Remote education provision: information for parents

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.

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home

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 wherever possible and where appropriate. However, some adaptations may need to be made in some subjects, depending on content.

Remote teaching and study time each day

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

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:

EYFS	In Reception the children are being given directed work and need lots of  opportunities for independent play/ learning time as they would have in a school day.
Key Stage 1	In Year 1, three hours each day In Year 2, three hours each day

 

Accessing remote education

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

In EYFS and Key Stage 1, all online remote learning can be accessed through Tapestry.

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:

The school had a small number of laptops available for children who did not have access to online learning. If you are having issues please contact the school office.

Please note that online access is also possible through games consoles, such as Xbox and Playstation.

Paper packs are always available for each year group. These replicate as closely as possible the work that is posted online. Paper packs are collected from the school office and are returned there once completed so that the teachers can look at the completed work. If you would like a paper pack, please contact the office.

 

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

We use Tapestry for remote learning at Sparhawk Infant and Nursery School. We use a variety of approaches, including recorded teaching of some phonics, video and audio recordings of teaching staff explaining concepts, teaching staff reading stories as well as sharing of additional links for support. Teachers may use videos from YouTube, Oak National Academy and BBC Bitesize. Tapestry allows parents to contact teaching staff directly and is monitored daily.  Teachers also offer Zoom story cafes and fun games meeting sessions with their classes so that personal contact is maintained.

We have offered a quarantined reading books weekly exchange scheme to all remote learning pupils.

Teachers also include links to high quality websites that have been chosen to link to the themes that they are teaching.

Engagement and feedback

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

We fully acknowledge that remote learning is challenging for parents and carers.

Our primary concern is for the safety and wellbeing of our pupils. We ask that families engage with as much remote learning as they possibly can, but fully understand that this will look different in every home, depending on personal circumstances. Some families will find the amount of work we provide too much whilst others will find the amount of home learning too little. What is most important is keeping and maintaining contact with teaching staff so that positive relationships continue.

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

Teaching staff monitor online access daily and respond directly to children via the online platforms. Completed paper packs are expected to be returned to school for teachers to review or the work posted on tapestry. Any issues or concerns that teachers may have will be followed up directly with parents by telephone.

We also telephone all remote learning pupils fortnightly, weekly for our vulnerable and SEND pupil.

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

Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:

At Sparhawk Infant and Nursery School, feedback is provided via Tapestry on individual pieces of work.

Additional support for pupils with particular needs

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, for example 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:

Work for children with additional needs is carefully planned by class teachers in conjunction with our SENDCo and any staff that work individually with pupils. All work is tailored to meet individual needs based on the knowledge and understanding we have of each child. Any issues with accessing learning for children with additional needs should be raised with class teachers in the first instance.

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?

Our aim is to ensure that remote learning is available for children who are self-isolating within 24 hours of not being in school. This remote learning will be offered through the same platforms used for whole groups but can also be provided through paper packs. We intend that the online learning will reflect classroom learning as closely as possible but acknowledge that there might be some differences depending on the nature of the learning.

Updated 1st February 2021