Remote Learning

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.

For the first few days of remote education, pupils should expect to receive tasks to complete on Seesaw and some feedback to the work they submit. This may not be as detailed and timely feedback as it will become as teachers will be spending the first few days setting up the remote learning tasks and organising who is still attending the school setting.

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 as we are aware that pupils may not have access to the same level of resources and support whilst learning at home.

In line with the DFE guidance, we expect that pupils will spend the following amounts of time each day on remote education as a minimum (including independent work and responding to feedback):

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2): 3 hours a day on average across the cohort, with less for younger children, particularly Year 1 as they still need a lot of play based learning.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 – 6): 4 hours a day.

These hours do not just have to be independent formal learning. They can also include reading, times table games, online learning games and other practical tasks.

Pupils in Reception are used to having a very hands on and play-based curriculum. We realise it would not be appropriate for Reception children to be sitting and learning behind a screen for 3 hours. A large part of their day at school is made up of play-based activities and these should continue at home – intermixed with the high quality learning opportunities planned out for them on Seesaw by their teachers. Parents can also find suggestions for and links to further activities in the home learning packs that are sent home for each Reception pupil.

Pupils can access their remote education via the Seesaw platform. If there are any problems in accessing this platform, parents or carers are advised to contact school via the seesaw@fynamore.org.uk email address or call the school (on 01249 810090) and ask to speak to their child’s teacher.

Parents or carers are advised to contact school via the seesaw@fynamore.org.uk email address or call the school (on 01249 810090) and ask to speak to their child’s teacher.

Parents are also welcome to leave a comment on their child’s Seesaw account for the class teacher. However, whilst this is not a public comment that any other children or parents can see, your child will be able to see the comment.

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:

Please contact the school office (on 01249 810090) if your child does not have access to an electronic device that they can access Seesaw through. The school will then either be able to offer a device to you if we have one available or provide paper copies of the work on Seesaw.

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

• Uploaded tasks with written explanations or voice notes to help the pupils know what to do;
• Feedback for all work submitted through written comments, audio recordings, recorded video feedback over work and sometimes individual video messages to pupils;
• Offers of exercise books for those without resources at home;
• Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences (e.g. White Rose for Maths);
• Use of Knowledge Organisers shared on Seesaw for pupils to revise topic-specific knowledge;
• Daily Zoom calls between the teacher and their class to check in and see how the pupils are getting on with remote learning – this will be twice a week for Reception pupils as they are used more as interactive lessons.

We expect all pupils to log in to Seesaw every day and find out what tasks they have to complete. If they are unsure of what to do at any point, they should send their teacher a message on Seesaw and ask for help. We also expect pupils to try their best and take care over their work and respond to any feedback.

In terms of parental support, we ask that parents help to make sure their child has the correct resources to be able to successfully complete their remote learning and a quiet space to be able to work in. If parents are struggling with providing this environment for any reason, we ask that they contact school for support (on 01249 810090).

Each pupil’s work will be checked regularly throughout the school day by their teacher or a TA.

If a teacher becomes concerned about a pupil’s level of engagement, they will contact the parents or carers to discuss how they are getting on and to come up with ways to support them to improve their engagement.

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:

• Each piece of work a pupil uploads onto Seesaw will be approved by a teacher or TA and, where necessary, a comment will be given;
• Feedback will be provided on a daily basis and often throughout the day;
• Feedback may sometimes be a message to the whole class as an announcement if that is appropriate;
• Teachers may also give feedback during their daily Zoom calls with their class.

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:

• Work will be differentiated where needed for certain pupils and tasks will be set individually on Seesaw for them;
• Activities for children in Year One and Reception may differ to the tasks set for the rest of the school (e.g. more video message explanations, more practical tasks);
• The school SENDCO and the pupil’s class teacher are also on hand to support parents and give advice on how best to support their child’s learning at home.

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 your child is well enough to complete remote learning, work will be uploaded to Seesaw for your child in the same way as stated above and feedback will be given. However, the teachers and TAs will be teaching the whole class in school at this time so feedback is likely to be delayed until after school hours