Remote education provision: information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to children and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.

For details of what to expect where individual children are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

The remote curriculum: what is taught to children at home

A child’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 children being sent home?

• Children will be sent home with a blended learning pack which includes exercise books, maths text books, reading books and basic equipment. This will be available to collect by a family member should the self isolation period begin whilst not at school

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 teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school.

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 children broadly the following number of hours each day:

Accessing remote education

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

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 children may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those children to access remote education:

• Families can request to borrow Chromebooks or laptops for children to take home from the school office in order to access learning remotely.

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

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?

• Support children to complete work.

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 the work being submitted to Class Dojo/Microsoft teams on a daily basis.

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:

• Regular Feedback on work submitted on Class Dojo/Microsoft Teams will be provided by the teacher or teaching assistant.

Additional support for children 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 children, for example some children 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 children in the following ways:

Depending on a child's area of need:

• we will offer a school place to families where children with SEND are unable to access the learning and we feel would be better supported in school.
• teachers will provide individualised learning in terms of work or lesson videos.
• teaching assistants who usually work with specific children will make learning videos to sustain the relationships that have created and support the children at their level.
• we will offer more regular contact and support to families of children with SEND.

Remote education for self-isolating children

Where individual children 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 children both at home and in school.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

Each week, English and Maths planning is shared on the ‘blended learning’ tab on the class pages of the website. A child should access this from the first day they are not able to attend school. The teacher will then contact the parent using the individual messenger facility on Class Dojo to share links for the other subjects being taught that day.

Symptoms to look out for

Anyone displaying the following symptoms should stay at home and must not enter the school premises:

•A high temperature – being hot to the touch on your chest or back (the NHS website states that you do not need to take the temperature);

•A new, continuous cough – coughing for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual);

•A loss of, or change to, a person’s sense of smell or taste –  losing your sense of smell or taste, or things smell or taste different.

We advise that everyone remains vigilant for the above symptoms and avoids exposure to anyone who is displaying these symptoms and/or has tested positive for coronavirus.

When to self-isolate

Anyone who is unwell with any of the symptoms outlined above and/or tests positive for coronavirus will need to self-isolate for the next 10 days. If they do not have symptoms, but are living with someone who does, they will need to self-isolate for the next 14 days. Those who need to self-isolate must not enter the school premises until the necessary self-isolation period has ended.

What to do if you need to self-isolate

 You must notify the school that your child needs to self-isolate and how long they will need to self-isolate for. Contact the school office as soon as possible (office@lawrenceview.notts.sch.uk or 01773 719463).

Getting tested

If symptoms are present, staying off school for a day or two is not enough. As soon as the symptoms are discussed with us (coughs and temperatures) then a test will need to take place. You can get your child tested for coronavirus via self-referral if they are displaying symptoms or live with someone who is displaying symptoms. Your child must not come to school if they need to self-isolate.

You need to get the test done in the first five days of having symptoms. You must notify the school office of the result of your child’s test as soon as possible.

When to return to school

If your child has been unable to attend school due to displaying symptoms of coronavirus, they can come back to school after 10 days of self-isolation, or if they test negative for coronavirus. If your child has been unable to attend because someone in your household has tested positive for coronavirus or displayed symptoms, but they do not develop symptoms, they can come back to school after 10 days.

Contacting the school

You will need to contact the school as soon as possible in the following circumstances:

•With information that you or someone in your household is showing symptoms of coronavirus and cannot attend, where necessary;

•With the results of any relevant coronavirus tests;

•With concerns or queries.

Please contact the school office should you have any concerns or queries about the information outlined in this letter.

How to help reduce the spread of infection

It is important that everyone in our school community does what they can to help reduce the spread of coronavirus to protect themselves and others. Please remember that it is possible to spread coronavirus even if symptoms are not present.

Please ensure you and others in your household consider the following actions whenever possible:

•Staying at least two metres from others, except for people in the same household and/or ‘support bubble’;

•Washing hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after coughing or sneezing;

•Using hand sanitiser if soap and water are not available;

•Washing hands upon arrival and departure from the school and home;

•Using a tissue to cover coughs and sneezes;

•Throwing used tissues in the bin immediately;