What is taught to pupils/students at home?

The academy will endeavour to deliver the full curriculum to children, in line with what teaching would be in place should we be at the academy in person. Our curriculum offer will remain broad, balanced, and mirror the EYFS, KS1 and KS2 National Curriculum.

Whilst we will cover the subjects, there may be some adjustments that need to be made to the existing curriculum for more practical subjects (such as PE, Art, Design Tech and Music). These lessons may be taught individually or through a themed approach (e.g. World War 1) We thank you for your support and patience with this.

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first few days?

In the instance that children need to engage in remote learning, due to self-isolation, bubble closure or whole school closure, the academy will work hard to ensure that no child is left without work to do in the immediacy. Pupils will be able to log into and access Microsoft Teams, or if in Early Years – Evidence Me, and access their lessons and work resources. Pupils will have access to teachers for support and guidance at set times within the normal school day hours. Please see section 2 in accessing remote education below for questions about access at home.

How long can I expect work set by the academy to take my child?

The minimum amount of time remote education should be in practice for Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) is 3 hours per day. This may be less for younger children. For Key Stage 2 children (Year 3, 4, 5 and 6) this is increased to 4 hours per day. This includes both live lessons or pre-recorded video, the work pupils are set after these as well as other sessions such as times-tables practice and reading.

How will my child access the online remote education?

Pupils will be able to log into and access Microsoft Teams, or Evidence Me if in Early Years, and access their lessons and work resources. Please see the information below for detail of how to access this.

If my child does not have access to online learning at home, how will you support us?

We will do our very best to support any children without access to a device or internet at home with the support to rectify this. We are doing this through the roll out of our horizons project (see here for details) so all children have appropriate devices to access our home learning offer. You can also access online app via games consoles (please click here).

Where pupils do not have access to internet at home, we will be in contact to discuss the support available for either a place in the academy or support we can offer to provide internet access at home through government or our own support schemes.

Paper based work is set in line with the usual curriculum, which is accessed by calling the Academy (0114 201 6800). Please provide your child's name and their class teacher. Work packs will be expected to be returned to the school for marking when they return to the academy in a safe environment for all.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We will use a variety of approaches to teach pupils remotely, best suited to circumstances, topic and age. We will be ensuring that year 6 have daily live lessons and check ins through Microsoft Teams, Years 1 to 5 have a combination of live check-in sessions with their teacher, pre-recorded lessons and Early Years will have lessons delivered through apps such as Teams, Class Dojo or Evidence Me. Please see the information below for detail of how to access this for specific ages.

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

We expect every student to engage in lessons as they would in the classroom, and similarly our staff will be checking student understanding in the same manner as well. This could take the form of online quizzes, marking/assessment of assignments or work returned by email or other apps, or in-class engagement.

Student behaviour practices are expected to be in line with those within the academy, and additional rules are in place for things such as microphone and camera use, raising hands, or class conversation through MS Teams. 

We know that strong parental engagement is important to make this successful, and therefore endeavour to communicate regularly with you around how the remote learning is going. We will be there to offer support on how to access the information remotely around resources, lessons and your child’s attendance, behaviour and engagement.

We ask that you support your child by creating a quiet place for them to attend lessons at home, and do not record any lessons for your own use due to GDPR and data protection.

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

We will be checking in with children during lessons and online-check-in sessions to ensure we have a good overview of their understanding and engagement. Online quizzing and assessment tools also help us to see how many children are actively engaging in lessons, and as always we will be monitoring attendance.

If there are any concerns we will ensure we are in contact with you as parents and carers by telephone each week.

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

We will be assessing your child’s progress through work submitted daily via Microsoft Teams, engagement through questions in lessons, using online quizzing/marking tools and other work returned by email/other agreed communication. This will help us identify needs of the individual or needs of the class quickly and effectively. As part of the 30 minute daily check in, teachers will address any misconception from the previous day.

How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support 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:

• Differentiated activities for independent work as per normal classroom practice.
• Personalised learning activities, if this is what your child receives at school, for example access to speech therapy videos.
• If your child has an EHCP, (and they are not already in school) suggested learning activities which focus on the outcomes in their EHCP.
• Emotional and social support from the Academy class teachers, pastoral team and SENCo via calls and video calls on a regular basis.
• If you would like further support for your child and to speak to Aimy Vernon, the SENCo please ring the Academy office on 0114 2016800 and a mutually convenient call time will be arranged with you.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from that of the rest of their class?

The provision for self-isolating pupils may differ in approach, but not in curriculum content. Year 6 will have access to either live lessons via Microsoft Teams, in-school live recordings or work packs (digital or printed). Years 1-5 will have slides or pre-recorded lessons available through TEAMs each week, as well as access to the Oak National Academy site. EYFS will be sent work packs covering key skills with resources.

Celebrating our children's remote learning is important! From sending postcards home, using positive praise, issuing Dojo points and online certificates during live lessons or check-ins are all vital in ensuring our children remain motivated. 

Each week, we have a remote 'Sparkle and Shine' assembly where children are nominated by their class teacher for excellent effort and outstanding achievement.