Remote learning provision – Information for parents/carers

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to our pupils and parents/carers about what to expect from remote learning provision.  Gurnard Primary School will offer immediate remote learning if:

• There are local or national restrictions that mean most pupils need to stay at home, such as the initial school closures in March 2020 and January 2021; or
• Groups or classes of pupils need to self-isolate, but the rest of the school is still open; or
• Individual pupils need to self-isolate or are shielding.

The following video describes how the school has developed its remote and blended learning provision following periods of school closure in 2020 and 2021.

The following guidance applies during periods of remote learning.

What's expected from remote teaching?

When teaching remotely, the Department for Education (DfE) expects all schools to:

• Plan a programme that's of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school, ideally including daily contact with teachers
• Set assignments so that pupils have work each day in a number of different subjects, and monitor pupils' engagement with these assignments
• Teach a planned and sequenced curriculum so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally, with clarity about what's intended to be taught and practised in each subject
• Provide frequent explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher in your school or through curriculum resources and/or videos
• Gauge how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum, using questions and other suitable tasks, and set a clear expectation on how regularly teachers will check work
• Enable teachers to adjust the pace or difficulty of what's being taught in response to questions or assessments, including, where necessary, revising material or simplifying explanations to ensure pupils’ understanding
• Avoid an over-reliance on long-term projects or internet research activities

The above expectations are set out in relation the pupils' age, stage of development and any Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND). 

At Gurnard, during periods of school closure, remote learning resources, live teaching and pre-recorded videos will be accessible through Google Classroom – a digital learning platform created by Google. This will ensure that children are given the opportunity to continue learning remotely at home.  Children will be able to access live teaching on Google Meet (via Google Classroom) which will link to the learning and consolidation tasks set.  Once they have received input from their class teacher, they will be able to complete the independent tasks that have been set.

The remote learning curriculum

Teachers at Gurnard plan lessons according to medium-term plans for all subjects.  We teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate.  Maths, English, foundation and KS1 phonics lessons will take place daily. These will involve new learning as well as consolidation of learning that has already taken place.

Foundation subjects will be taught in the afternoons.  We have had to make adaptations in some subjects (such as music, art, science and PE), which are dependent on the availability of specific resources that may not be so readily available at home.

Should individual teachers not be well enough to work, pre-prepared learning will be available on Google Classroom for children to complete independently or the children will be asked to access the Oak National Academy lessons.

The following video guides explain how to access Google Classroom and submit your work:

How to access Google Classroom:

How to submit work to Google Classroom on a laptop/computer:

How to submit work to Google Classroom on an ipad:

Teaching timetable

A weekly timetable of your child’s live and pre-recorded lessons has been emailed to parents and carers and is also available on on Google Classroom and our school website (see links above).  This should provide a suitable structure and routine for your child’s remote learning day.  

Via the Google Classroom platform, pupils will receive live or pre-recorded lessons throughout the day.  In addition to this, videos and websites (such as Times Tables Rock Stars, Eedi and Spelling Shed) may be used to support the teaching.  Lessons may be delivered for the whole class or for smaller groups.

All foundation subjects are taught as timetabled on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. 

In Early Years, remote learning will include daily phonics and maths lessons as well as a live registration assembly, 1-2-1 reading sessions and daily stories.

We expect that remote education (including the teaching input and independent work) should take Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils around 3 hours each day and Key Stage 2 pupils around 4 hours each day.  No more than an hour should be spent on each of the daily English and maths lessons and supporting tasks.  Please do not worry if your child is unable to complete all the work set in this time or expect them to keep working until they have finished everything; just email your child's teacher if they are finding it difficult to finish. 

Pupil expectations

All pupils who are learning remotely will be expected to engage every day in the live sessions and activities that we are providing – this is to ensure continuity and progress in the learning they are undertaking.

Class teachers will take daily registers of attendance to monitor pupil engagement and punctuality.  It is important that your child keeps, as far as possible, to what would be their normal routine in school.  However, we appreciate that routines may sometimes have to change, so children can complete the work at a convenient time in the day.  We will be able to see their responses to the lessons and quizzes to check for engagement.  

The school will monitor any child that has not accessed the remote learning after two days.  If there are any concerns over attendance or completion of learning, your child’s class teacher will get in contact with you to offer you support/advice in helping them to access or complete the activities.

We do understand that there may be times that your child cannot attend a session.  Pupils who are unwell are not expected to complete work until they are well enough to do so.  Please let your child’s class teacher know if this is the case.

Teachers will regularly remind children of the school's behaviour expectations for remote learning as outlined in the school’s Google Meet Etiquette and guidance below:

Parent Support

We understand that supporting children with remote learning can be very challenging and places a tremendous burden on parents and carers, especially in families where parents are also working from home or there are multiple school-aged children.  

The school intends to support you as much as it can.  If you cannot support your child with the activities set, please let your child’s class teacher know why.  This will enable the teacher to change the approach and suggest alternative activities.

To facilitate remote learning, we would ask that parents support us by:

• Understanding that the school has a legal obligation to provide learning for your child whist they are at home.
• Where possible, providing children with a quiet space to work with an adult nearby to support if necessary.  Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils will require additional support to access live teaching sessions on Google Meet.
• Be aware that live lessons including 1-2-1 and group sessions may be recorded for safeguarding purposes.
• Ensuring that face-to-face communication is only between teachers and pupils and that children are not left unsupervised online.
• Communicating with teachers using the year group email addresses or via the school office if required (not the live stream).

Feedback on your child's learning

Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children.  There are many other valid and effective methods that will be used, some of which are outlined below:

• Verbal feedback on learning tasks will normally be given during live teaching sessions. This may be individual feedback or whole-class feedback.
• Pupils may be required to complete quizzes or short assessments marked automatically on digital platforms.
• Pupils will also be able to submit pieces of learning on Google Classroom (including pictures of their paper-based learning or digitally created learning) which school staff will provide feedback on (verbal or written).
• For some learning, pupils will be expected to provide a digital submission of learning.  These will have a deadline for submission; children should be encouraged to complete the learning by the given dates.
• If pupils have any questions about their remote learning they can write these on the ‘chat’ feed for the lesson. Teachers or Learning Support Assistants will try to post a response as soon as possible, but please appreciate that they may be busy teaching or supporting classes in school.

Our Computing Lead Mr Berryman has produced the following guides to help explain how to submit work on Google Classroom and check for feedback when using either an iPad or laptop/PC.

Children who may require additional support

For children with additional needs, the closure of school and switch to online learning can be challenging, particularly for those children who rely upon a consistent routine.  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 significant 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 different ways.

Some of these children, including those with Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs), will have been offered the opportunity to continue learning in school.  This enables them to continue to access their personalised curriculum with support from Learning Support Assistants and other school staff.  They are then also able to utilise the sensory resources and facilities at school that are so crucial to their learning and development.

In addition to this, to support families to deliver remote education for pupils who may require further adult support, we will:

• Differentiate learning activities so they are accessible to children’s needs and support individual targets
• Provide paper packs/resources/visuals to support remote learning
• Adjust the pace and/or difficulty of sessions as required
• Provide daily drop-in sessions where pupils can get additional support from school staff
• Provide 1-2-1 pre-teaching sessions and support to further break down and explain tasks
• Respond to the needs of children and families on a case-by-case basis
• Provide access to online counselling sessions with our Children’s Coach
• Monitor all arrangements through our SENCO, Mrs Turner, to ensure that they meet the needs of individual children and to offer additional support as needed.

Digital devices and online access

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home.  The school has access to a limited number of devices for loan to families to support home learning.  We have surveyed all families asking them to communicate with the school if they need support with technology provision (devices and/or internet access).  

If you need a device to support your child, please inform your child’s class teacher in the first instance.  For those who require internet access, we will procure enhanced mobile data packages through the Department for Education. 

If your child is struggling to access Google Classrooms on their device, please email the year group teams in the first instance and a member of our staff will be in contact to help.

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 may differ from the approach for whole groups.  This is due to the challenges of teaching pupils both at home and in school.  Parents/carers will need to take a more active role in supporting their child’s learning throughout the period of isolation. 

Teachers will quickly be made aware of those self-isolating and the following support will be provided:

• Class teachers will post daily activities on the Google Classroom for the children self-isolating. These activities will mirror those taking place in school
• Where possible, children will be able to access the live lessons being taught in school
• Paper packs and/or workbooks may be sent home if necessary
• Devices and internet access will be provided to children that are self-isolating if needed.

If you have any questions about remote learning,

please do not hesitate to contact your year group team.