Remote Learning

Information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to parents and carers about what to expect from remote education if children have to stay 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 at home

A pupil's first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from the approach explained in this information, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote learning.

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

In the first few days of any period of any remote education, the work provided may differ to the approach set out later in this statement. Work provided may be more general and not have accompanying videos. This may include, sending pupils home with workbooks or sheets to complete independently in the first instance.

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 will teach the same curriculum as children would have received if they were in school, following the subjects and content children would have accessed if they were in school.

Remote lessons will be ambitious, meaningful and will focus on new learning, rather than revising or practising content already covered in school. For this reason, it is important that children access the remote education offer.

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect the 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:

Children will receive a minimum of

3 hours per day in Key Stage One (Year 1 and Year 2) and
4 hours per day in Key Stage Two (Years 3 to 6)

This will comprise of

One hour of English in KS1. One and a half hours in KS2.
One hour of maths in KS1. One and a half hours in KS2.

And an hour of another subject each day. Over the week this will include

Science
History and/or Geography
DT and/or computing
RE and/or PSHE
Spanish for children in KS2

Subjects like PE, Music and Art will be provided but these will be additional to the 3 hours and may have the same lesson or activity for more than one year group.

The videoed lessons provided may not total 3 hours, but with the associated independent work, the total will broadly be 3 hours per day.

Accessing remote education

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

Remote learning will be available via the Academy’s website (www.gpa.education) under the ‘Remote Learning’ tab for Year 1 to Year 6. Work will be on pages for each year group, or Power Group (Power English/steps and Power Maths.)

Remote learning for children in Reception will be provided through existing Tapestry accounts for Reception families

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:

In some cases we are able to lend laptops or tablets to pupils, please contact the Academy for more information
We also provide paper copies of the learning and lesson slides. These are available to collect from each site at specified times for each year group. These cover the same content as the video lessons. Ideally, children need to be able to access the online videos to support their learning
Pupils can submit work to their teachers by returning paper-based work to the school when collecting the paper pack for the following week. Teachers will review the work and use this to adapt and tailor future learning.
If children are not able to access online remote learning the Academy may offer them a space in the provision available in school.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

To ensure that lessons are accessible as possible, remote learning is available via our website where not logon or password is needed.
For all English and maths lessons, there will be a pre-recorded video for each lesson. This allows children to access the learning when they have access to a device or at a suitable time. These lessons will follow the approaches used in English and maths lessons in school, including modelled and guided practice.
English and maths lessons will be differentiated for each year group. There will be three different lessons available based on their current maths and English ability. Your child will know which lesson to access.
Other subjects will have pre-recorded videos to introduce and explain the learning.

Supporting texts and sheets to support the lesson will be available on the website as .pdf documents.

Printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets) are available from the Academy

Reading books will be included in the pack whenever possible.

Occasionally teachers may direct children to commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

Engagement and feedback

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

Your child’s teacher will ring you at least once a week to offer support, feedback and check pupils’ engagement with remote education

If engagement is a concern your child’s teacher will talk to you about how the academy and you can improve your child’s access and engagement.

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:

Please return completed paper packs to the Academy. Teachers will review this work and use this to adapt and tailor future learning.

Your child’s teacher will provide individual feedback in the weekly telephone call.
You can email work to your class teacher using their direct email. This can be found on the website under ‘information’ and then ‘staff’ this will allow teachers to email back comments and feedback.
Teachers may sometimes include quizzes and surveys, usually via Microsoft forms to check understanding.

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:

During periods of lockdown, we may invite children with additional needs to access learning in school. If your child is asked to attend we strongly recommend that you take up this offer as this is how we believe we can best support your child.
The academy’s SEND Team will be in contact with families of children who receive additional support or programmes in school to discuss how you can best support your child’s learning at home. This may include accessing different websites, programmes, or learning from different year groups that support the next steps for your child.

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 children have to self-isolate while the majority of other pupils are in remain in school, then pre-prepared lessons will be available on the Academy’s website. These lessons will follow the curriculum and most lessons will have accompanying videos. These lessons are designed to work alongside the current topics being taught in school and will be updated each term.