Remote Learning Offer

The DfE (Department for Education) have asked all schools to consider provision of remote education where it might not be possible for pupils to receive in-person education based on two broad categories:

School closures or restrictions on attendance, where school access for pupils is restricted.
Individual cases where a pupil is unable to attend school but is able to learn.

As a school, we use ‘Microsoft Teams’ and this would be our platform of choice were classes ever to need to be educated from home for any reason (for example, as during COVID19 isolations). Specific plans, guidance and instructions for pupil access and engagement will be released if this is needed in the future.

If your child is unable to attend school for any reason, we would advise that they spend this time resting and recovering. However, if they are in a position where you feel they are able to learn, please contact the admin office who can speak to your child's class teacher about providing work that can be completed at home.

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is a free Microsoft App/site that aims to simplify creating, distributing and assessing learning in a paperless way. Teachers can use Microsoft Teams to send announcements to entire classes, share resources, lesson notes, inputs, diagrams, and home learning. Children can use it to access work covered in class in school, at home or on the go and complete home learning. Parents can use some of the features of Microsoft Teams to help engage with and support children in their home learning. It is a free resource that can be accessed from any device connected to the internet – laptops, desktop computers, tablets or mobile phones. If you do not have the technology for this, please contact the school office.

Microsoft Teams has a number of different uses and benefits:

Teachers can use it to set classwork/home learning tasks.
Teachers can upload and save files which children can access both in and out of school.
Frequently used website links can be shared on Teams which allows pupils quick and easy access.
Microsoft Teams is a FREE website/app which is part of the free Microsoft suite of educational resources (i.e. Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Forms etc.) This can be downloaded free from your regular app store. (It can also be accessed through a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Firefox).
Children can discuss classwork/home learning and can collaborate together on tasks.
It encourages and develops our childrens’ digital literacy – many organisations, places of work, universities and secondary schools also use Microsoft Teams.
Children can upload work for the teacher to see and feedback on.

Please see below answers to key questions you may have about our remote learning offer:

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home with a bubble closure or lockdown?

Children will be assigned easy to access tasks on teams while the remote learning is in the process of being set up and timetables finalised.

Additional work on TTRS (Times Table Rock Stars), Spelling Shed and children should also be reading as much as possible during this time.

As soon as remote learning is set up, more formal teaching will continue.

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?

Our aim is to teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we may need to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example subjects such as PE and DT may need to be taught in a different way.

Morning and afternoon live registers would be carried out in all year groups using teams.

Each taught session would begin with a live input and explanation. Children would then complete tasks independently (with teachers available on video call to support) before coming back together for a live plenary and to have work marked.

At the end of the day, there will be a coming-together activity such as whole class reading or story time.

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:

KS1 (Years 1-2): 2-3 hours of learning

KS2 (Years 3-6): 3-4 hours of learning

EYFS children will still have some live lessons (phonics and maths) but these will be shorter sessions spread out during the day. The remote provision for EYFS will depend on the cohort.

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

We ask families to let school know if they do not have access to online, remote learning. Please email admin@nauntonpark.gloucs.sch.uk to inform us.

We can arrange to lend laptops during any remote learning period following requests. However, we are unable to issue routers or other internet connection devices.

If digital learning isn't possible, school can provide printed copies of work for collection from the school office.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

Live teaching (online lessons)
Recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
Printed paper packs produced by teachers
Reading books pupils have at home
Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

We expect pupils to engage with Microsoft Teams to either view pre-recorded lessons or attend live lessons.

All live lessons are expected to be attended.

We expect pupils to be ready for learning during the same school hours. Pupils should be appropriately dressed (i.e. not in pyjamas); and have the correct materials with them: pen or pencil and paper/worksheet.

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.

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 those with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), 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:

Where possible, a place in school if they have an EHCP
A separate lesson or video to support them in their learning
Work that is targeted at a level which means they are able to work independently (this may be work set for a different year group)

Below are a few documents that may help with navigating Microsoft Teams.