of all pupils, including those with SEND and discuss additional support or provision with the Inclusion Team as soon as possible.
• In exceptional circumstances, the school may reduce its curriculum offering to enable pupils to cope with the workload – keeping pupils’ best interests in mind
• Teachers will set work according to the needs of the pupil. This will be in the form of differentiated work and resources to scaffold understanding, to enable all children to access the remote learning at their own level.
• When a pupil is working significantly below age related expectations they may be set individual or group learning tasks which better match their learning needs and considers the pupils preferred learning style.
• The inclusion team will coordinate 1:1 Google Meet teaching sessions for pupils with EHCP or exceptional needs. Sessions are specifically tailored to the needs of the individual so not all 1:1 will look the same.
REMOTE EDUCATION FOR SELF-ISOLATING PUPILS
Where individual pupils need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, the remote education provided will differ from the approach we use for whole year groups. This is due to the challenges of teaching pupils both at home and in school.
Pupils self-isolating will be provided with learning similar to that delivered in the classroom but will possibly be adapted in order to complete the learning at home. Slides/PowerPoints links to websites scaffolds and any other additional resources will be send out to pupils via Google Classroom. The class teacher will decide whether learning is uploaded daily or weekly depending on their teaching commitments within school. Although learning will be uploaded according to the in-school timetable we still offer the same flexibility to self-isolating pupils. Learning can be handed at any time within the school week. If pupils are unwell they are not expected to complete tasks and parents need to inform school as they would do normally.
Learning can be handed into Google Classroom and pupils self-isolating will have their learning marked and feedback given as if they were in school. Class teachers will monitor engagement and will make phone calls home if they are concerned, to discuss strategies and devise a plan for further support if needed.
If the pupil self-isolating has SEND then we would use the strategies listed above to further support the pupil during their period of isolation.
FINAL NOTE
Parents and carers will be given regular opportunities to give their feedback as part of our on-going monitoring and evaluation schedule.This strategy is a working document and the detail will evolve over time based on the circumstances and resources available to the school. The aims however will remain constant as we seek to provide an inclusive and high-quality on-line offer to every pupil.