Remote Learning Plan

Specific aims

To outline our approach for pupils who will not be attending school as a result of government guidance or the closure of a class bubble
To outline our expectations for staff that will not be attending school due to self-isolation but that are otherwise fit and healthy and able to continue to support with teaching, assessing and planning for pupils

Who is this plan applicable to?

Every child is expected to have returned to school from September 1^st 2020. In line with government guidance, pupils, staff and families should self-isolate if they display any of the following symptoms:

A continuous cough
A high temperature, above 37.8°C
A loss of, or change to, their sense of smell or taste
Have had access to a test and this has returned a positive result for Covid-19

This plan outlines expectations for a class bubble or partial school closure, rather than individual cases. Individual pupils who are isolating due to health issues (based on government guidance) will be supported with ‘paper packs’ which mirror the work being taught to the rest of the class in school in addition to online resources which will be posted on Class Dojo and Google classroom.

Remote learning for pupils

We will provide links to appropriate remote learning for pupils who are not able to attend school so that no-one falls behind. In the following points, an outline of provision will be made and some guidance given on the role of teachers, support staff, parents and pupils.

When implementing strategies to support pupils’ remote learning, or supporting parents to do this, key things to consider include:

Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered
Ensuring access to technology is key, especially for disadvantaged pupils
Peer interactions are necessary to provide motivation
Supporting pupils to work independently can improve pupil outcomes
Different approaches to remote learning suit different types of content and pupils

Curriculum

Thorney Close Primary School understand that there has been much disruption to children’s education, therefore we are committed to ensuring that all children continue to receive a quality education should the need for remote learning arise.

Our approach includes a blend of paper resources, online learning which includes daily face-to-face sessions through Google Meet and resources available through online learning platforms such as:

Oak National Academy
BBC Bitesize
White Rose Maths
Purple Mash
Ruth Miskin/YouTube for Read Write Inc Phonics
Reading Plus
Spelling Shed
Times Table Rockstars
Charanga
Joe Wicks

The remote learning set for children will be in line with the learning that would take place in the classroom so the teachers will provide resources that deliver the main aspects of the curriculum plan for their class. Teachers will provide adapted resources for children with additional learning needs or where English is an additional language.

School leaders at Thorney Close Primary School are fully aware that these are exceptional times and each family is unique, because of this we will support our families fully in their bid to access remote learning; this may be through providing technology or access to remote support from our school ICT technician.

Teacher expectations

Teachers will plan weekly lessons as normal and share these in advance with the senior leadership team. Teachers will resource lessons to support tasks for home learners. Should remote learning need to be set for a class or bubble, the work for the week in English, Maths and other subjects will be posted on the particular class page on Class Dojo by 9:00am on a Monday morning (or the first day of class closure) by the class teacher.

This information will include:

Times and links to daily face to face maths and English sessions via Google meet
All website links needed to access home learning resources along with clear information about the learning for that week
A curriculum plan which details home learning for subjects other than English and maths
Worksheets to accompany lessons , these must also be sent to the SLT so that they can be printed for parents who require paper packs and can collect from the school office in a socially distanced way
Information about slides posted on Google classroom

Teachers will be available from 9:00am-3:00pm to respond to queries and to offer advice and guidance for completed work posted in children’s portfolios on Class Dojo and to answer and respond to emails. If for any reason a teacher is unable to work they must follow the normal school absence procedures.

Teachers will receive training and guidance so that they are confident using Class Dojo, Google Meet and Google Classroom. The approach was adopted by key staff between March and July 2020; therefore, there is a high level of confidence and expertise using the various remote learning approaches amongst school staff.

Teachers will ensure that all children and parents have access to log-ins by messaging them this information on Class Dojo.

If for any reason a child does not attend on-line learning the class teacher must make daily contact via telephone.

Nursery provision

The Nursery staff will continue to post activities onto Class Dojo. They will contact all children twice weekly to offer one to one support. The Nursery Nurse will contact the SEND children in addition to this to offer bespoke learning opportunities in line with their support plan.

Teaching assistant and support staff expectations

It is expected that teaching assistants, in the case of further school closures, will continue to work in school with the children of Key workers, ensuring that during this time these children will continue to access their remote learning with support from the TA.

If working from home the TA will assist with remote learning. Teaching assistants and support staff must be available between 9:00am-3:00pm daily. If for any reason a teaching assistant is unable to work they must follow the normal school absence procedures.

When assisting with remote learning HLTAs are responsible for:

The remote teaching of a class should a teacher be absent
If this is not necessary HLTA’s will be assigned a group of SEND/vulnerable children by the SLT to offer additional remote learning opportunities via Google meet and through Class Dojo messaging as directed by a class teacher

When assisting with remote learning, TA’s are responsible for:

A group of SEND/vulnerable children assigned by the SLT to offer additional remote learning opportunities via Google meet and through Class Dojo messaging as directed by the class teacher.

Remote teaching for staff who are self-isolating

Teaching staff are required to self-isolate if they show symptoms outlined at the start of this policy or they have been told to shield and/or have received a letter to confirm this. If a member of staff is required to self-isolate, they are expected to:

Follow the normal reporting procedure for staff absence
Get tested as soon as possible
If well enough, teachers will be expected to offer remote learning opportunities via Google meet for the children in their class. During this time an HLTA will be in class to supervise
If for any reason a teacher is unable to work they must follow the normal school absence procedures.
Non-teaching staff, if well enough, will be given an individual project to work on, in-line with school improvement priorities. These will be directed by the Head teacher or Deputy Head teacher and will be allocated on a case by case basis

Senior leader expectations

Senior leaders are responsible for:

Co-ordinating the remote learning approach across the school
Monitoring the effectiveness of remote learning through regular meetings with teachers and subject leaders, reviewing work set and reaching out for feedback from pupils and parents
Monitoring the security of remote learning systems, including data protection and safeguarding considerations

IT technician

The IT technician is responsible for:

Fixing issues with systems used to set and collect work
Helping staff and parents with any technical issues they’re experiencing
Providing disadvantaged children with the required technology from the school supply
Assisting pupils and parents with accessing the internet or devices

Pupils and parents

It is beneficial for young people to maintain a regular and familiar routine. Thorney Close Primary School recommend that each ‘school day’ maintains a structure. A suggested timetable will be made available each week on every Class Dojo page. This will include regular bedtimes and daily reading for pleasure time.
If a class bubble is isolated, the children will be sent home with a reading book, or access to Reading Plus and an English and maths book to be able to record their work
Should anything be unclear in the work that is set, parents can communicate with their child’s class teacher between 9:00am-3:00pm vis message on Class Dojo
We expect all children to complete the work set and to access daily English and Maths sessions via Google meet. We also expect that all children will complete their curriculum work set.
All completed work must be posted daily into the child’s individual portfolio on Class Dojo for the teacher to mark and comment upon

Governing body

The governing body is responsible for:

Monitoring the school’s approach to providing remote learning to ensure education remains as high quality as possible

Who to contact

If staff have any questions or concerns about remote learning, they should contact the following individuals:

Issues in setting work – talk to the relevant subject lead or SENCO
Issues with behaviour – talk to the head teacher or deputy head
Issues with IT – talk to IT technician
Issues with their own workload or wellbeing – talk to the head teacher or deputy head teacher
Concerns about data protection – talk to the SBM
Concerns about safeguarding – talk to the DSL

Monitoring arrangements

This policy will be reviewed by Mrs N Leyland Deputy Headteacher.

Links with other policies

This plan is linked to our:

Behaviour policy
Child protection policy [insert if relevant:] and coronavirus addendum to our child protection policy
Data protection policy and privacy notices
Home-school agreement
ICT and internet acceptable use policy
Online safety policy