What is Remote Learning?

Remote learning provides an opportunity for children and teachers to remain connected and engaged with learning while working from home. Opportunities for remote learning are typically linked to emergency situations.

Transitioning to remote learning can keep children on track so that when they return to the physical school environment, they will not need to complete a lot of make-up work to be ready for any scheduled assessments.

Many of the requirements in a traditional classroom environment will be in play for remote learning environments, and the goal is to adhere to as many educational requirements as possible. 

Remote learning requirements

The minimum expectation for key stage 1 is 3 hours a day, on average across the cohort, with fewer hours for younger children

Introduction

To ensure teachers had the knowledge and skills to deliver high quality remote learning the Executive Headteacher and the Assistant Headteacher attended online training, lead by the National College for School Leadership. The aim of this training was to help us meet the required standards for remote learning and achieve positive outcomes for our children

One of the key points raised by the training was to consider  the difference between synchronous and asynchronous teaching.

Synchronous learning is interactive, two-way online or distance education that happens in real time with a teacher, whereas asynchronous learning occurs virtually online and through prepared resources, without real-time teacher-led interaction.

Alongside teacher training we considered a research project by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to support our planning for remote learning. The research concluded that remote learning needs to be based on 5 principles which are:

1. Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered e.g., clear explanations, scaffolding and feedback
2. Ensuring access to technology is key, especially for disadvantaged children e.g., teachers, children and parents are provided with support and guidance to use specific platforms
3. Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes e.g., sharing models of good work, peer to peer feedback, a live debate, or discussions on learning content
4. Supporting children to work independently can improve learning outcomes e.g., encouraging children to reflect on their work or to consider strategies they can use if they get stuck. Disadvantaged children particularly benefit from checklists or daily plans.
5. Different approaches to remote learning suit different types of content and children e.g., games for learning vocabulary, quizzes etc.

Planning for remote learning

When implementing strategies to support children's remote learning, and to support parents to do this, we have agreed the following. 

For children learning remotely a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous learning will be planned.

A timetable for parents will be uploaded onto the school website each week in the section ‘My Child’s Learning’ on the remote learning page. 

The timetable will include:

• Daily registration with the teacher via Microsoft Teams this is to ensure every child prepares for learning. Teachers will explain the learning for the day so children and parents are clear about what is expected.
• Oak academy live lessons which children will be required to attend and complete linked work e.g. a story map
• Learning reviews with the teacher where groups or individual children will take part in reading, writing or mathematics assessments. This will help the teacher to assess s child's achievements and plan next steps.
• Exciting hands on activities such as making a bird feeder or baking.
• Personal development activities to support emotional well being such as outdoor exercise or mindful moments.
• Planned learning activities which will engage children's curiosity.

Children will be able to access several learning platforms to support learning through the school website by clicking on the Learning at home button. Here parents can find:

Purple Mash which is a creative online space that teachers and pupils can use to communicate but it also aims to inspire creative learning both at school and at home.

Mathletics is an engaging online mathematics program. The teacher can set fun practice and fluency activities, challenge pupils thinking with problem-solving and reasoning questions, and reward learning with certificates and points.

Bug club is a literacy program designed to support the effective and engaging teaching of reading.  Books are levelled and can be used for modelled whole class reading, guided reading, independent and take-home reading.

Discovery Education Espresso provides exciting real-world content, personalisation tools, a unique creation and collaboration space for teachers and children.

Further Support and Guidance
 
Learning at home can be a challenge so we have created a guide to help parents.

Please click here for hints and tips to help parents when supporting learning at home.