Remote Education (Primary) - Information for Parents
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents/carers in our Primary Phase about what to expect from remote education if 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. If you need any support accessing remote learning please email remotelearning@harrisgarrard.org.uk. Thank you.
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?
- On the first day of remote education there will be a virtual meeting with the class teacher and member of the senior leadership team. This will be sent as a text message with a followable link. In this virtual meeting the team will explain all elements of the remote learning and talk through the physical and virtual learning elements available to the child.
- If the child was in before the need to isolate, they will go home with physical packs and information on remote learning. If already at home these will be posted out.
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 possible and appropriate. However, we focus the learning on key skills in maths and English in the daily sessions with the class teacher. Through Purple Mash there are opportunities for the students to access the other areas of the curriculum through these activities and these are reviewed by the teacher weekly.
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:
|
Primary school-aged pupils |
3 hours |
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
For virtual lessons we send links to parents before the sessions to make sure all are able to access for their children these daily sessions. In these sessions, screen sharing is used to help make sure that children are able to discuss their learning with their class teacher. Children also have access to Purple Mash which is our online platform where work is set and students are able to submit their daily English, Maths and other subject learning.
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 have surveyed all students and have some understanding of which students might need further support in this manner.
- Parents also receive a text message so some elements of the virtual learning can be done through a smart phone.
- If students are unable to access the internet, then paper-based resources are sent home for the duration of the isolation period alongside the online opportunities.
- For those unable to get online the Class teacher is in contact through weekly phone calls to discuss 1:1. The child’s learning towards the given physical resources.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
- live teaching (online lessons)
- saved resources on Purple Mash
- use of times table rock stars focused activities.
- printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
- reading an age appropriate book set for them with the AR system.
- commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
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?
- Students are expected to engage with their virtual lessons and registers are kept and monitored of attendance.
- While we understand learning might look different at home, we maintain that keeping a structured day with time set aside for their virtual lesson, English, maths and other subject tasks planned out into the day helps students learn best and this is encouraged.
- Parents and students receive feedback and learning is monitored through Purple Mash and in virtual learning sessions daily.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
- Engagement with live lessons is monitored daily through the online platforms' own monitoring software.
- When a student misses a session, they will receive a phone call from their class teacher or a member of SLT to check in on their learning.
- Quality of work is monitored, and feedback given through Purple Mash.
- Failure to engage over a number of days will result in a follow up from our pastoral lead.
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:
- Immediate feedback can be given to students orally through questioning, as they would in a normal lesson, or a student might write in the chat function during the lesson which can then be commented on.
- We also use the review elements of Purple Mash and times table rock stars to engage students.
- Any work that is done in a book, or on paper, will also fall into the usual cycle of whole class feedback.
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 can clearly track engagement of students with SEND and targeted calls home are made when engagement is not high.
- We ensure that students with SEND are carefully talked though how to engage with live lessons.
- We have a Pastoral Leader who is currently working with any isolating pupil who is identified as vulnerable or requiring further support.
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?
- Students have access to the Purple Mash, Times Table Rock Stars and physical learning packs. SLT hold virtual drop ins to support alongside class teacher phone calls to monitor learning.
- Teachers strive to teach both those in their class and students isolating at home, however, there might sometimes be a delay in students being feedback to and we have systems to monitor and engage these students with the SLT drop in sessions.
