Remote Learning Strategy and Action Plan
Remote Learning Strategy and Action Plan – Rowlands Castle St John’s CEC Primary School
“a planned and well-sequenced curriculum so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally, with a good level of clarity about what is intended to be taught and practised in each subject.” (DFE guidance)
Main considerations/decisions made:
- Google classroom will be the platform and vehicle used for Years 1 – 6 remote learning– our families have used this in the spring and summer term and are now very familiar with how it works.
- Evidence Me will be the platform and vehicle used for Year R – parents/carers in Year 1 used this last year in Year R and feedback was positive. This will be used as a means of communication and assessment between home and school for the EYFS curriculum throughout the year.
- All homework will now be shared using these online platforms to grow pupil and parent/carer confidence in using them (as well as reducing risk of virus transmission with paper copies of homework).
- INSET Day on September 25th has been planned in after the third full week in school for Hampshire guidance to be shared with class teachers and emergency planning to be undertaken.
Key Changes to Remote learning in year 2020-2021 compared to 2019-2020
- Opportunity for teacher preparedness – adopting Hants 2 day emergency plan and an understanding from all in how current Maths and English units can be adapted for online learning.
- Feedback from Parents/Carers has enabled us to adapt the systems in place to ensure they are more accessible to all and fit for purpose.
- ‘New learning’ will be delivered through remote learning platforms and link to specific LOs in the teaching sequence started within classroom. The curriculum will continue at the same pace as it would have done if the pupils were at school.Investment in G-suite technology has enabled further security in pupils accessing google classroom with their own secure logins rather than use of parent personal emails. The school is now able to draw upon a wider pool of resources and support from the local authority and nationwide initiatives.
- Careful timing considerations have been made to ensure the learning provided to pupils will promote a broad and balanced curriculum and last for 5 hours a day to match the school day.
Action Plan for school leaders
Action | Who/when | Impact | Evidence/monitoring | |
Gain parental feedback on remote learning before the summer. | Survey Monkey questionnaire sent out in July 2019 via text message. Data collated and analysed by Head teacher and Chair of Governors. | Improvements will be made in new remote learning systems set up for year 2020-2021 | Future opportunities for parent feedback to measure success of changes made. | |
Share Hants format for remote learning planning with class teachers & create autumn term 2 day emergency planning for core subjects in an agreed school format | INSET Day delivered by SLT on September 25th | Class teachers fully understand the process for continuing the curriculum through remote learning planning. They understand how this is now more LO specific than last academic year. | 2 day emergency planning documents will be created collaboratively and moderated in staff meeting on Tuesday 29th September. | |
Subject leaders to share individual subject initiatives and support for remote learning on the Hants moodle throughout the Autumn term | Staff meetings, dedicated subject leader time on Tuesday afternoons, enrolling onto subject leader network meetings and core provision | Class teachers will develop their understanding of best practice in different subject areas. Remote learning will provide high quality learning experiences for pupils in all subject areas. | SLT monitoring of remote learning if/when applicable to our school
Subject leader action plans will monitor and provide evidence against this target | |
Provide parents/carers with a clear outline of what to expect for possible future remote learning experiences | Letter to be sent to families via school website from Head Teacher on 30th September in line with planning sent to county. | Parents and carers will have clarity in what to expect and feel prepared for ‘home-schooling’ using remote learning materials | Responses from parents/carers in relation to the letter. | |
Homework will be provided using the online platforms: Google Classroom (Year 1 – 6) and Evidence Me (Year R) | Collaborative decision made in INSET day 25th September with all teaching staff | Pupils and their parents/carers will become practised and confident in using the online platforms to access and submit work. This will eliminate issues if remote learning is needed. | Class teachers to monitor this through their secure google classrooms/Evidence me and through communication with parents – feedback to SLT.
Individual pupil homework records | |
All families (especially pupils categorised as vulnerable) will be given access to remote learning and online homework.
Paper copies in quarantined plastic wallets delivered to the door OR laptops to be provided (school was given 2 in summer term) | School list of families who requested paper copies of work in spring and summer term will be contacted by school office to confirm the most suitable means of providing home learning materials in the event of self-isolation. By October 9th. | All pupils have equal opportunities to access the curriculum during periods of isolation. | Individual conversations with families undertaken by SLT and school office.
Records of pupils accessing online homework. | |
Pupils receiving additional support for off-track progress and SEND will have additional/adapted resources as part of their remote learning experiences. | SENCo to work closely with class teachers and support staff in INSET day on 25th September to develop ‘records of intervention targets’, whole school provision map and personal plans for pupils on the SEND register
This will be continually monitored as assessments are made across the autumn term | Pupils with additional needs, SEND or off-track progress will continue to make at least expected progress during periods of isolation. | Daily AfL planning format to continue to use SEND section and identify adaptations and meet personal plan targets – these will be used in remote learning planning in the same way. SENCo to monitor. | |
Time is given to staff to adapt and refine remote learning emergency planning across the autumn term and into the spring term | Staff meeting time dedicated at November data drop after pupil progress meetings and just before Christmas holiday for spring term planning – all class teachers and SLT | Improvements will be made to emergency planning as pupil progress is measured at data drop point.
Teachers will continue to have high quality emergency planning in place for the spring term as well as the autumn term. | SLT to continue to monitor how planning identifies and matches the needs of the class/individuals and ensure continuity of the curriculum within school. |
Information shared with Parents/Carers
As part of the letter sent out to parents/carers on 30th September explaining the remote learning and online homework systems in place, clear flow diagrams were included to show what they should expect from the school in the event of a bubble/class closure or if an individual needed to isolate.
It will also be made clear to parents what would happen if their child becomes unwell and is awaiting a test. The following two text boxes have also been taken from the letter sent to parents/carers on 30th September:
Reminder: pupils will need to isolate with their families at home and arrange to be tested if they develop one of the following symptoms:
If the test results are negative, they can then return to school if feeling well enough. |
What happens if my child develops one or more of the three symptoms and needs to stay at home until they have had a negative test? The school will treat an absence for ill-health the same as we usually would and not send any school work home in this situation. If the child becomes better and their test is negative, they can return to school and their teacher will then catch them up in class as they usually would after a short-term absence. If the test is positive, we will communicate with the parent/carer to find out when the child will be well enough to start their home schooling during their isolation (as outlined above). If the parent/carer feels that their child is well enough to start home-schooling despite developing symptoms, they are welcome to contact the school office to ask for work to be sent home whilst awaiting test results. |
Measuring Impact and Monitoring
All subject leaders will be involved in updating and monitoring this action plan. A RAG rating system will be applied during SLT meetings fortnightly. Staff meeting time has been dedicated to doing this with all class teachers as outlined above in the action plan.
The strategy will be reviewed formally at the end of the autumn term and a new action plan will be written for the spring term if still applicable.
Date: September 2020
Written by: Jayne Pavitt (Headteacher) and Emily Biggs (Deputy Headteacher and SENCo)
Spring Term Review Update Following School Closure: January 2021
Communication with parents on Friday 8th January gave an outline for the school’s intentions for remote learning. See below:
The Department for Education (DfE) have outlined that this should be: 3 hours daily at KS1 and 4 hours daily at KS2. Below is a timetabled example of what you should expect:
| Daily remote learning provided: | Breakdown of subjects taught in this time: |
Year R | 3 hours | 20 minutes Phonics 20 minutes Maths 10 minutes Shared Reading 10 minutes Phonics Reading 2 hours for EYFS prime/specific areas |
Year 1 - 2 | 3 hours | 30 minutes Guided Reading 45 minutes English 45 minutes Maths 1 hour for Foundation subjects |
Year 3 - 6 | 4 hours | 30 minutes Guided Reading 1 hour English 1 hour Maths 1 hour 30 minutes for Foundation subjects |
In addition to the formal daily learning, we will still be encouraging pupils to practise their spellings, times tables, use numbots/times table rockstars and read as they usually would for homework in the remaining time available to them across the week.
To supplement the daily learning on offer, we will also be uploading two weekly videos of the class teacher and/or the class LSA reading a story to the children and in years 1 – 6, a weekly ‘Google Meet’ registration. This will work like a Zoom meeting where the class will be given a code in order to gain access to a virtual classroom. During this time the class will be able to see one another and their teacher for a 20 minute discussion and check-in. We believe that this will help with pupil wellbeing by giving them a chance to keep in contact with their friends and be able to see one another on a weekly basis. More information on how to access this will follow on your child’s Google Classroom. In order to prepare your child for this, we have created a timetable of when the ‘Google Meet registrations’ will take place.
Class | Google Meet Registration time each week: |
1 | Wednesdays at 1pm |
2 | Tuesdays at 1pm |
3 | Wednesdays at 9am |
4 | Fridays at 9am |
5 | Thursdays at 9am |
6 | Tuesdays at 9am |
Since the last lockdown, we have been able to make many improvements to our online learning. These are outlined below:
- The work for Years 1 – 6 will be provided via Google Classroom and be available at 9am each morning. For Year R, the work will be made available through Evidence Me also at 9am each morning.
- For core subjects, children will now have videos or voice over presentations from their own class teacher explicitly teaching them the new learning each day. (When more appropriate, teachers may choose to use other video explanations rather than a film from them directly e.g. from the BBC or the Oak National Academy).
- Teachers will be able to respond and give feedback throughout the school day between 9am and 3pm to mirror the contact children would usually receive in school.
- Teachers will endeavour to mark/give feedback to every piece of work submitted within the same day (however please understand that 3pm is the cut off for this and work submitted near the end of the day may be responded to the next day instead). After 3pm, teachers will be filming video lessons and preparing for the following day’s remote learning.
- We will be making daily contact with families to ensure that pupils are accessing their education and to offer support where needed. This will be done predominantly through Evidence Me and Google Classroom for the majority of families who will engage through these platforms. If you require paper packs, then this is still an option but this will mean that the school will be in daily contact through phone or email.
- The majority of the remote learning is planned to be completed online without printing or the use of paper. However if you require additional paper or exercise books, please contact the school to arrange this.
- To support families who have difficulty accessing the learning on any given day, we will be providing fortnightly ‘learning letters’ to give an overview of the key learning taking place in each year group. These will be sent out every two weeks on ParentMail and on each of the Google Classrooms/Evidence Me.
- We are aiming for collaboration with parents/carers by providing opportunities for more detailed fortnightly feedback in line with the ‘learning letters’.
- Teachers will take the progress children are making at home into account when planning for the next day’s and week’s learning and adapt their lessons where needed to ensure all pupils continue to understand what is being taught.
Key issues arising from remote learning in a whole school closure compared to ‘bubble closure’
- Mental health and wellbeing of families and staff may be more fragile during the national lockdown – support for this will need careful consideration.
- The remote learning will now run for a period of at least 6 weeks rather than 2 weeks – safe-guarding and monitoring progress becomes more difficult the longer the pupils are away from the school.
- Some pupils will remain in school whilst others will access their learning from home – could create and unfair advantage/disadvantage in the experience pupils have of learning between school and home.
- Staffing is limited due to rise in infection rates in local area e.g. more staff self-isolating or awaiting test results.
- Teachers required to teach via videos – increased work load on teachers throughout school day.
- Disadvantaged families may be at an unfair disadvantaged due to lack of technology or limited learning resources in the home.
Action | Who/when | Impact | Evidence/monitoring | |
Ensure well-being and mental health of school community is supported during the national lockdown. | School staff to work from home where possible to limit anxiety around virus transmission. LSAs, Office and SLT on reduced hours in school, teachers to work from home unless covering a staffing absence.
SLT to keep staff informed of changes and updates and allow for regular opportunities for feedback and problem-solving as a team.
Regular communication with families to offer support and help through google classroom, phone calls from school office, offering school places to vulnerable.
Governors will support the wellbeing of the headteacher and SLT. | Pupils, parents/ carers and staff will feel their mental health and wellbeing is supported by the school. | Letters, communication, minutes of meetings.
Feedback from parents and staff. | |
Safeguarding and contact systems set up to ensure pupils are accessing learning and remain safe and well at home. | CPOMS to continue to be used within school and for teachers flag up concerns over Google classroom communication.
Daily communication spreadsheet set up between teachers and the office for pupil engagement. Any pupil that has not engaged with 24 hours will be contacted.
SLT to keep regular communication with vulnerable families not in attendance (in addition to daily contact from teachers and school office). | All pupils will continue to be safeguarded by the school during the school closure. | CPOMS, spreadsheet log. | |
Create opportunities for AfL between parents/carers and teachers so that planning and differentiation can be fluid and adaptive. | Teachers working from home without a key worker bubble responsibility enables them to respond to feedback and mark work between 9am – 3pm everyday. During this time, parents can expect prompt responses to their communication.
Learning letters created fortnightly by class teachers to communicate ‘big ideas’ in Reading, Writing and Maths as well as some focus foundation subjects.
Traffic lighting system for parent feedback each fortnight in conjunction in this. Teachers to then make adaptations where appropriate to address issues that arise or to challenge further.
| All pupils move forward in their learning and make progress. No child is left behind. | Parent feedback.
SLT Lesson monitoring on Google Classroom/Evidence Me. | |
Create equality between children attending school in key worker/vulnerable groups and children at home. | Children in school will access the online remote learning on laptops or through the class interactive whiteboard in the same way as the pupils on devices at home.
Groups in school will be kept in a ratio of less than 1:12 so that children can receive help when they need it (similar to having apparent at home to support throughout the school day).
Groups in school will be able to do extra-curricular opportunities similar to those at home e.g. walk in the woods, cooking, watching videos and playing with toys. This will be done in the remaining time after 3-4 hours of remote learning has been completed (6 hour day in total at school).
| All pupils will be exposed to the same level of support and the same learning content to move forward together in the same way. | Teachers to monitor progress of all pupils through daily work submitted and communication with families.
SLT Lesson monitoring on Google Classroom/Evidence Me. | |
Devise a contingency plan for staffing key worker/vulnerable groups in school. | LSAs to work up to full hours if needed in school.
Teachers to cover key worker groups if LSAs are already working at full hours.
Close bubbles as last resort if no alternative staffing can be found – giving parents as much notice as possible.
Staff to continue to socially distance and wear masks in school so that if one staff member self-isolates, this does not affect other staff members. | The school will remain open for key workers and vulnerable groups. | Attendance records. | |
Ensure teachers have dedicated non-contact time to deliver a high-quality curriculum remotely.
| Teachers have not been timetabled in to cover vulnerable/critical worker groups. They are expected to work from home where possible.
Parents have clear expectations that communication and teacher marking/feedback will be between 9-3 each day to be able teachers to film videos, resource and plan for the following day.
Teachers are overseeing the learning that is happening in school and offering support to LSAs in class via Google Classroom.
A member of SLT is in school every day to oversee this provision and support both LSAs and teachers. | Teachers’ workload is manageable. | Staff timetabling, staff feedback in meetings. | |
Ensure all pupils are able to access learning from home regardless of family circumstances. |
Technical support set-up with ICT lead to families not engaging in first week of remote learning set-up.
School to give out laptops to families most in need (only 2 given through government initiative but 2 more have been donated to the school).
School to offer places in vulnerable/critical worker groups for those having difficulty to engage at home.
| All pupils will have access to the remote learning at home or in school. | Attendance records, communication logs. |
Date: January 2021
Written by: Jayne Pavitt (Headteacher) and Emily Biggs (Deputy Headteacher and SENCo)