Remote Learning
"Let Your Light Shine" Matthew 5:14-16
Tier One – Individual children requiring to self-isolate
- The class teacher will set learning activities via Google classroom. These will be based on the learning objectives covered in class for that week.
- Learning activities will be set at the beginning of the isolation period and will consist of several learning activities.
- The activities set will predominantly be a link to Oak Academy and White Rose Maths where families can access a teaching video and worksheets/activities linked to the video. There may also be some worksheets for the children to complete.
- Where possible, children will be invited to remotely join live lessons taking place in school. These will be accessed through Google Classroom.
Tier Two – A whole bubble is required to isolate
- The class teacher will deliver three live lessons a day via Google Classroom and set follow up learning activities linked to these lessons.
- English, maths and at least one other subject will be set for each school day.
- There will be links to some video lessons included in the offer. Details of these will be communicated via Google Classroom.
- All families will be contacted by telephone at least once during the isolation period
- If digital devices are required, we will do our best to accommodate needs and lend school devices to those children who need them.
- If you require work to be printed off, please inform us at the start of the isolation period and we will make arrangements to get these to you.
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:
| Key Stage | Suggested Hours |
|---|---|
| Early Years | |
| Key Stage 1 | A minimum of three hours per day |
| Key Stage 2 | A minimum of four hours per day |
Not all of this time may be spent online as there are a number of learning tasks that the children should continue to do outside of the online lesson time. Some suggestions for these are as follows:
- Reading
- Times Table practise
- Spelling practise
- Phonics practise
Accessing Remote Education
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is our online learning platform for all children at St Lawrence Primary. It is accessed in a web browser (Google Chrome recommended) or via the Google Classroom app (recommended for any pupils using smartphones or tablets) and will be used by teachers to set homework and share home learning resources in virtual classrooms that pupils are members of. Google Classroom is password protected and is only accessible to teachers and pupils. If pupils are isolating, this platform will also be used to facilitate pupils accessing the classroom via video link so that they can still be a part of the learning in the classroom (virtually) alongside their peers.
Google classroom can be accessed via this link: classroom.google.com
please click on the following links to see which lessons your child can access live using Google Meet:
Reception
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:
- We are happy to print off hard copies of the work that the children have been set for the week. If this would be helpful, please contact the school office who will be happy to help and organise this. You will need to come and collect the work from school unless you are isolating.
- We will try to lend laptops and digital devices to those families that may need it to support the live lessons. Please contact the school office if you think this is something that would help your child with their remote learning.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
- live teaching (online lessons)
- recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
- printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
- reading books pupils have at home
- Intervention live lessons
- commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
- long-term project work and/or internet research activities linked to topic work
- No-screen activities / afternoons / days to reduce the need to be online all day, every day such as World Book Day and Chinese New Year
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?
Where possible, we expect all children to log into the live lessons every day. Class teachers will take a register to monitor the attendance of online learning at the start of each lesson. If pupils do not log in, teachers will contact the family to offer support where necessary.
We encourage parents to support their child's learning by setting a good daily routine and encouraging children to log into the live lessons and complete the follow up work. We also encourage parents to continue to hear their child read on a regular basis and share in their child's achievements.
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:
- Direct feedback during live lessons
- Email contact with parents and carers about how your child is getting on
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:
- Where possible, the children will be invited to learn in school during a National Lockdown
- The SENDco will be in direct contact with the family to ensure they have the support they need to access the remote learning
- Class teachers will also be in direct contact with the family to set individualised work for those pupils.
Is my child expected to do work at home when they are ill?
If your child is ill, they must take the time to rest and recover and are not expected to work from home. However, if a child no longer feels ill, but are still considered contagious (10 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms), parents and carers must phone the school office to let the school know that teachers can begin posting work to their child’s Google Classroom account.
Home Learning Additional Links
Other activities that can be accessed to support home learning can be found below:
Storytime Videos (Nursery to Year 6)
Islington Library Service have recorded lots of story-time videos for children from Nursery to Year 6. These can be accessed via the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/c/islingtoneducationlibraryservicebookvideos
Oxford Owl
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/
You will need to register for free, however, once registered there are hundreds of ebooks that can be accessed.
White Rose Maths
The White Rose Maths Team have prepared a series of five maths lessons for each year group from Year 1-6. They will be adding five more each week for the next few weeks. Every lesson comes with a short video showing you clearly and simply how to help your child to complete the activity successfully. The website is as follows:
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
The PSHE Association has some useful information and online resources which can be accessed here to support with pupils mental health and emotional wellbeing.
https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/mental-health-emotional-wellbeing-home-learning
Online Safety
Alan Mackenzie, an E-safety advisor, has produced some really useful videos for parents regarding online safety during this time of school closure. Please find the links to these videos below:
- Parents – cutting through the online safety noise. Simple advice and guidance to keep your child safe online during the pandemic – click HERE
- Parents – YouTube moderation – click HERE
CEOP Education Packs
CEOP (ThinkUKnow) have released further activity packs for all children and young people, focussing on the activity of online gaming. Links to the various packs are:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and support for parents and carers (NSPCC)
The NSPCC has created a number of resources to support parents and carers during this difficult time. Topics include:
- Talking to a child worried about coronavirus
- Parents working from home
- Children staying home alone
- Lockdown and separated parents
- How to cope with tantrums and other difficult behaviour
The advice can be found on the NSPCC website here: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/coronavirus-advice-suppport-children-families-parents/
Talking Points
These 100 ‘shorts’ are divided into 3 playlists: Age 4-7, 8-11, and 11-16. They provides a perfect introduction to philosophy for younger and older children alike, modelling discussion and argument through colourful, fun characters and irresistible questions.
Use at home…
To use with children at home, simply press play. Afterwards, ask them for their opinion. Do they agree with Spot or Stripe and why? Do they have another angle on the question? Fun conversation can be enjoyed as a family, or with two more siblings talking together. It can be fun for parents to take the opposite point of view for the sake of argument.
NATRE
An increasing amount of resources have been produced by NATRE (National Association of Teachers of RE), which can be used to support home learning.
http://www.natre.org.uk/free-resources-for-you-and-your-pupils/
PSHE Association
During this challenging period, many young people are missing out on some of their usual interactions with friends and family. These home learning lessons for members focus on the positive ways that our ‘special people’ care for one another, especially in families and friendships. They encourage pupils to consider the most important aspects of maintaining positive relationships and reflect on how this can be challenging at times of change or uncertainty.
In the key stage 1 lesson pupils learn to:
- identify people who are special to them.
- explain what makes them special and why they are important to them.
- describe how their special people care for them.
- recognise how they can show they care for their special people too.
In the key stage 2 lesson pupils learn to:
- identify the qualities of positive friendships and family relationships.
- explain how friends and family show they value and care for each other.
- describe what is most important in a friendship or family relationship.
- recognise that friendships and family relationships may change for different reasons and how to manage this.