Distance Learning Expectations
Where a class, group or small number of pupils need to self-isolate, or there is a local lockdown requiring pupils to remain at home, The Department for Education expects schools to have the capacity to offer immediate remote education.
The expectations for distance learning are as follows:
- Set assignments so that pupils have meaningful and ambitious work each day in a number of different subjects.
- Teach a planned and well-sequenced curriculum so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally, with a good level of clarity about what is intended to be taught and practised in each subject.
- Provide frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher in the school or through high-quality 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 is being taught in response to questions or assessments, including, where necessary, revising material or simplifying explanations to ensure pupils’ understanding.
- Plan a programme that is of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school, ideally including daily contact with teachers.
If your child is isolating whilst the rest of their bubble are in school, the children at St Luke’s can expect the following provision from school.
|
What |
Details |
Where it can be found |
|
A timetable of the week |
A breakdown of which subjects will be taught on which days |
Class page of the website DoJo account Class email |
|
A brief daily explanation of the day’s work |
A post or message explaining what the day’s lessons and planned activities are. |
Dojo account (class email as backup) |
|
Lessons, usually three a day. |
Links to other relevant websites. These will often be the same as the ones used in the classroom – Directed workbooks. |
Dojo account (class email as backup) |
|
Feedback from the teacher |
All children are expected to complete work online and workbooks – post photos or written work online and teachers will provide feedback wherever possible promptly and timely. |
DoJo account |
If your child’s bubble is isolating and at least one teacher is fit and well to work or if there is full lockdown and the whole school has to close, the children at St Luke’s can expect the following provision from school.
|
What |
Details |
Where it can be found |
|
A timetable of the week |
A breakdown of which subjects will be taught on which days |
Class page of the website |
|
A daily timetable |
A breakdown of the daily activities, which are age and stage appropriate. This will explain what the children should complete with suggested timings of when they should complete it. |
Class page of the website |
|
Motivational morning video |
A motivational message from a member of the year group team. This will involve a rundown of the daily timetable and a mention of the highlights from the day before. |
|
|
Shorter activities |
This might be a handwriting sheet, link to online reading books or a morning challenge. |
Uploaded with the daily timetable so all resources are easily accessible in the same place. |
|
Full teaching day. |
A video/ explanation of the learning and learning task, slides, worksheets and links to other relevant websites. |
DoJo account |
|
Feedback from the teacher |
All children are expected to post the work they have completed onto DoJo where the teachers will give oral or written feedback. Other tasks may be completed in homework books or workbooks and answers will be supplied. |
DoJo account |
The teachers will ensure that the learning planned and the corresponding resources will replicate, where possible, what the day would be like if a child were still in school. Teachers will use the Year groups Medium Term Plans and Knowledge and Skills document to ensure the learning is carefully sequenced and builds on the children’s previous knowledge.
Questions and Answers about St Luke’s Remote Learning
Why is the provision different for children who are isolating whilst their bubble are still in school?
Whilst a child’s bubble are still in school, throughout the day, all teachers will be teaching their classes. The time teachers have to prepare high quality lessons and provide meaningful feedback along with their other duties within the school is finite. Therefore, it will not be possible for teachers to pre-record detailed explanations of the work set in these circumstances.
Is my child expected to do work at home when they are ill?
If your child is ill, they must take the time to rest and recover and are not expected to work from home. However, if a child no longer feels ill, but are still considered contagious (10 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms), parents and carers must phone the admin team to let the school know that teachers can begin posting work to their child’s account.
What if I don’t have access to the internet?
Those families who do not have access to the internet will have core curriculum workbooks – Maths, English, Phonics and Science and where necessary can collect the work from school which will be printed weekly and left in the school office. In exceptional circumstances, these resources will be posted to them. We will also ensure there is regular phone call feedback, which can be arranged between the parent/ carer and the teacher. Please speak to your child’s class teacher if you think you will need this provision.
How will my child with Special Educational Needs be supported?
All children who have identified special educational needs will have additional personalised support and resources posted onto their DoJo account. Teachers will respond to children on an individual basis and therefore plan appropriately to ensure every child is able to achieve.
Will my child receive a phone call from their teacher whilst they are isolating?
The standard period for isolation is 14 days. As teachers are able to interact with their pupils through DoJo, staff will not be making telephone calls to children unless there are pre-arranged or exceptional circumstances. However, if a full lockdown occurs and children have to receive remote learning for more than two weeks, wellbeing calls will be arranged.
Why are the teachers not delivering live lessons?
At St Luke’s, Safeguarding is of the upmost importance and the senior leadership team feel that the Safeguarding of our children will be put at risk if children have to connect to a live lesson from home with at least 30 other people online at the same time.
In addition, we respect the rights of our staff as well as our children and whilst there is a lack of proven effectiveness and appropriateness for primary school aged children to attend live lessons, we will be posting pre-recorded lessons online.
Live lessons mean that both a device and the children have to be available at a specific time of the day, putting additional pressure and expectations on families who are often juggling working from home whilst trying to support their child. When lessons are pre-recorded, children and parents can have a level of independence to choose which order they would like to undertake their learning.
Live lessons require both a device and a greater internet band width that not all families have access to, creating an inequality of opportunity. For families with more than one child isolating, there would be an even higher demand on the availability of technology at a specific time.
In the classroom, teachers are highly skilled at being responsive to the children’s needs. However, this type of interaction is not possible in the same way online. On the other hand, a pre-recorded lesson can be paused, listened to again or fast forwarded, allowing children additional time and support if needed to complete a task. Staff can also post additional videos and resources for individuals in the same way a child would get personalised support and challenge in class. Whereas, due to the nature of online video communications, a live lesson to 30 children at once would have a more blanket/ passive approach. DoJo also allows the teaching staff to give instant personal verbal or written feedback to help guide the children with their learning, help them build on their previous knowledge and keep them motivated to keep learning from home.
Why have St Luke’s chosen to use DoJo to provide their remote learning?
We use DoJo as our children and parents are familiar with the DoJo platform. It has allowed a seamless transition into remote learning and is very child friendly. It allows teachers to award points for good work and effort.
Its key feature is it is an interactive, 2-way communication tool for children and parents.
This is under review and if we deem it necessary we will transfer to a platform that best suits our needs for teaching and learning.