Education Information for Parents
Remote education provision: information for parents
In September 2021, all our classes returned to full-time education following periods of Covid-19 school closure. Although we hope that the majority of our children will now have an uninterrupted experience, remote learning plans (including our Remote Learning Policy) are still in place should they be needed in the future. This meets the expectations set out in the DfE guidance ‘Remote Education Support’
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.
What should my child expect from immediate remote education in 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 instance, children will be set extra work on their online platforms that are used for homework. School will identify children who require resources to be sent home e.g. paperwork packs and workbooks who cannot access online work. This is so that pupils can continue with their learning immediately and no learning time is missed.
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.
Remote Learning Plan is in place offering a daily minimum of 3 hours worth of learning in KS1 and 4 hours in KS2 (meeting Government expectations). This is of equivalent length to what children would receive in school.
The teaching sequence is matched to the in-school curriculum supplemented with use of Oak Academy and other online resources for minor adaptations.
We have a focus on reading throughout our online offer with high quality Phonics resources provided where appropriate.
Staff consider the most important knowledge and concepts in their planning for remote education provision.
Stability in staffing is maintained to ensure familiarity for children at home and in school
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
All information will be shared via Class Dojo
Microsoft Teams will be used as a platform for online teaching
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:
An initial survey to parents is sent to establish access to devices. Text messages are also sent asking for parents to make school aware if devices or access to devices that enable an internet connection (for example, routers or dongles), are needed, including only access to a mobile phone.
If remote education is taking place, pupils are then consequently provided with devices/internet access if unable to access at home on a case by case basis.
Paper packs and adapted resources provided when requested (including reading books). If pupils do not have online access, they are able to collect and submit paper copies of their work. Vulnerable pupils are also identified and invited to attend school if appropriate.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
live teaching (online lessons)
recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
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
What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
We are committed to working in close partnership with families and recognises each family is unique and because of this remote learning will look different for different families in order to suit their individual needs.
School will provide guides for each of the online platforms used by school for parents.
Where possible, it is beneficial for young people to maintain a regular and familiar routine. We recommend that each ‘school day’ maintains structure and routine as much as possible. We would encourage parents to support their children’s work, including finding an appropriate place to complete activities and, to the best of their ability, support pupils by encouraging them to work with good levels of concentration.
Every effort will be made by staff to ensure that work is set promptly. Should accessing work be an issue, parents should contact school as soon as possible and alternative solutions may be available. These will be discussed on a case-to-case basis.
School also expect parents to make the school aware if their child is sick or otherwise can’t complete work and seek help from the school if they need it.
Parents also should be respectful when making any complaints or concerns known to staff.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
We will provide feedback on all work completed remotely:
Reading, writing and maths work (morning activities), all completed work submitted to the teacher will be marked and comments return to the pupil and to the parents.
All wider curriculum tasks (afternoon activities) will be commented on and feedback given by the end of the week.
From our marking and feedback policy, staff ensure that marking/feedback is manageable, motivating and meaningful at all times. Next step feedback is provided as and when appropriate to allow learning to progress. This is conducted through a variety of age appropriate mechanisms, such as verbal modelling, individual next steps, whole class feedback and adaptation of teaching sequence.
Keeping in touch with pupils who aren’t in school and their parents: If there is a concern around the level of engagement of a pupil/s parents will be contacted via phone to access whether school intervention can assist engagement. All parent/carer emails should come through the school accounts communications.rainford@ldst.org.uk
Any complaints or concerns shared by parents or pupils should be reported to a member of SLT– for any safeguarding concerns, refer immediately to the DSL
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 younger pupils and some pupils with SEND may not be able to access remote education without adult support and working with families to deliver a broad and ambitious curriculum
The school will consider whether one-to-one sessions (with an adult at home present in the room) are appropriate in some circumstances, e.g. to provide support for pupils with SEND. This will be decided and approved by the SLT, in collaboration with the SENDCO.
If necessary, bespoke work will be set to meet the needs of learners with high additional needs (supported by SENCO) including device adaptations. Paper packs will also be provided if needed. Teachers will also be readily contactable by different means of communication.
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?
In the event of an individual pupil being absent due to long-term illness or going in self-isolation or bubble lockdown or whole school lockdown.
Step 1: Parent/carer phones school to notify of extended absence/self-isolation/ awaiting test result.
Step 2: Office will confirm that Class Dojo/MS Teams is accessible from home, if not paper copies will be arranged to send home the next day.
Step 3: Teacher will be notified and the teacher will set work for the child at the end of the school day of the first notification, for the following school day (by 5pm).
Step 4: If needed, paper copy (2-week package) to be collected or delivered by an available member of staff.