Home/Remote Learning: Information for Parents

This page provides information on what to expect from home/remote learning where national or local restrictions require the school, specific year groups, classes 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 LEARNING in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

In the first instance, a pupil’s first day or two of being educated remotely will look very different to our normal approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching. We will always work as fast as possible with our contingency plans to get the home/remote learning set up so that learning time is not lost.

If we have ample notice that the school, year group, class or bubble needs to close, then we will provide pupils with a blank or lined workbook and a pencil. If this cannot happen, we will do our utmost to arrange collection of these at a later time (where safe and appropriate).

On the first full day of remote/home learning, class teachers will communicate with parents by email in between 08.00 and 08.30, and provide the links to the online videos that are needed for the day's learning.

Following the first few days of remote LEARNING, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

Nothing will ever replace the quality of in-class learning, with your child's everyday class teacher and their peers. That being said, our staff do their utmost to make the home/remote learning as quality as possible. Therefore, we teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. English and Maths remain broadly the same, with staff pre-recording their content in video form.

However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, in our non-core (foundation) subjects, such as Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology and Music, teaching cannot remain the same. We use the DfE recommended Oak National Academy online learning and send these out to parents and children. In subjects such as these, the lesson objective may be similar to what is being taught in school but the content/outcome may well differ. However, Oak National Academy learning is fully in-line with the National Curriculum.

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

We expect that remote/home learning (including watching the videos and completing the follow-up work) will take pupils approximately the following number of hours each day:

These expectations are in-line with DfE requirements.

Of course, please don't worry if your child completes the work in less time/more time, we know that each household is very different and you complement the school learning with other learning opportunities too. These hours are for guidance only.

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

EYFS and KS1 class teachers will communicate with parents by email in between 08.00 and 08.30, and provide the links to the online videos that are needed for the day's learning.

KS2 class teachers will be setting all of the home learning (called 'assignments') into their classes' Google Classrooms. We launched Google Classrooms in mid-February and all KS2 children have their own Google Chromebook in order to complete the work set.

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. In these cases, we will work with these families on an individual basis to ascertain their needs and how we can best support home/remote learning.

We are in the process of providing Google  Chromebooks to all of our Key Stage Two children. This will alleviate some of the stresses that some families may face in accessing devices. We also have an online form that parents can fill in should they need more data for internet access.

In some rare cases, we know that printed material (paper-based) resources are needed. Where this is the case, we once again work with these individual families to see exactly what they need and make arrangements for how the teachers can see the work that is being completed by the children on the paper.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• During the national lockdown, there is one live session per class, per week (on Monday), which gives children the opportunity to virtually check-in with their peers and teacher. These sessions often have a PSHE theme.
• Monday to Thursday, there is a pre-recorded English and Maths lesson, prepared by the class teachers, with resources/independent learning.
• Oak National Academy links for non-core/foundation subjects are sent Tuesday to Friday.
• On Fridays, there is also a pre-recorded Spanish lesson from Mr. Douglas (Makaton for Reception) and a Healthy Mind, Healthy Body (PSHE) lesson for each year group.
• Children and families are phoned at least once per fortnight as our teachers like to check-in with all children and families in their class.
• In addition, class teachers tweet each day too, encouraging challenges, exercise and projects.

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 complete the remote learning that is sent to them. Not completing could result in them falling behind in their learning. As parents, we need you to set the routines and boundaries at home so that children can complete the work as best as possible.

We ask that any work that EYFS and KS1 children complete can be scanned or photographed and sent back to the teachers by 3pm daily, wherever possible, so that they are able to offer marking/feedback for your children. For KS2 children, they need to 'turn in' their completed 'assignments' on their Google Chromebooks and this has a 3pm deadline too.

However, we know that all families work very hard with their children at home and we know that you won’t always be able to send the work back daily by 3pm. This is absolutely fine. Please send back what you can, when you can, as often as you can. If we do not hear from you, we will be getting in contact with you to see why home learning isn’t being sent back. 

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

Class teachers keep registers of completed work. Any concerns will be discussed with our Family Support Worker or a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Parents will be informed of any concerns we have.

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

For EYFS and KS1 children, you will receive written comments via email each time you send your child's work back to class teachers.

For KS2 children, who use Google Classroom, our assessment and feedback will be in the form of messages and comments within the 'turned in' work. The work will also be highlighted green for successes and pink for children to think about (i.e. errors or mistakes). KS2 teachers will return the marked work back to the children when they have 'turned it in.'

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 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or English as an additional language (EAL) 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 the work and/or giving different work entirely.
• Translating work where needed.
• Working with our SENDCo and EAL Leader to provide additional help, advice and resources.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

Where individual pupils need to self-isolate (and they are not unwell) 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.

EYFS and KS1 class teachers will communicate with parents by email in between 08.00 and 08.30, and provide the links to the online videos and/or provide the resources that are needed for the day's learning. Resources will often include the presentations that the teachers will be using for the main teaching, adapted for the home learning of course.

KS2 class teachers will be setting all of the home learning (called 'assignments') into their classes' Google Classrooms. We launched Google Classrooms in mid-February and all KS2 children have their own Google Chromebook in order to complete the work set.

As usual practice, we ask that any work the children complete during their self-isolation can be scanned or photographed and sent back to the teachers by 3pm daily, wherever possible, so that they are able to offer marking/feedback for your children.

 

Remote learning requires school and parents to work together in the best interests of all of the children's education. We are really grateful for the support that parents provide. If you have any queries about remote learning, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us at enquire@feathstn.bham.sch.uk