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

A pupil’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.

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

From the commencement of the January term on Tuesday 5th January, Appleby Primary School have implemented our contingency framework for remote teaching which was agreed during the Autumn Term. 

Parents and pupils have all been provided access to our two remote teaching platforms (Seesaw and Tapestry) and have had the opportunity to access work remotely set as part of homework. Should you have misplaced your child's log-in details, these are available via the Seesaw Family app or by contacting the school office. 

Remote Teaching activities will be set daily as outlined below from the outset. Pupils were issued with Remote Learning books in November in which to complete their work each day. If you have misplaced yours, or your child has completed their book, further books are available from the school office on request.

We recognise that Remote Education is likely to develop and improve with experience and in response to feedback from parents or changes in expectation published by the Department for Education. We will ensure that we provide regular updates for parents throughout any period of full or partial closure and class teachers will be contactable daily during school hours to offer additional support via our Seesaw and Tapestry platforms.

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?

Children working remotely from home will be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were taught in school. Teachers will prepare lessons from a broad range of National Curriculum subjects and share these remotely via our digital learning platforms each day. To enable parents to access their child's learning at a time which is convenient to them, activities will be posted the evening before.

Core Subjects

Daily, children can expect to be remotely taught lessons in Mathematics using the same White Rose Mathematics scheme and materials used in school. There will also be an English lesson to complete daily. Teachers will use a range of video and written guidance to provide direct teaching as well as work to be completed independently. 

In addition, pupils can expect to access the same learning in Spelling, Grammar, Times Tables and Reading as they would access in school. To enable easy access for children working remotely, reading materials will be provided using:

• Oxford Owls.  https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk
• Teach Your Monster to Read. https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com 

To practice their times tables daily, pupils are encouraged to log in to their accounts for:

• Times tables Rockstars. https://ttrockstars.com
• Numbots.  https://play.numbots.com/#/intro

If you have limited access to a digital device, or intermittent or poor internet connectivity, please contact the school office to access the additional support available.

Foundation Subjects

During a period of full or partial closure, we will endeavour to ensure that pupils working remotely continue to access a rich and deep curriculum. Teachers will continue to plan and deliver remote session in a full range of National Curriculum subjects. 

Wherever possible we will try to ensure that work accessed remotely is the same as that taught in school. However, we may need to make some adaptations in some subjects in certain circumstances such as:

• Availability of Resources at Home - Some subjects such as Art or Music may rely on access to a wide range of specialist equipment that is not readily accessible at home such as musical instruments or a range of media for painting and sculpture. Where this applies, planning may be adapted so that objectives can be achieved using materials readily available at home.
• Access to specialist Remote Teaching Materials - Where specialist materials of high quality have been produced which can help to make learning remotely more accessible such as digital lessons produced by Oak National Academy, these materials may be used to support learning for pupils working remotely.
• PE lessons - Whilst we recognise that regular exercise outdoors is as important during a National Lockdown as during periods when the school is open to all pupils. However, much of our PE curriculum includes team sports and games involving larger numbers of pupils. It will, of course, be necessary to make amendments therefore when setting work to be completed at home. It will also be necessary to ensure that PE lessons provided as part of remote teaching take into any relevant national guidance such as "Stay at Home Guidance."
• Working Scientifically - During periods when school is open to all pupils, "Working Scientifically" is a core part of our science curriculum, including experimentation and investigation work. Whilst we will try to ensure that 'working scientifically' continues to be included as part of remote teaching, amendments to our 'in-school' curriculum may be required to ensure that investigation work can be carried out safely at home using materials readily available. 

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:

We recognise, however, that the circumstances in each home may differ greatly. We would encourage all pupils to try to complete the work set for them by their teachers, however we understand that some work may be submitted the following day or later in the week as parents manage remote education around their own commitments to work from home. 

If you are experiencing difficulties completing work set or would like support with a child who is reluctant to engage with their work at home, you should know that we are here to help. Please contact your child's class teacher via our remote teaching platform.

If you are experiencing difficulties due to access to an internet enabled device at home, we may be able to help. Simply contact the school office, or complete the contact form below:

We may be able to help if you have difficulty due to limited mobile data or a poor or intermittent internet signal. Click here to respond to our survey.

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

Pupils can access their remote teaching and online learning via any internet enabled device such as a laptop, computer, tablet or mobile phone. 

Seesaw

Pupils in Key Stage One and Key Stage 2 (Classes 1 - 5) can access their learning via the Seesaw Virtual Learning Platform online or by downloading the Seesaw Class App.

Pupils have been issued with a unique code to access their remote teaching. These can be reissued by the school office. Parents can keep track of their child's remote learning by downloading the Seesaw Family App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Our virtual learning platforms need to be accessed using a computer or laptop. Remote education can be accessed using a range of devices including a tablet or mobile phone. Work can be completed either online or in workbooks provided by school. We have even produced a video guide to help you access remote teaching using your child's games console. 

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:

Provision of a school laptop or iPad

If your child is unable to access our remote teaching materials as they do not have adequate access to an internet enabled device at home, we can provide you with a laptop or iPad from school. We issued the following letter during the first week of the January term:

We continue to maintain a small stock of iPads and laptops which can be accessed on a priority basis. If your child is having difficulty engaging with their remote education due to limited access to an internet enabled device, you should contact the school office by calling 01768351431 or completing the contact form below:

Issues with internet access and connectivity

If you have issues with internet access and intermittent or poor connectivity. The Department for Education (DFE) is working in partnership with mobile network operators to help schools support disadvantaged pupils in years 3 to 11 who rely on a mobile internet connection when their face-to-face education is disrupted by coronavirus (COVID-19).

You may be able to benefit from free increases to their mobile data if they’re a customer of either:

• EE
• O2
• Sky Mobile
• SMARTY
• Tesco Mobile
• Three
• Virgin Mobile
• Vodafone

More providers may join the scheme soon.

To find out if you are eligible, please complete our short online survey and we will submit an application on your behalf. If you are a Vodafone customer, you can contact the school office to request a free mobile data SIM card. 

If you continue to experience problems with connectivity, please let us know. We will provide printed materials to support your child's remote learning immediately and may be able to apply for access to an additional 4G router to improve mobile data connectivity in your home.

We do not have a printer at home

We understand that some families may not have access to a printer at home and that replacement ink cartridges can prove costly. We have therefore taken care to provide access to remote teaching that should not require work to be printed in order to be completed. Pupils have been provided with exercise books in which to complete their learning. Printed resources will made available in some circumstances to support children who are unable to make effective progress without access to printed materials. Parents should contact the school office.

How will my child be taught remotely?

At Appleby Primary School we understand that remote education is underpinned by the same guiding principles which underpins our curriculum delivered in school. Our aim at Appleby Primary School is to deliver a high-quality curriculum so that pupils know more and remember more; develop a range of skills which can be applied in different circumstances; and can take inspiration and enjoyment from their learning. Remote education is a means and not an end - this means that, to us, remote education is a vehicle to provide children with a learning experience as close as possible to that which they are able to enjoy in school at a time when they are required to learn from home. 

We take care to ensure that our remote education curriculum is aligned to the classroom curriculum as much as possible. And, just like the classroom curriculum, it needs to be carefully sequenced and ensure that pupils obtain the building blocks they need to move on to the next step. For this reason, teachers will mark and respond to pieces of work submitted on line each day and this will inform planning for future sessions.

How will work be set?

Teachers will plan sequences of lessons which build skills and develop knowledge incrementally. Lessons will be differentiated to meet the needs of groups and individual children in just the same was as we would in the classroom - this is called differentiation. Do not worry if a task set for your child is slightly different from one set for one of their friends. This just means that the teacher has assigned a task to build upon the prior learning demonstrated by each child in order to support them to make the best progress.

We will apply the same knowledge of cognitive development that we would apply when teaching in the classroom, ensuring a blend of scaffolded, independent work, revision of previous concepts and introduction of new learning in manageable pieces. 

Pupils will be able to access their personal learning journals on either the Seesaw or Tapestry platforms. Lessons will be set daily in order to enable teachers to build on prior learning or to address misconceptions evident in the previous day's work. For this reason, we will not be able to submit a week's learning at one time. However, we will ensure that learning tasks are posted on the evening before to enable families to manage remote learning as part of their day.

What format will lessons take?

In January 2021, Ofsted produced a report sharing some important guidance with regard to home learning which addressed a number of myths with regard to remote teaching:

"Some think that a live lesson is the ‘gold standard’ of remote education. This isn’t necessarily the case... live lessons are not always more effective than asynchronous approaches." Ofsted Jan 2021

Our approach to the format of lessons is a blended one, building upon the latest research with regard to effective strategies to promote effective remote education.

When preparing online lessons, teachers will take account of the nature of the content to be delivered, the needs of pupils and the availability of high quality resources to support learning. 

In preparing and delivering remote learning we will use a blend or approaches including:

• Recorded Teaching - this features recorded lessons or instructional elements prepared and produced either by your child's teacher or specially prepared recorded lessons by provider such as the Oak National Academy.
• Written and pictorial guidance, instruction and support materials
• Slide-shows, videos and multi-media presentations prepared both by teachers here in school or through access to the same high-quality providers that we would utilise in the classroom such as White Rose Maths, Espresso and Teach Your Monster to Read.
• Live teaching - delivered via video conferencing software. Initially this will include "Keeping in Touch Sessions" for all children to address and support remote education and will extend to include additional teaching "workshops" which will be delivered live. 

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

It is our expectation that all children learning remotely will engage with their learning each day and aim to complete the work that has been set in good time. We recognise that circumstances will differ in different homes and many parents may be working from home themselves. Therefore, children may submit some of their learning later in the week. 

Parents can help their children by helping to set up somewhere quiet where their child can learn productively. Where children are accessing their learning online, encourage children to work in a public room in the house where you can remain close at hand. Help your child to learn how they can contact their teacher who is supporting remotely for assistance and encourage them to develop confidence to complete their work independently.

It is expected that the degree of support from parents required is likely to be lower with older children than those in Year One and the Foundation Stage. With younger children, many learning opportunities assigned by teachers can be engaged with through play. We would encourage parents of children in the Foundation Stage and Year One to enjoy the exploration and discovery of learning together.

For older children, it is important that the approach to remote education helps children to maintain the levels of resilience and perseverance that we encourage in the classroom. An expectation from parents that children in Key Stage 2 continue to develop their independence and ask for support from their teacher via the learning platform in the first instance when they find work more challenging is to be encouraged. 

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

Teachers will continue to support pupils with their remote learning each day. Teachers will to monitor pupil engagement daily as providing remote support and feedback to pupils via our virtual learning platforms. Parents can also message their child's teacher about their child's remote learning and teachers will respond during normal school hours each day.

As a school we will continue to monitor engagement of all pupils' with remote education. This is reviewed weekly by senior leaders in school in order to prepare additional support should this be required. 

Throughout periods of full or partial closure of school, staff will continue to make regular telephone contact with parents; particularly where a lower than expected engagement has been noted. The purpose of these 'keeping in touch calls' is to ensure that continued contact is maintained between school and home and to ascertain whether additional support or an alternative approach may improve the remote learning experience for pupils and their families. 

Where non-engagement with remote teaching persists or where other concerns are raised by parents through the "keeping in touch" process, senior leaders in school will consider offering a face to face teaching place within school. 

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:

Teachers will mark and respond daily to all work submitted via our remote teaching platforms. We feel that regular direct feedback provided either through written comments or a recorded message from the teacher are not only a critical part of the learning process as the enable pupils to respond to suggestions from their teacher or have their misconceptions addressed, they are also very effective in motivating pupils to produce work to the best of their ability. In school, children will be given opportunity to review feedback from teachers on their work each day and it is our intention that this will continue to be provided when working remotely.

Our assessment of pupils is informed daily by pupils' responses to the work set by their class teacher. This informs future planning to ensure that every child's needs are met to enable them to make their best process. It also contributes to the teacher assessment process which allows us to track pupils' progress over time, informs additional interventions and is reported to parents. Because of the way that work is submitted daily via Seesaw and Tapestry, pupils' portfolios of remote learning will continue to inform the teacher assessment process in much the same way.

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 a number of ways.

Pupils with an Education Healthcare Plan (EHCP) are able to access face to face teaching in school. However, we recognise that some pupils with additional needs, including some children with and EHCP will continue to access their learning remotely. To support pupils with additional learning needs we will maintain in frequent and regular contact throughout periods of full or partial closure via the class teacher and Mrs Barker, our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO). 

Additional support will be tailored for pupils and may include:

• An individual programme of work shared via Tapestry and additional printed resources.
• Intervention programmes delivered remotely in very much the same way as they would be in school.
• Additional scaffolding and specifically differentiated to allow pupils to continue to access a rich and deep curriculum whilst providing additional support for identified needs.
• Additional activities and programmes developed with other outside agencies that frequently provide support to your child in school.

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?

Remote teaching for pupils during periods of self-isolation when the school is open to the majority of the school will operate in very much the same way as during periods of full or partial closure. When individual pupils access their learning remotely whilst the majority of their class continue to access school the following differences can be expected:

• Teachers deployed to offer remote support will often be required to organise this around a full time teaching commitment. Whilst teachers, will continue to offer support remotely but will access the learning platform periodically. Whilst we will continue to ensure that support is provided as soon as possible, there may be a slightly longer wait time. Support may be delivered by a senior leader or another member of staff who may choose to contact you by telephone rather than via the virtual learning platform.
• We will not be offering face to face video sessions to individual pupils isolating due to the teaching commitments of staff working in school.

We also recognise that during periods of self isolation pupils may be unwell. For this reason, remote education will only commence after the first 48 hour of absence and only for pupils who are well enough to engage.