Remote Learning

During periods of school closure and when some children are working and learning at home our ambition for the children remains the same as our school Vision. Our goal and overriding aim is that children continue to be exposed to a full curriculum and that teaching and learning at home is in line with what is being taught in school. As a school we will be teaching the same curriculum at home as we do in school.   

Our goals and aim for our teaching is to continue to follow our Curriculum Intent, Implementation & Impact Policy.

Introduction

During a period of long term closure or when children have been told to self-isolate, staff at Robert Peel Primary School will continue to provide education and support to our children using remote learning. Learning will take place through a variety of means therefore allowing everyone to access all the learning. This includes:

• Daily learning being set through Purple Mash
• Recorded lessons taught through the use of Loom.
• Work packs of all learning which is identical to the on-line learning
• Exercise and text books sent home
• Reading books available to all
• School will identify those children who are vulnerable and seek ways in which to support these children to access online learning. This could be through boosting internet connectively or the loan of a digital device. However, the schools approach does not require a digital device.

This approach will allow staff to keep in daily contact in a professional and confidential manner with their class. Teachers will be able to schedule learning in a manner that does not overwhelm our children and can be accessed at any time. Teaching and learning can be tailored, changed and updated as time progresses.

Flexibility of Learning

We realise that the circumstances that causes our school to close will affect families in a number of ways. In our planning and expectations, we are aware of the need for flexibility from all sides:

• Parents may be trying to work from home so access to technology as a family may be limited;
• Parents may have two or more children trying to access technology and need to prioritise
• Systems may not always function as they should. An understanding of, and willingness to adapt to these difficulties on all sides is essential for success.

Teaching & Learning Principles

• For staff to continue to teach the school’s full curriculum to children at home and at school. This will mean continuing to teach high quality lessons whilst following Curriculum Intents.
• For children learning at home to have a similar learning experience to those in school. The same planning and learning will be applied so that children don’t have different experiences.
• For children to have access to home learning through different media such as paper copies, books and online learning therefore mitigating the need to always need online devices.
• For children’s learning needs to be met.
• For all children to have access to books and resources if required for home learning.
• For staff to effectively nurture children and support them both in school and at home during the period of school closure
• For parents to have effective communication with the school so they are engaged in their child’s learning and receive support with home learning

Organisation of Remote Learning & the Teacher’s Role

During a period of school closure the following principles are followed by staff when planning and setting remote learning:

• There is a minimum of 3 hours learning set a day for Years 1- 6. For Early Years this may be slightly less.
• Each year group will continue to follow their Curriculum Intent
• Remote learning will be the same is most instances to that being taught in school. Exceptions may be Art, Music, DT but the aim is that learning is to be the same. Early Years learning will be based on their framework but phonics will be a main focus.
• Learning will be set on a daily basis following the children’s normal school timetable
• Children are expected to undertake daily: Reading/Phonics, a Maths lesson, Literacy Skills lessons building up to an fortnightly Extended Write whilst each week completing topic learning along with a range of further learning linked to their topic
• Teachers will use Loom to record teaching of lessons which can be accessed at any time and can be repeated to support learning. This is particularly important for phonics teaching.
• Each day a timetable of learning will be set for the children which can either be accessed through Purple Mash or paper copies which can be collected from school
• Teachers will ensure that learning is not overly reliant on worksheets that need printing. Families can request these if required.
• Teachers will send regular communications to parents and parents can ask for support through a range of ways and share their child’s learning
• Teachers will continue to follow the school’s expectations for lesson planning, marking and feedback. Feedback will be able to be given through Purple Mash.
• Teachers will support families with equipment and resources such as exercise books, reading books and pens and pencils. These will be made available to any families who need them.
• A variety of lessons will have an element of live teaching through Loom, Oak Academy, Education City, White Rose Maths or BBC Bitesize. The live lessons produced by staff can been accessed and repeated at any time and therefore are far more accessible plus being safer for staff and children.

Family/Children’s Role

Where possible, it is beneficial for young people to maintain a regular and familiar routine.

We would recommend that each ‘school day’ maintains structure with children following the timetable set by their teachers.

• Each day the learning will be uploaded on Purple Mash or work pack copy available from school for the week
• Should anything be unclear in the work that is set, parents can communicate with class teachers via the year group email address
• Work that children complete at home should be kept safe,
• 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 children with work encouraging them to work with good levels of concentration.
• Every effort will be made by staff to ensure that work is set promptly on appropriate platforms but school cannot guarantee that the chosen platforms will work on all devices or work available for collection from school
• Should accessing work be an issue, parents should contact school promptly and alternative solutions may be available.
• Parents are expected to ensure children complete daily school work. School will contact parents regularly and in cases of difficulty accessing the online classroom, the teacher will call parents to look for solutions.
• Teachers keep records of children’s engagement. Workbooks may be provided where needed as a short term measure. Where parents do not engage, school will do our best to try to reengage as much as possible.

Provision

As a school we recognise that younger children and some children with SEND may not be able to access remote education or the learning set for the majority of children.

• Any children requiring bespoke provision will be supported by class teacher, SEND Manager and SENDCO
• Physical resources will be considered and distributed as required which meet the children’s learning needs
• Teachers will provide parents with detailed individual targets to be worked on at home.

The school will keep its approach to Remote Learning under constant review.