Remote Learning Spring 2021

Remote Learning Timetable (whole school)

Here are some Q and As to provide more detailed information for parents and carers:

 

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

Teachers will monitor children’s engagement daily on Class Dojo. This is shared with the headteacher.  If a teacher is concerned about a child’s level of engagement, parents/carers will be contacted on Class Dojo in the first instance.  If there are any issues at home (eg illness, technology), please inform the teacher; they will be happy to offer support.

 

Will my Dojo posts be seen by other pupils or parents? 

The class posts are only visible to the teacher when posted in these ways as they are stored directly in your child’s portfolio.   The only content that is visible to others is that which is posted to the Class Story in the comments section.

 

I found it really difficult to get my child to complete written work during the last lockdown and when they did actually produce something, the quality was poor. What should I do?

You are not alone. Writing was what parents said they found the most difficult to support with.  Here are some ideas to help:

• Encourage your child to set up a ‘work station’ on a flat surface with all the things they need at hand. If this space is needed for other things too, find a box to put everything in to keep it together. Exercise books and a pencil are available to collect from school for each child.
• Talk through the task with your child to spark ideas – often children write better after saying their ideas aloud.
• Think of some useful words together and write these down for them to refer to (eg create a wordbank or mindmap)
• The first sentence can often be a major stumbling block. Either help them by scribing the first sentence or they could get started and add it at the end.
• Drawing ideas first can help
• Encourage your child to do some writing every day
• If you have a laptop, sometimes they could type their work

 

To improve quality:

 - Encourage your child to re-read their work and think about the punctuation the sentence needs and if it makes sense

       - If you have a dictionary or a spell checker, encourage your child to check spellings they                  are unsure of

       - Encourage your child to aim for quality, not quantity

       - Remind your child about how letters should be formed to achieve evenly-sized handwriting

 

My child has finished their reading book and needs another one.  What should I do to keep them reading?

Reading is very important. If your child uses the reading scheme, you will be given a login for Oxford Owl so that you can continue to read daily with your child. Please keep your child’s reading record up to date by adding books read and the date. This will enable us to carry straight on when your child returns to school.

If your child uses Accelerated Reader (AR), the teacher will have shared alternative e-library resources. Each child has a log in and can complete ‘quizzes’ at home which your teacher will monitor.

There is a selection of books suitable for different ages and confidence levels on the Oxford Owl e-book library.  Sign up for free by following the link below.

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/

Some of these are AR compatible.  You can find out if a book has an AR Quiz by using the link below. 

https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/UserType.aspx?RedirectURL=%2fdefault.aspx

In school we use a strategy called ‘The Power of Reading’ which puts a novel at the heart of our English units of work.  Usually children are introduced to ideas and themes within the book, before reading the book itself.  To enable teachers to share the class book during remote learning, teachers may record sections of the book for children to listen to at home or show sections that can be read on a screen.

 

My child is getting frustrated with the work that has been set today and however how hard I try to explain it, it doesn’t seem to help. What should I do?

You are not alone. Here are some things to try:

Leave the work out but encourage him/her to go and take a break and/or play for a while. Quite often younger children will go off and play and then return to the task and have another go, which can be more successful.  Activities like cooking require many Maths skills (measuring, ratio, timing, following instructions, cleaning up) so have a break and do something side by side (which is often more successful than face to face activities).

You can encourage an older child to think back to what they already know and think about where they could find the information that may help them.

You can send a message to the teacher to ask for more advice.

 

Will work set always be in the same format? Will teachers be doing live or pre-recorded lessons?

Lessons will not be live.  Some work might be pre-recorded (by the teacher, White Rose, BBC Bitesize and Oak Academy) and tasks that children can complete (e.g. by typing/writing in the ‘to do part’) will be posted. 

By posting the work on Dojo, it gives us the ability to set different work for different children if this is required. In the classroom we would normally do this and/or adapt the support that we give; this is more difficult for a live lesson. If we find that a particular question is causing difficulty, we might record a simple explanation and upload it or suggest another resource to help. We are aware that every family has different levels of accessibility to technology and the internet.

Work will be posted every day by 8:30am.  Daily work has been chosen for several reasons, some learnt from the last lockdown. Daily work enables teachers to react to the previous day’s learning. Work is sequenced and so if several children find a lesson difficult, the teacher can adjust the work the next day. For this reason, it is particularly helpful if work can be uploaded on the day it is set. We realise that this may not always be possible, but it is preferred. Teachers are on-line all morning (unless they are teaching in school, having training or making calls) and can help your child with anything they are finding difficult. Parents and carers are encouraged to ask for help too, as teachers can suggest alternative ways to support your child.

 

I am not sure how much work my child should do and how often; what do you recommend?

It is better to do some work every day and establish a simple routine. Our whole school timetable is intended as a guide, which you may wish to adapt. Make sure your child has breaks and opportunities to exercise as this will help them concentrate when it is time to work.  The amount of work depends on the age of your child and you might find that on some days they concentrate better than others. Use the work set as a rough guide, but do not worry if they have had a good go and not completed it all. If you are still unsure, please message the teacher who will be happy to guide to how much your child should be doing.

 

When we look on Dojo the work has been posted on the class story and activities section – why?

Teachers have posted the work in both places because you then have different options for how children can do the work, depending on what device you are using and how your child prefers to work. 

• Children can read the questions and write their answers in their exercise book (these can still be collected from school if you haven’t done this already).
• In the activities section, under the ‘To Do’ list,  children can click on each task, this will open up either a document for them to look at or a worksheet with the option for them to edit on line. (This means that you do not need to print or upload a photo’).  Children can choose to type or write, using the pencil tool. After typing, it is possible to click on the words that have been typed. They will appear in a blue box that can be dragged and dropped into place. Click ‘done’ and then the send icon to submit the work. The task will then disappear from your to do list.  It is sent to your child’s portfolio that the staff can see.
• If you have a printer and want to print, you can print from the class story.

 

Should I let my child photograph/video themselves and post it?

Children should only do this under supervision, as they should be fully dressed and the content needs to be appropriate.

 

Will there be assemblies?

In school we would normally have themes and collective and class worship and times for reflection. Each day we will be posting an opportunity for daily reflection and enrichment.

On Mondays - a pre-recorded whole school assembly with a story for reflection.

Tuesday  - an activity/information that relates to outdoor learning

Wednesday –  will be Well-being Wednesday

Thursday –an activity/information that relates to esafety. Reverend Liesbeth's assembly story will usually be posted on Thursdays.

Friday - is Wide-eyed Friday - an activity/information that relates to culture and creativity plus a pre-recorded assembly from the Headteacher.