Remote Education Provision: Information to Parents

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 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

What is remote curriculum?

Remote education is a means not an end.  The aim of education is to deliver a high quality curriculum so that our children no more and can remember more.  Remote learning is one way of doing this.

There are different definitions which you may have heard used. We will use these ones in this information:

• Remote learning: a broad term encompassing any learning that happens outside the classroom, with the teacher not present in the same location as the children.
• Digital remote education: often known as online learning, this is remote learning delivered through digital technologies.
• Blended learning:  a mix of face-to-face and remote methods.  an example would be the’ flipped classroom’ where main input happens remotely (for example through video), while practice and support happen in class.
• Synchronous education:  this is live; asynchronous education is when the material is prepared by the teacher and accessed by the pupil later.

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?

As with the previous period of lockdown we will continue to deliver lessons remotely, we offer a blend of online and physical e.g. paper resources to ensure parent/carers have what is needed to support learning at home. The children have been sent home with a variety of aids to support their home learning. This includes pens, pencils, exercise books and learning packs for the very young pupils.

The main vehicle for delivering this remote teaching and learning will be Google Classroom. All our work is accessed through this platform. All children have their own log in details and passwords - these have been shared individually with parents.

Each bubble or year group provides a daily overview of the day including a timetable of activities and google meet sessions. We try to ensure that the Google Meets are at the same time each day for routine and stagger these timings so they do not clash with other year groups or bubbles. Their also Story Time at the end of each day for each year group

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. For example, there may be some necessary adaptations to practical subjects such as PE, Music, Art and D&T.

Some of the work is set for all children, whilst other work is set for individuals or groups. The online resources are able to be adapted to suit the learning needs of our children.

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

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

The main vehicle for delivering remote learning will be Google Classroom. This enables staff to set lessons online as each timetabled class is now a ‘Classroom’ with the relevant members of staff allocated to it. We have upload ‘Getting started with Google classroom’ guidance for parents and pupils to use as a reference. All live lessons/ Story times via Google Meet will have links posted to Google Classroom. 

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:

• Chromebooks will be available to lend from school to families where there is no device available. Contact should be made via the school’s email address admin@benchill.manchester.sch.uk or by contacting the school office 0161 998 3075 to request a device.
• The parent will then be required to sign a loan agreement before the device is released. This is not a financial agreement but agreeing to the rules of loaning the device.
• If parents/carers have difficulty with internet connectivity they need to speak to the school office.
• If children do not have online access, parents/carers can speak to the school office and arrangements will be made to support families.
• Children who do not have online access are able to ‘post’ their work back to school or where possible we ask that a photograph of the work can be submitted from a smartphone.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We want to replicate the classroom remotely, where possible by giving the children clear explanations of the tasks by:

• Providing pre-recorded lessons- including talk through using ‘Loom’,
• Having daily Google Meets, where the teacher talks through the tasks that need to be completed for the day and can answer any questions the children may have.
• Teachers will provide online support through written comments on the ‘stream’ (in Google Classroom) to support activities and worksheets that need to be completed

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

• recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
• commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences
• Printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets) if these are required

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?

Please see our Remote learning Code of conduct for pupils and parents/carers

Child Code of Conduct: When online at home whilst learning, as a child I will:

• Use technology sensibly and safely, the same as I would in school
• Use websites that have been directed towards me by my teacher that are acceptable for me to use
• Complete my work as though I was in school. I will complete it to the best of my ability
• Not give out any of my personal information online
• Treat others as I would treat them in school. I will be nice and kind through my communication with my peers and teachers
• I will be attentive
• Ask for help or guidance if I need it

Parent Code of Conduct: When my child is online at home and learning, as a parent I will:

• Monitor my child’s internet use and check that they are using technology safely
• Check that they understand the task that they have been set. If not, I will give help and support when required or direct them to ask their teacher for help
• Make sure my child is sitting comfortably and is in a suitable environment to learn
• Ensure that I am present in the room or in the next room during Google Meet sessions
• Make sure that my child is appropriately dressed

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

Staff will be monitoring and checking that work is regularly accessed or submitted on Google Classroom. Should a child be not engaging then school will be in contact with parents/Carers to discuss any issues. We will try our best to work with parents/carers to resolve any difficulties. For some parents, this may be a positive ‘checking in’ call. If we have no contact from parents then this will be referred to the safeguarding team.

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:

• Written feedback on work submitted
• Verbal feedback on work submitted using ‘mote’
• Feedback on individual issues where appropriate.
• Each Year group celebrates its successes with a Google Meets each Friday. Head teachers Award, Stars of the Week and Positive Behaviour award are announced.

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:

• For children with an EHCP, we will provide 1 to 1 sessions with their teaching assistant. This may be through Google Meet or pre-recorded using ‘Loom’ but the member of staff will be available to support your child during these sessions. More practical resources may be sent home to support the learning, for example some games or phonics resources. Some children may follow a more personalised curriculum to ensure their needs are met at home.
• (Inclusion Lead) will work closely with those families who required additional support.
• It may be that the child is offered a session in school/or virtually with a professional to continue with a directed piece of therapy or learning.
• It may be that should a vulnerable group need to continue with their provision are invited into school.
• For children in Reception and Year 1, we provide a mix of teaching through live, pre-recorded sessions of daily phonics and maths sessions. The children log into their Google Classroom accounts to access the learning and follow the links in the ‘Stream’ or activities in ‘Classwork’.

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?