Remote Learning Provision

Remote learning 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 where national or 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

For those children who are accessing learning remotely, our intention is to make sure that they can make expected progress. At the same time, we know that, although home learning is different for every family, it is often a very challenging experience. We know that it is often impossible for children to spend five hours on school work whilst at home, and we have been mindful of this whilst making our plans. We do not want home learning to be a source of stress or anxiety for any family.

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?

Work packs will be provided for students to work independently in the first instance. Materials provided will be differentiated to meet the individual learner’s needs. Staff will make learning calls to support students and families with their work and address any issues that arise.

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 teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects due to the need to remain open to high numbers of vulnerable and disadvantaged students.

Kingfisher is a special school for students with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs. Due to the nature of students emotional needs no recording of lessons or streaming of lessons will take place in the classroom. A teaching team will deliver virtual lessons using zoom. We understand that some students may be anxious about appearing on screen and students can choose to have their camera off.

Primary

Key stage 2 will be taught three virtual lessons a day and they will be asked to return three pieces of work per day – one piece for each live lesson.

Each student will receive a learning pack of resources to use during live lessons. The school will provide a prepaid envelope to return work once completed. Additional home learning packs have been developed to support students’ learning independently or with the support of their family.

Students will access on-line reading through the ‘Myon’ programme.

Staff will complete twice-weekly learning calls to support students to access work.

Secondary

Key stage 3 and 4 will be taught three live lessons a day and they will be asked to return three pieces of work per day – one piece for each live lesson. Each student will receive a learning pack of resources to use during live lessons.

Additional home learning packs have been developed to support students’ learning independently or with the support of their family.

Staff will complete twice-weekly learning calls to support students to access work.

The school will provide a prepaid envelope to return work once completed

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:

Accessing remote education

• printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
• Virtual lesson (online via zoom)
• recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers) set as extension tasks or when virtual lesson cannot take place.
• textbooks and reading books pupils provided by school.
• commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences.
• Twinkl
• Education city
• Top marks
• BBC Bitesize

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:

• The school will call to discuss your child progress and ensure they are able to access online resources.
• If your child does not have access to a Laptop, we are able to loan devices until students return to school.
• The Parents or carers will need to sign to agree to return equipment.
• For parent or carers who are unable to collect loaned equipment from school staff will arrange a time to deliver it to your home.
• School will provide paper copies of all resources required to complete lessons.
• We will provide prepaid envelopes for students to return work.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• Virtual lesson (online lessons – zoom)
• recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers) set as extension tasks or when a live lesson cannot take place
• printed paper packs produced by teachers and sent out weekly.
• Textbooks, reading books and Myon.
• 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?

Students will receive an email inviting them to their daily lessons from their class teacher. We ask that parents and carers support student in being ready for their daily lessons. We advise allowing 15 minutes to set up any ICT equipment and opening the link to the zoom lesson.

Please ensure you have read and understood advice about virtual lessons.

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

A register will be taken at the start of each lesson and all students are expected to attend. Non-attendance to lessons will be followed up with support phone calls home and where appropriate, a home visit. Teaching staff will monitor the work students submit and contact parents if any issues arise.

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. Informal feedback will be used throughout all lessons to support the student’s understanding and inform our planning.  School will assess returned work in line with the marking and assessment policy.

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 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 cause, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils in the following ways:

• Learning packs that have been developed for home education.
• Individual mentoring support and intervention delivered remotely.
• Learning calls from class teacher, teaching assistant, key worker or the SENCO.
• Appropriately differentiated resources.

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?

We will support your child with a remote learning plan during their absence from school in order to ensure they can continue to access the curriculum at home. This plan is dependent on your child being well enough to complete this work and we recognise that individual home circumstances vary.

Teachers will invite students to join virtual lessons. All students have an office 365 account and will be invited to join the Zoom session via their email account. Please check this regularly and encourage your child to log on. Individual work to support lessons will be issued via work packs.