REmote Learning
Remote education provision
Information for parents and carers
Pupils may need to learn remotely if they are sent home from school to self-isolate, or if there is a full lockdown.
The following information is a brief summary of how your child will learn at home. More detail is included in the school’s Remote Learning Policy.
The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
When pupils are sent home to self-isolate, they will be provided with details of how they will be taught.
The arrangements are different according to your child’s age.
All pupils will be provided with specific information including the MS Teams sites that they will need to use.
All pupils will be provided with any materials that they need, including work packs and stationery items.
The pupils will have additional work set daily using the Oak National Academy, with activity links accessed through MS Teams.
All pupils will have a personal reading book to continue reading at home. Please continue to listen to your child reading every day and encourage them to talk about their books. You can learn songs, rhymes and opportunities to talk should be maximised. Practical activities such as baking, painting and craftwork should also be undertaken where possible.
The expectation is that pupils will start remote learning as soon as their period of self-isolation begins or if there is a local/national lockdown.
Remote teaching and learning time each day
EYFS-YR2 lessons will start at 8.30am-12.00pm
As far as possible, we expect that pupils will spend the same amount of time working on a
remote education day as they would in school. This is because they will be following the usual school timetable for their lessons and completing independent learning/homework that arises from them.
In the early years, children’s learning will be more practically based but will follow the same curriculum that is used in face-to-face learning.
Pupils in Reception who are learning at home will not spend extended periods of time watching a screen. The balance of activities pupils will be practically based in order that they benefit from a range of opportunities to develop their skills in each of the areas of learning: communication and language; physical development; personal, social and emotional development; literacy; mathematics; understanding the world; expressive arts and design.
In Year 1, following the timetable will entail children spending gradually more time watching teacher modelling as the year progresses. The time pupils spend online will be in short bursts interspersed with other activities.
In both Reception and Year 1, any online activities will be high value in supporting children’s emotional wellbeing and development. An online morning welcome from the teacher will help children learning remotely to tune in to the school. An element of teacher modelling, such as the ‘morning meetings’ used during ‘carpet time’ will be used. Teacher modelling will be punctuated with time for pupils to spend on practical application of skills. Storytime and phonics sessions will be delivered to pupils as live learning via MS Teams. As the story of the week is revisited several times during the school day in Reception, a recorded version will also be available on MS Teams.
Year 2 pupils learning remotely will follow the same timetable as EYFS and Yr1. They will receive direct ‘live’ instruction from their teachers, as would be the case in school. ‘Live’ teacher modelling is especially crucial in the core subjects. Pupils will still need plenty of opportunities to work with equipment to practise their basic skills, including letter formation, handwriting fluency and mathematical jottings.
YR 3-6 lessons will follow usual timetable.
Pupils learning remotely will have the same high-quality experience as if they were learning in the classroom. This means engaging in the same lessons. Pupils learning at home will attend ‘live’ lessons as they would in school (see timetable provided in Remote Learning pack). These lessons will include teacher modelling and opportunities for pupils to consolidate their skills.
Accessing remote education
In the early years and Year 1 Remote lessons will be delivered using Microsoft Teams (MS
Teams). Parents will be provided with information to access the site and how to login for lessons. We will continue to use learning platforms including: The Oak National Academy, Purple Mash and Active Learn.
Remote lessons will be delivered using Microsoft Teams (MS Teams) to pupils in Years 2 -6
Your son/daughter has been taught how to access the site and how to login for lessons. We will continue to use learning platforms including: The Oak National Academy, BBC
Bitesize, Purple Mash, Active Learn and White Rose. Pupils have been shown how to access these sites. Materials from Oak National Academy may be used on occasion to support pupils’ learning.
We are very grateful to parents for providing devices on which their children can access lessons and resources. We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home.
Please inform the school office (info@olivesmallheath.staracademies.org) if your child does not have a laptop/tablet on which to work, or if you do not have internet access at home. We will do our best to support you.
If pupils do not have online access, they will be provided with hard copy work packs. Pupils who cannot submit work online will be asked to keep all their work in their exercise books/workbooks so that these can be shared with their teachers upon return to school.
Remote teaching
Remote teaching will be delivered through scheduled live lessons. This will involve simultaneous direct teaching by class teachers (who could be teaching from the physical classroom or from home if self-isolating) to their pupils (who could be learning in the physical classroom or at home). The lesson inputs will be focused on core learning opportunities with pupils being asked to complete linked tasks independently or with parent/carer support.
Direct input from the teacher may be supplemented with some recorded material (such as video lessons from Oak National Academy, or videos recorded by class teachers which may be the most appropriate way of teaching particular aspects of work, such as some practical elements of Science, where the teacher may not have access to necessary resources or equipment).
Pupils will need to spend some parts of lessons writing in their workbooks or completing activities that involve physical resources. These have been and will be provided by the school. Some activities will involve pupils completing work on their devices and saving or uploading it.
Some subjects, such as PE, do not lend themselves to online learning in the same way as others. Teachers will take into account the difficulties pupils may have in completing physical activity in a confined space and provide alternative suitable home learning such as videoed exercise lessons.
Art and DT lessons may also be videoed so that pupils have the benefit of working at their own pace. These lessons will follow the school’s medium-term planning, however, teachers will adapt lessons to ensure resources and equipment required are easily available.
Engagement and feedback
We have the same high expectations of pupils’ behaviour when they are learning remotely as we do when they are learning in school. The STAR values should be consistently maintained. All pupils have been taught the protocols for working online and staying safe.
Codes of conduct for remote learning have been given to pupils, parents and staff. The school will alert you in the event of poor behaviour or non-attendance.
We value your support for your child’s wellbeing and learning. Please continue to ensure that they follow good routines, including getting enough sleep and time away from screens.
We will keep a careful check on your child’s remote learning. We will inform you (by text/email/phone call) if your child misses lessons that they are expected to attend. We will phone your child at least once per week during their time learning remotely to check on their progress and wellbeing. We will inform you if we have concerns about your child’s work.
Assessment and feedback
Teachers will assess pupils’ remote learning in ways appropriate to the child’s age, stage of development and learning objectives.
EYFS
Your child will work in a variety of ways when they are learning remotely. When interacting
directly with the class teacher through Teams, feedback will be given instantly using mini whiteboard ‘show me’ techniques.
As much of the work is practical, parents will be asked to submit evidence of achievement via email for teachers to review.
Sometimes they will complete work on paper / in exercise books that will be submitted to school in hard copy form.
Feedback can take many forms. Sometimes your child will receive written individual feedback. Some feedback will be given on a whole-class basis.
KS1/KS2
Your child will work in a variety of ways when they are learning remotely. Sometimes they will submit work by email / One Note and these will be reviewed by their teacher. Sometimes they will complete work on paper / in their homework book that will be submitted to school in hard copy form. Feedback can take many forms. Sometimes your child will receive written individual feedback. Some feedback will be given on a whole-class basis and sometimes your child may complete quizzes that are marked automatically via digital platforms.
Additional support for pupils with particular needs
We recognise that 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 place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils in the following ways:
Provision on individual/small group support during MS Teams lessons
Pupils with SEND will be taught on Teams either individually or as part of a small group by the Specialist Learning Coach who is familiar with the pupils ability. Activities will be practical and hands-on where possible to support the learning and to develop independent learning practices.
Provision of differentiated work matched to individual targets
The work and activities provided will be specifically tailored to the needs of the pupils and will focus on individual targets in Core Subject Areas. The pupils will also be provided with practical resources for use at home when being taught and for independent practical learning.
Enhanced induction for MS Teams access
The pupils will receive additional enhanced induction with the use of MS Teams with the IT technician and allocated Specialist Learning Coach while in school to ensure they know how to access the various aspects of MS Teams. Parents and carers will also be invited to attend the induction sessions remotely so they are able to support the children.