Remote Education

              Remote education provision: information for parents 

It is very much anticipated, that this information provides support and clarity to pupils and parents    about what to expect from Remote Education.

Please note: As far as possible, pupils at home and school will receive the same curriculum, covering the core subjects, Reading/Phonics, English and Maths on a morning and Foundation Subjects during afternoon sessions.

What children can expect from immediate online remote education.

• Google Classroom/Google meet is the selected learning platform for online remote learning for children at Redby Academy. A weekly learning schedule is uploaded to the Academy website for each cohort; informing of appropriate times for children to log in for live lessons with their teachers and what other work/tasks need to be completed each day. .

• From 5^th January ‘Live Lessons’ will run throughout the Academy for children in Y1 – Y6.  Daily Live lessons take place for: Phonics (Y1/Y2), English and Maths. Live teaching daily for the aforementioned lessons, allows teaching to be progressive, with follow up work to complete after each lesson taught.  Children are also able to see and interact with their peers daily, conversing with them and discussing work.
• Children in some cohorts may be ‘grouped’ in order to support all children and meet individual needs. Parents are informed of grouping by text message.
• Either live or recorded teaching will be available for Science (recorded teaching is video/audio recordings made by teachers eg: Oak Academy)
• ‘Oxford Owl’ online e-books provide reading material/texts to all pupils. Commercially available websites also support Reading at home (please see Reading guidance on website).
• Online resources are encouraged daily ie: Use of Lexia to support Reading, Spelling Shed and Times Table Rock Stars. All children have an individual Login for these.
• Teaching of specific subjects, particularly foundation subjects, include pre-recorded video clips for teaching subject content/knowledge, skills and demonstrations.
• Internet research activities maybe encouraged in upper KS2 at specific points in specific subjects to promote independent learning.
• Oak Academy Learning Platform may be used for Foundation subjects, however this will be incorporated into the Weekly Schedule and uploaded to Google Classroom for pupil ease.

• Printed, paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets) are available where families currently have no wifi.
• Provision for children in Early Years can be accessed on the Academy website, whereby pre-recorded lessons, by child’s teacher are available daily, for Phonics/English, story and Maths

Remote teaching: Daily Expectations

The Government have provided guidance on the amount of time primary pupils should access remote education each day. This is the minimum expectation and may include both remote teaching and independent work set.  Upper KS2 may indeed be offered further work from time to time; encouraging independence.

Accessing Remote Education

All KS2 pupils have experience and understanding of using of Google Classroom, through in school use or ‘preparation’ workshops.

The Academy have provided support for parents in accessing Google Classroom through both video clips on website and individual consultations via phone calls.

All pupils have individual, unique login details for each learning platform – all of which, have been issued to parents for reference.

Support for children without digital or online access at home.

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable technology for online access at home, therefore we aim to lend out as many devices as possible, enabling the very vast majority of pupils to access work online. School have a limited supply of Laptops, Tablets and Chrome Books but should have sufficient to offer at least one per household for families without technology. Our IT Technician is accepting old devices from families and local businesses; updating them for suitability prior to distribution.

Paper work packs may be issued in the event of families not having any wifi connection. These paper packs can be collected weekly from the school office and assistance can be sought by parents speaking to teachers via phone calls.

The Academy are currently seeking to provide internet access to those families without wifi, through purchasing mobile broadband rooters.

Expectations of engagement of children and support of parents.

• The expectation is that all pupils engage daily with live lessons in English and Maths and via follow up work set on Google Classroom for foundation Subjects. The amount of time spent on learning each day is mentioned above.
• Once parents of children in KS1 ‘log on’ to the live lessons they have little to do as the teacher takes control and teaches the children. It is advised however that parents of younger pupils are on hand, in the event children have difficulty with technology. Pupils in KS2 are able to log on themselves and require little supervision.
• It is expected parents engage with school expectations by setting daily routines to support children’s learning at home. Parents should ensure their child is ‘logged on’ for live lessons at the appropriate times daily, and provide them with a suitable, quiet working space for learning if possible.
• Parents should ensure appropriate routines and procedures are in place at home; promoting and enabling physical and mental well-being of children.
• Children should be actively encouraged and praised by both teachers and parents for their attendance, dedication and efforts in their endeavor to engage and learn.

Checks on Pupil Engagement

• Pupil attendance at live lessons is monitored daily with registers taken by adult not teaching the live lesson.
• Parents should inform school if child is unable to attend live lessons; offering reasons.
• Parents will receive supportive phone calls/tests if child is not in attendance, offering help and advice. 
• Academy has provided support with Accessing Google Classroom through video clips on website and individual consultations if any further issues arise.
• Welfare checks to homes and via phone calls if concerns arose regarding lack of engagement.

Assessment and Progress of Pupil work.

Feedback can take many forms and does not always mean extensive written comments for individual children by the teacher.

• Children are encouraged to reflect upon their work – could it be improved?, Can errors be identified - could they be corrected?
• Verbal feedback is offered to pupils in live lessons, with teacher frequently directing questions to specific pupils to assess their understanding.
• The ‘chat’ facility on Google Classroom allows children and teacher the opportunity to communicate briefly in written form.
• Children in lower KS2 are to email written work, completed on a Thursday, to teacher for marking and comments. This allows teachers to assess pupil progress.
• Pupils in KS2 upload work to Google Classroom for teacher to view/mark/feedback upon. 
• Y6 pupils upload work daily for feedback – teachers use highlighter facility to identify areas for improvement.
• Y6 use ‘mote’ on iPad to offer verbal comments, recorded then accessed by written feedback to individuals.
• Parents are kept informed on pupil progress by class teacher through emails and frequent phone calls.

Additional support for pupils with particular needs

It is acknowledged that remote learning is not always feasible for families who have children with additional needs. Therefore, pupils with EHCP’s have the option of attending school with individualised provision, tailored to suit their needs.

Several SEND pupils have the ability to access remote learning, at home, through a structured support programme or have access to daily assistance of teachers on a one to one basis. 

Staff delivering programmes to SEND pupils are well known to and have a good relationship with the pupil.  A range of programmes and strategies are utilised to support and teach the child with parental engagement being fundamental to progress, achievement and success.

Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Where individual pupils need to self-isolate, but the majority of their peer group remains in school, remote education does not differ for pupils in KS2. Pupils are able to access the learning from home remotely, as all planned work is uploaded to Google Classroom and access to English and Maths will be provided live.  Suggested work complimenting live teaching is uploaded to GC for access at home. Children in KS1 will have work uploaded to Academy website or Paper Packs printed off and collected by parents at school office.