Providing remote education information for parents
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers 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.
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?
When pupils are sent home to isolate, they can immediately access high quality remote learning using the PBCS remote learning website. Parents can access activities, teacher models or videos and explanations on this site for the children to work through and complete. Pupils should upload completed work to Class Dojo for teachers to monitor and provide feedback.
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?
Yes – the work that is on the PBCS remote learning website will be in line with what is being taught in class. Sometimes teachers may share presentations or videos from the Oak National Academy which will help learners access remote learning independently; however, the content of this lesson will always be equivalent to what is taught in school.
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:
- English – 45 minutes – 1 hour
- Math’s– 45 minutes – 1 hour
- Reading – 30 minutes including independent reading
- Topic - – 45 minutes – 1 hour
- PE/Movement Activities – 1 hour
- TT Rockstars and Readiwriter – 30 mins
If your child is getting through work more quickly than this, please contact your child’s teacher who will be able to support and advise.
Accessing remote education
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
For most pupils in school, pupils will access remote learning via the PBCS remote learning website and submit work via Class Dojo.
If bubbles close for pupils in the upper phase, learners may have live lessons delivered via Microsoft Teams. Children will be trained on how to access this and parents will receive information on how to use this platform. When pupils in the upper phase are isolating individually and the rest of the class remains in school, the work will continue to be accessed via the website. Teachers will communicate this via Class Dojo to make sure that all pupils and parents are aware of the expectation.
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
We recognize that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:
- Pupils without access to an appropriate device for learning will be able to ‘loan’ one from school. Upon bubble closure, staff will work to provide devices to parents upon pupil collection.
- Where staff are unable to provide devices upon collection, they will be dropped off during a home visit or sent home with the pupils’ sibling if appropriate.
- Pupils and parents without capacity to use an electronic device have been identified and support will be given in the first instance to get them online.
- As a last resort and in exceptional circumstances, pupils will be provided with paper copies of the work which can be collected by parents from the front desk and dropped off at the end of the week in a named envelope for teachers to assess and feedback.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
Some examples of remote teaching approaches:
- live teaching (online lessons)
- recorded teaching and activities (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
- printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
- reading books pupils have at home
- 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?
When supporting pupils at home we ask parents to:
- Ensure that their child is available to learn remotely at the times they would usually be in school and that the schoolwork set is completed on time and to the best of their child’s ability
- Ensure that work completed is uploaded to the child’s portfolio daily to allow the teacher to provide feedback
- Report any technical issues to the school as soon as possible
- Ensure that their child always has access to remote learning material during the times they would ordinarily be in school
- Report any illness or reason for which children are unable to engage with remote learning on the first day of such issue and let school know when the child is well enough to begin to access learning again
- Ensure that their child uses the equipment and technology used for remote learning as intended
- Provide children with a quiet, purposeful work space for which to engage in remote learning
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:
- Acknowledging and praising pupils for engaging in online work with reference to the behaviour policy
- Checking work for obvious errors and/or mistakes and providing hints, clues or re-teaching where required
- Providing a summary of learning at the end of the week to assess progress and providing parents with links to resources which may support any children who are still struggling
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:
- Regular contact with a member of the class teaching team or pastoral team
- Reasonable adjustments made to the work or activities to improve accessibility
- Remote support from the pastoral team or counsellor
- Provision of resources to support learners
Younger children within school will continue to access remote learning inline with the rest of the school with the following adjustments made to support parents and carers:
- Teachers will plan a ‘play based’ activity schedule to support parents when working with their children at home
- Teachers will direct parents to things in the house and ‘everyday’ activities which will promote learning
- Learning will be practical and engaging
- Teachers will provide learners with resources where required in a ‘learning pack’
- Teachers will make use of the EYs and Year 1 sections on the Oak National Academy to reduce pressure on parents and support children to access learning more independently.
In exceptional circumstances, the school may reduce its curriculum offer to enable pupils to cope with the workload – the Executive Headteacher will assess this need, keeping pupils’ best interests in mind, and will not take the decision lightly.
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?
It will not. Your child will access learning as outlined above as the remote learning offer is made available every day. Your child will not, however, receive any live teaching as a result of their teacher still delivering lessons in class.
If you require any further information please contact the school office by calling 01942 487999
