Remote Education

Remote education provision: 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 or in the event of school closure to most pupils.

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 on the first week of pupils being sent home?

All students should expect to continue their learning using online resources listed below:

  • Bug Club Phonics and Reading books
  • Abacus maths games
  • Mathletics
  • co.uk maths games (e.g. Hit the Button)
  • Languagenut Independent Learning in French
  • St Jerome Pinterest (Phonics, French and Stories)

In addition to these resources, students will have access (using their stjkids.org Google logins) to a variety of independent activities based on their current learning topics.

Following the first week of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

Learning will broadly be the same curriculum as students would be taught if they were in school but this will be adapted to meet the needs of student learning at home.

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 will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:

Reception: at least 3 hours of online and offline activities

Year 1: at least 3 hours of online and offline activities

Year 2: at least 3 hours of online and offline activities

Year 3: at least 4 hours of online and offline activities

Year 4: at least 4 hours of online and offline activities

Accessing remote education

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

  • Students will access online remote education through Google Education Suite. Reception and Year 1 students will login using their Google logins in order to access private Google websites.
  • Students from Year 2, 3 and 4 will login using their Google logins and access their learning through their class-specific Google Classrooms.

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:

  • Providing a device and/or broadband access where this is available;
  • Providing paper versions of teaching materials and required equipment where appropriate and possible.

Please contact your child’s class teacher, in the first instance, if you wish to discuss your child’s requirements for learning support.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

  • Video presentations;
  • Online activities;
  • Offline activities;
  • Google Meetings;
  • Online feedback;
  • Verbal feedback.

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?

Young children should access online learning in a communal space (where possible). This will enable suitable supervision of children while online. Where this is not possible, it is important that children are regularly contacted in order to ensure their safety while online.

While there has been an increased focus on digital literacy during the Michaelmas term,  younger children will require support in order to login to their account.

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

Students’ attendance at Google Meetings and submission of work is monitored on a daily basis. Parents will be informed via phone calls or emails if there are concerns of this nature. We appreciate that from time to time it may not be possible for students to attend online meetings or submit work. If there is an ongoing challenges that prevent students accessing or completing work, we encourage parents to be in contact with the class teacher.

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:

  • Regular online feedback through individual teacher comments on our Google Classrooms or websites and emails sent to parents;
  • Regular oral feedback through Google Meetings;
  • Weekly written feedback provided;
  • Separate individual feedback in response to their French work.

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:

  • Support from the school SENDCO or a member of support staff
  • 1-to-1 Google Meetings
  • Additional interventions/ teaching from school staff or other professionals via Google Classroom
  • Additional resources or equipment provided for use at home

Remote education for self-isolating pupils

Where individual pupils need to self-isolate for a specific period 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 and also the specifics relating to the length of the isolation period.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

Self-isolating children will not have access to twice-daily Google Meetings with their teacher and they will not receive regular online feedback throughout the day, we will however offer periodic google meets to keep in touch and this may include opportunities to join in activities with their class. We will prioritise learning in the core areas of reading and phonics and mathematics. Students will submit work through Google Classrooms or via email (Reception and Year 1) as is the case when the majority of students are learning remotely. On return to school class teachers will support children to catch up with any specific learning missed.