Remote Learning

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has found the effectiveness of remote teaching is determined by many of the same factors as determine the effectiveness of live teaching. For example:

  •          Ensuring pupils receive clear explanations
  •          Supporting growth in confidence with new material through scaffolded practice
  •          Application of new knowledge or skills
  •          Enabling pupils to receive feedback on how to progress

It was vital for us to co-create the remote learning offer with our staff and families in order to secure a remote learning curriculum offer that was realistic, manageable, sustainable and effective.  When formulating the remote learning offer, the ability to ensure equality for pupils at home as well as in school was vitally important as was the provision of live teaching sessions to enable teachers to interact with pupils: questioning, scaffolding learning and providing feedback.

Development of Remote Learning Offer

June 2020
  • Move to Google for storing of documents, email etc.
  • Staff training on the use of Google and in particular Google Classroom
  • Loom videos used for communication

July 2020
  • Audit of all families and their access to devices for learning
  • Conversion of mini laptops and donated laptops to Chromebooks and then distribution of these to any child who did not have their individual access to a device for remote learning (in some cases more than one device was given to a family)

September 2020 – December 2020
  • Launch of Google Classroom as the platform for homework to enable children and parents to become familiar with its use and for staff to explore capacity for use of video, documents and feedback
  • Loom videos used by staff to record learning for homework
  • Launch of Kami as a tool for children to draw, write, voice record and video their learning using prepared documents by the class teacher on iPads as well as laptops
  • Loom videos used to share how Google Classroom and Kami works for parents to make use of
  • Analysis of engagement of children with Google Classroom at home to ensure that all children had access and would be able to engage with the platform should they need to remotely

January 2021
  • Parents informed via text immediately with the news that the school would be closed (except to vulnerable children and key worker children) and remote learning would be implemented
  • DFE ‘help with technology’ laptop allowance secured and delivered to school and any children requiring a device provided with one
  • Timetables agreed for KS1 and KS2 including a live registration at the start of the day and afternoon and then a story at the end of the day to complete the school day
  • Timetables agreed for KS1 and KS2 including all live teaching sessions and shared with parents
  • Any children not present at the register were contacted by the school office using the usual attendance procedures to offer support if needed
  • Weekly phone calls for vulnerable and SEND children
  • Teaching assistants used to support SEND children online if they were not in school
  • Wellbeing phone calls to all children every fortnight and weekly for any vulnerable children whose parents preferred them to work from home
  • Teachers and teaching assistants online during the sessions should any children need any additional support
  • Full curriculum delivered as much as possible (PE needed some adaptations)
  • Friday afternoon task mats used to support teachers having PPA time at the same time enabling all staff to be at full capacity in every classroom rather than covering classes to accommodate PPA
  • Regular google forms to gain feedback from parents regarding the provision for remote learning: what is going well and any tweaks that could be made.  Each year group made adaptations based on the needs of the children and families of the cohort
  • Special consideration given to families who struggle with the logistics of the start and end of the school day for the uploading of work e.g. working from home themselves, families with a number of children, parents working shifts etc.
  • In the event of an outbreak in a class, this model is to be used.
How to guides
 
Please click on the links below to take you to the loom video of how to use the different platforms for remote learning:
 
https://www.loom.com/share/720066fbce1b4b5aaed131a1917aabd9  - How to use Google Classroom
 
https://www.loom.com/share/cfc6777b8fd54ec3a6ce098eea9c344f - How to use Kami
 
https://www.loom.com/share/1ea3bcbfbf9946e98e8508b15c3df086 - Editing documents in GoogleDocs