The Bilingual Primary School

We have developed our approach to remote education based on the varied needs arising over the last 12 months including whole school remote learning under national lockdown guidance, remote learning for pupils who have had to isolate at home but are otherwise well and remote learning where a whole class group has had to isolate due to infection control measures.

Based on the constant review and improvement of our offer this response is subject to change. Outlined below is the normal minimum provision for remote learning which will be adapted to the year group and individual circumstances of learners.

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?

Pupils will have contact from their teacher on the first whole day at home. By the second day they will have learning set for the day with activities and a suggested timetable.

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 will follow broadly the same curriculum objectives in remote learning as we do in school, adapting the activities to the situation and availability of resources at home. We may, for example set reading from texts online rather than books or individual challenges for PE rather than team games.

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:

Primary school-aged pupils	Between 3 and 4 hours. We may include optional extra activities and challenges on top of this.
Online live content (where a whole class is learning remotely)	For whole class remote learning this should include at least one 15 minute whole class session a day and 2 small group sessions for each child each week.

 

Accessing remote education

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

Children will access all remote learning through Google Classrooms. They have a login set up in their name on our @bilingualprimaryschool.org.uk domain. This can be set up or re-set by the school office to their parents or carer on request.

 

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:

• Discuss technical issues and provide with support to get online if they have technology but cannot get it to work - including guides published on our website.
• Pupils who do not have devices can apply to the school. We have a number of school devices as well as those provided by the Department of Education for loan to families. Those entitled to Pupil Premium or classed as vulnerable will be first to have access to these.
• School will work with providers to access extra online data for parents who do not have internet access.
• We will contact parents of children who are not accessing remote learning to discuss and address needs as well as responding to any requests to ensure no children are left out.
• In exceptional circumstances we may provide work-books or print outs, particularly where there is a need to address special needs.

 

 

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

Each class will have:

• Daily morning sessions with their teacher on Google Meet at the following times:
  • Reception      - 8:45 am
  • Years 1 and 2 - 9:00 am
  • Years 3 and 4 -9:15 am
  • Years 5 and 6 - 9:30 am
• A daily suggested timetable of learning activities adapted to the year group and class on the Google Classroom
• At least 2 interactive small group sessions with their teacher per week (max 8 pupils per group)
• 2 weekly Spanish sessions with Spanish teachers which will include live sessions on Google Meet for part of each lesson (see class timetables on Google Classroom).

As we develop the use of our remote learning tools we will adapt and develop provision according to needs.

There may be options in how work is completed though there should be no necessity to have anything other than access to the device at key times, paper, pencils and other household implements.

Children will have the opportunity to interact with peers and their teacher using Google Classroom and this may be supported by parents where it relates to learning. Questions and information shared by parents with teachers should be sent to the school office email address in the normal way and not via the Google Classroom platform.

 

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?

We expect children to log into the google classroom every day and attend the live sessions whenever possible. We encourage them to attempt the learning tasks set for each session though understand that this may need to be adapted based on individual circumstances.

We understand that parents have a variety of situations to deal with at home so encourage a balanced approach following these principles:

• Focus on encouraging your child to have a go. You are not expected to homeschool your child and your most important role is being a parent.
• Set up a timetable and stick to it as well as you can. It’s not always possible to finish everything, but it’s important to stop. Children benefit from routine and need changes in activity and breaks.
• Keep school work for school hours with a clear cut off time. The government has recommended between 3 and 4 hours a day of school work for primary aged children during this period.
• Stay positive! Though there are a lot of negative messages in the media about children’s ‘lost’ education, the reality is that children who are resilient, engaged and well go on to lead positive, successful lives. All children are in the same position. They have the opportunity to learn about overcoming obstacles, persevering and building resilience which will equip them well for life's challenges. Reduce anxiety where you can.
• Feel free to adapt learning tasks to fit in with your circumstances, e.g. complete things on paper rather than on screen or finding opportunities to learn outside. You know your children best. We will endeavor to provide options where possible and avoid the need for you to print anything out. You know your children best, so be flexible when they need it. Going for a walk at the right moment may be the most important thing for your child’s and your own well-being or using the BBC resources may be the best way to engage your child on some occasions.

 

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

Where children do not appear to be engaging in google Meet sessions or submitting work, staff will proactively engage with parents to check on their well being and ensure that they are supported in learning from home.

 

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:

• Work submitted on classroom will usually be acknowledged
• Some work will be given next step feedback and support where appropriate -e.g. In the case of substantial written work
• Maths work will be self-corrected but may be backed up by occasional online quizzes
• General feedback on learning will be included in live sessions as a way of acknowledging and encouraging the efforts of pupils at home.

 

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:

• Our SEND team will continue to support learning of pupils with SENDs at home
• SEND Teaching assistants, the SENCO and Learning mentors will conduct 1:1 and group sessions with children who usually have this support using google Meet if they are at home
• Teachers and Classroom Teaching Assistants will assign differentiated work for pupils who have SENDs and cannot access the work set for others in the class
• A bespoke approach will be deployed for pupils who have additional needs such as 1:1 sessions with class teachers and support for parents at home.

 

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 your child not at school due to clinical or Public Health (PH) advice:

Once we are aware of your family situation by the information you provide us through the Google form, the class teacher will contact you to explain about remote learning.

From the next day, the teacher will email you tasks and resources completed by the class on the previous day for your child to complete at home. You may also receive weekly tasks.

Completed work can be returned to the class teacher using the dedicated class email address (see below). These should only be used to send responses to remote learning tasks, such photos of pupil work. Any other communications sent to the class emails will be ignored as no emails can be sent out of the class email accounts. Where possible we will use the class’ Google Classroom to exchange learning and feedback between pupils and staff.

Please ensure all other communication is sent to school through the usual school email (info@bilingualprimaryschool.org.uk).

Teachers will respond to submitted work by email on a regular basis.

Class email addresses

These should only be used to send responses to remote learning tasks, such photos of pupil work. Any other communications sent to the class emails will be ignored as no emails can be sent out of the class email accounts.

Please ensure all other communication is sent to school through the usual school email (info@bilingualprimaryschool.org.uk).