This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents/carers about what to expect from remote education at Linthwaite Ardron CE (VA) Junior and Infant School if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.

Feedback from stakeholders, following a questionnaire completed in October 2020, has helped to shape our approach to remote learning so that it closely matches the needs of families at Linthwaite Ardron. Our whole school approach will be to provide a number of classteacher led, recorded lessons that shape each day's learning. By working in this way we are ensuring that:

• when access to devices is limited (this could be due to a working parent or multiple siblings working from home) learning can take place at any time during the day
• that children of primary school age, who may find remote learning difficult, are benefiting from the experience of a class teacher without the distraction of having other lesson participants
• that children can see school staff, with whom they are familiar, thus maintaining the feeling of contact    

For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

What is taught to pupils at home

A pupil’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different to our standard approach while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching. Remote learning links will be uploaded to class pages in the event that pupils are required to learning remotely.  

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

Your child will be expected to use the online learning platforms to which our school subscribes. These, for most children, are detailed on a ‘bookmark’ and will have been sent home from school previously. They may include Purple Mash, TT Rock Stars and Spelling Shed, amongst other resources. Platforms specified for each year group will vary and will be based on age-related suitability and expectations. If you do not seem to have this information at home, please ask. For children in EYFS activities are posted on Tapestry. All children will be expected to read each day for a minimum of 20 minutes. For younger children this should be split into one or more shorter sessions. 

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, wherever this is possible and appropriate. However, we need to make some adaptations in some subjects where children do not have access to necessary equipment that is required for completing a task. For example, using a saw and vice to construct a Roman catapult or using clay to make an Egyptian death mask.

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

We plan inline with government guidance and this is that pupils in KS1 and EYFS are expected to complete set activities in approximately 3 hours and pupils in KS2 are expected to complete activities in approximately 4 hours. This will be a combination of:

• teacher-led activities and teacher-led independent work
• twenty minutes of reading
• 15 minutes TT Rock Stars (KS2) or NumBots (KS1)
• KS2 pupils should also spend some time during the week completing activities of their choice on SumDog or Purple Mash.

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 expect all pupils to engage with all the activities set for them
• We expect parents to ensure that routines are followed and that school is contacted should any pupil feel that they are experiencing difficulties. This is to support their child’s education

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

• pupil’s engagement with remote learning will be checked a minimum of four times each week by a member of school staff. This service will be provided through a variety of platforms and processes including, comments relating to pupil’s work on Class Dojo, Purple Mash, Email or Tapestry. Telephone calls may be made to some pupils and/or parents. Class quizzes may be set. This list is not exhaustive but gives parents an indication of what to expect.
• where engagement is a concern, contact will be made with parents to find out more information.

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:

• pupil’s progress will be checked each week. This will be done through a variety of platforms and processes. Comments relating to children’s work may be made by a member of staff via Class Dojo, Purple Mash, Email or Tapestry. Telephone calls may be made to some children.
• where progress is a concern, contact will be made with parents to find out more information.

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:

• We will ensure that there is a place in school available for all pupils with SEND to attend our setting.
• Our SENCO will make at least weekly contact to pupils with SEND (or their parent/carer) when pupils are not able to work in school because they (or their family) is vulnerable  due to coronavirus.
• Our SENCO will make at least weekly contact to pupils with SEND (or their parent/carer) when they are not able to work in school because staff availability means that we cannot accommodate their needs safely in school. This could be for short term periods due to staff absence.
• Remote learning activities will be planned, wherever possible, to be suitable for independent learning. This is particularly applicable to the younger pupils where independence is not yet established.

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?

If your child is not in school because they are self isolating, but the rest of their class is in school, learning activities may be paper based and more reliant upon providers of  ‘live learning’ such as Oak Academy. However, learning activities will be in line with those that are being undertaken in school wherever possible so that pupil do not need to ‘catch up’ on their return to school.

Paper packs will need collecting from the school office. In cases where the whole family is shielding or self isolating, paper packs will be dropped off at the child’s home.